The FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday extended for two years a temporary waiver that allows use of the interim volume control testing method for hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) compliance. The waiver will now expire Sept. 29, 2027. The extension was requested by CTIA and had the support of industry commenters (see 2507210008). Groups representing consumers said any additional waiver must be limited and come with “safeguards and guardrails.” The bureau is requiring CTIA, in coordination with the Telecommunications Industry Association, to file two reports updating the FCC on their progress toward a permanent solution.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday scheduled oral argument in a case examining the legality of the FCC’s prison-calling order. It's set for Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m. in the En Banc Courtroom at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston. The court last month rejected the FCC's request to hold the case in abeyance given the Wireline Bureau’s decision to delay some incarcerated people’s communications service deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507160027). “There will be no continuance except for grave cause,” the court said.
A federal judge has ordered the FCC to produce information about the Department of Government Efficiency’s activities at the agency in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit from journalist Nina Burleigh and public interest group Frequency Forward. The information released so far in response to the FOIA shows that one of the DOGE staffers detailed to the FCC may have had ties to its regulatees, including SpaceX.
The FCC on Monday removed 1,203 additional voice providers from the Robocall Mitigation Database, following a recent order removing 185 (see 2508060041). The removals come after warnings were issued to 2,411 providers in December, ordering them to show why they shouldn’t be taken off the list (see 2412180015).
NextNav is hopeful that the FCC will move forward soon on an NPRM following up on its March notice of inquiry asking about the wide range of possible alternatives to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), said Renee Gregory, the company's vice president of regulatory affairs. Opponents of NextNav’s proposal to use 900 MHz spectrum for PNT are less anxious for the FCC to take next steps.
The FCC Wireless Bureau agreed to “long-term de facto transfer leasing arrangements” in which AT&T and FTC Management will lease spectrum to each other, mainly in the 3.45 GHz band, in markets in South Carolina. The bureau also approved a waiver for the companies to exceed the 40 MHz aggregation limit on 3.45 GHz spectrum in some of the markets. “We find that the proposed transaction has a low likelihood of competitive harm and would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity,” said an order in docket 25-138 in Friday’s Daily Digest.
A coalition opposed to T-Mobile’s purchase of wireless assets from UScellular spoke with aides to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about its challenge to a Wireless Bureau order approving the deal. Gomez has said commissioners should have been asked to vote on it (see 2507310041). Representatives from the Rural Wireless Association, Open Technology Institute at New America and Communications Workers of America were present, according to a filing posted Friday in docket 24-286.
Comments are due Sept. 5, replies Sept. 12, on Crown Castle's proposal to sell its fiber network business to Fiber FinCo. That company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Front Range, a joint venture between investors DigitalBridge Group and Sweden’s EQT. Filings should be posted in docket 25-174, said a Friday order by the FCC Wireline Bureau. Crown Castle sought agency clearance in May.
New questions in the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s previously routine equal employment opportunity (EEO) audit letters appear to be aimed at seeking out broadcaster diversity hiring programs and grievances against them.
Testing done in Colombia -- like previous testing conducted in Romania -- confirms that a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system can protect geostationary orbit (GSO) system Ku-band downlinks even when using co-frequency beams, according to SpaceX. In a docket 25-157 filing posted Thursday, SpaceX recapped a meeting with the FCC Space Bureau, saying it will submit a full report of the Colombia testing soon. The company said the test results "deliver direct, real-world evidence" supporting the protection criteria that it proposed. SpaceX has petitioned the commission for a revision of U.S. spectrum-sharing methodology between NGSO and GSO fixed satellite service downlinks (see 2408120018).