A plan for cutting regulations and federal institutions such as the FCC could target broadband access programs and media regulations, but it's likely that a wave of litigation will stymie it, administrative law professors and attorneys told us. Future Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) heads Vivek Ramasawamy and Space X CEO Elon Musk laid out their plans in a Wall Street Journal opinion column. “It's not to say that maybe some of these changes shouldn't be happening, but, you know, they're taking a wrecking ball to fix something that requires a little bit more finesse than that,” said University of Idaho law professor Linda Jellum. Asked about possible DOGE cuts at the FCC, incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr last week told reporters, “There's no question, there's tons of room for driving more efficiency at the FCC." He didn't elaborate.
FCC staff changes: Wireless Bureau’s Jessica Campbell becomes acting legal adviser-public safety for Commissioner Anna Gomez, stepping in for Hayley Steffen, on maternity leave, and Cierra Nokes, ex-NTT Data, joins Gomez’s office as executive assistant; Howard Parnell retiring as division chief-Web and Print Publishing; Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal becomes special adviser, with Deputy Bureau Chief Peter Hyun becoming acting bureau chief; Office of Economics and Analytics Deputy Bureau Chief Catherine Matraves becoming acting bureau chief with Bureau Chief Giulia McHenry’s departure … Cloud security provider Sysdig appoints William Welch, previously Talkdesk, as CEO.
The FCC Space Bureau approved SpaceX using VHF-band radiofrequency beacons on up to 450 of its second-generation Starlink satellites, according to a bureau order in Thursday's Daily Digest. It said the approval lets SpaceX track and maintain contact with the company's satellites during orbit raising and in case of emergencies. The agency said it will separately address SpaceX's pending request to operate second-gen Starlinks with the beacons at lower altitudes of 340-360 km.
The FTC failed to meet a statutory deadline in response to a request to consolidate various lawsuits against the agency’s click-to-cancel rule, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a filing Tuesday (see 2411070025). NCTA, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Electronic Security Association earlier this month filed a mandamus petition with the 5th Circuit. The organizations filed one of four lawsuits against the new agency rule, which groups are seeking to consolidate within one federal court. The groups’ petition said the agency failed to forward the request for consolidation to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation within a 10-day window of the rule’s issuance. The 5th Circuit agreed Tuesday, dismissing the agency’s argument that the 10-day window begins when the rule is published in the Federal Register, not when the rule was publicly announced, on Oct. 16. The agency failed to cite authority establishing that timeline, and the court hasn’t found legal justification, the filing said. The court granted the mandamus, forcing the agency to forward the complaints to the JPML. The court denied the groups’ request for an administrative stay, saying placing a hold on the rule is unnecessary because it’s not yet in effect. The associations have argued they’re incurring compliance costs in preparation for the rule.
The FCC submarine cable NPRM now asks about ensuring cable licensees don't use equipment or services from entities on the agency’s covered list of organizations that pose a U.S. security threat. Commissioners at their open meeting Thursday unanimously approved the subsea cable NPRM, as expected (see 2411120001), as well as a robocall third-party authentication order. They also approved 5-0 an order creating a permanent process for authorizing content-originating FM boosters, which let broadcasters geotarget content within their broadcast reach for up to three minutes per hour (see 2411140053). The meeting saw the four regular commissioners praise Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who said Thursday she would step down Jan. 20, the date the next presidential administration takes power. Minority Commissioner Brendan Carr, who is slated to become chair (see 2411180059), discussed his agenda with media (see 2411210028).
Outgoing FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel received praise from the regular commissioners at Thursday's open meeting (see 2411210006) as she announced plans for stepping down Jan. 20, the date the next presidential administration takes power. Addressing reporters, incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr repeatedly named "tech censorship" and the "censorship cartel" as major priorities. "Smashing this [censorship cartel] is going to be a top issue," he said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Wednesday approved a waiver of the commission’s Part 97 rules allowing amateur radio licensees to communicate with military stations as part of Pearl Harbor Day commemorations Dec. 7 and 8. The American Radio Relay League sought the waiver in October (see 2410080019). “We find grant of the waiver meets the waiver standard because this event presents a unique opportunity for amateur operators to practice communications skills under the guidance of military officials, which may be useful in the future and serves the public interest,” the bureau said. The Wireless Bureau approved a similar waiver last year (see 2311270044).
Kepler Communications, with eight non-geostationary orbit satellites in space, is asking FCC approval to launch another 10 with optical intersatellite links and create a consolidated space data relay network. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Tuesday to modify its U.S. market access grant and another pending U.S. market access application, Kepler said the FCC's five-year deorbit rule, adopted in 2022, necessitated the company rethinking its previously authorized cubesat system as they wouldn't deorbit within five years of the end of their missions. The company said the steeply escalating licensing fees for systems seeking U.S. market access also made its original plans for a second, separate satellite system not feasible. As a result, it needed to consider one consolidated system. Kepler said the launch of 10 second-generation satellites is expected in Q3 2025.
The FCC will provide information on how to challenge the mobile broadband coverage data in the national broadband map, the Wireless Bureau said Tuesday. On Dec. 3, officials will offer a session on “Mobile challenge thresholds & other things to keep in mind when conducting a test.” The focus of a Dec. 10 session is “Collecting and submitting bulk challenge data in accordance with Broadband Data Collection (BDC) Data Specifications.” Both sessions run 3-4:30 p.m. EST, the bureau said. “During each session, FCC staff will provide a brief overview of the topic, followed by a Q&A in which staff will be available to offer hands-on support.”
T-Mobile should discontinue or modify an ad promising a free iPhone and 20% savings on monthly service “to better disclose the material conditions of the offer,” the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division ruled Monday. NAD responded to a complaint from AT&T. T-Mobile plans to appeal the decision. The commercial “features Twitch influencer Kai Cenat, NFL player Patrick Mahomes, and Snoop Dogg, who says, ‘Now at T-Mobile.com get the new iPhone 16 Pro ON US and families can save 20% every month versus the other big guys,’” NAD said: “The details of the free iPhone offer appear onscreen briefly before being replaced by an image of the 20% savings claim.”