A proposal that the FCC launch a rulemaking authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band received support in comments, which were due Thursday in docket 24-99. But commenters stressed that the relocation process must be voluntary, and that the rules must protect incumbents from harmful interference. The filings offer a snapshot of how 900 MHz is used today.
The FCC should rein in its Enforcement Bureau to avoid conflicts with recent and expected U.S. Supreme Court decisions, though the current bureau doesn’t “overreach” as frequently as it did under former Chairman Tom Wheeler, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thursday during a Wiley panel discussion called “Opportunities to Reform FCC Enforcement." Carr told us, “The jury is still out” on whether the EB under FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel needs reform, he said in an interview after the panel discussion: “We’re not off the rails the way the agency was during the Wheeler tenure."
The FCC plans to update its orbital debris mitigation docket, its Space Bureau said in a docket 18-313 public notice Thursday. It said it especially wanted comments about whether to analyze collision risks for non-geostationary orbit systems aggregately or per satellite, and about the use of U.S. Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices’ probability of collision metric as a threshold or safe harbor as a means of identifying systems that may need further review. In addition, it said it was seeking updated input evaluating the likelihood of individual satellite maneuvering failures within a multisatellite system.
Nokia representatives met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff to discuss tweaking the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. Some invoices submitted in September haven’t been paid and even adjustments of a few pennies need to be “kicked back, corrected and reprocessed again,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-89.
Mega constellation operators are pushing back on an FCC proposal that would charge more regulatory fees for big non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellations. Docket 24-85 reply comments this week also saw numerous calls for imposing fees on authorized systems that aren't yet operational and for phasing in any big fee hikes. The FCC in March adopted an NPRM on regulatory fee changes for satellite and earth stations due to the agency reorganization that created the Space Bureau, with initial comments received last month (see 2404150040). Amazon's Kuiper said the agency should reject proposals such as putting a particularly big share of NGSO fees' burden on large constellations that are not backed by full-time equivalent (FTE) staff allocations. SpaceX said the relative activity in licensing dockets isn't a reasonable proxy for apportioning fees. As a result, the agency shouldn't impose higher fees on NGSO mega constellations based on the number of filings in those NGSO licensing dockets. Increased fees would reward obstructionist competitors gaming the comment system, SpaceX said. FCC records show the largest NGSO constellations are responsible for a disproportionate share of the regulatory burden, Telesat said. It said the record shows substantial support for allocating a share of at least 30% of aggregate Space Bureau regulatory fees to earth station regulation. Phase in any new or hiked Space Bureau regulatory fees over years to ease the financial burden, NCTA said. It said the FCC should stick to its calculations for how many FTEs work on earth station matters, rather than considering unsubstantiated arguments for shifting more of the Space Bureau's regulatory fee burden onto earth station operators. It said no one has offered an argument for putting regulatory fees on receive-only earth stations, and thus the agency shouldn't do so. Eutelsat/OneWeb called "reasonable" the proposed 60/40 allocation between geostationary and NGSO systems, respectively. Also backing tiers of NGSO regulatory fees based on constellation size, it said larger constellations "raise additional issues that require more FTE time," such as orbital debris and larger earth station networks. EchoStar and DirecTV also backed the NGSO subcategories based on constellation size and assessing fees on authorized but not yet operational systems, as did SES/O3b, which also urged a several-year phase-in of fee increases due to the Space Bureau's creation. Viasat also urged that NGSOs cover a greater allocation of satellite fees and backed the NGSO subcategories. The $400,000 annual regulatory fee that small non-voice, non-geostationary mobile satellite systems are facing under the FCC proposal is "unsustainable" and make operating NVNG MSS systems in the U.S. a challenge, Myriota said. NVNG MSS systems consume fewer FCC resources than other small NGSO constellations, it added.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver that Saab TransponderTech sought concerning the commission’s part 80 rules to allow authorization of Saab’s R60 Automatic Identification System (AIS) Aids to Navigation (AtoN) station. An AtoN is “any device external to a vessel or aircraft intended to assist a navigator to determine position or safe course, or to warn of dangers or obstructions to navigation,” said an order posted in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. Though the commission’s part 80 rules “currently do not provide for the authorization of AIS AtoN equipment, we find that authorizing this AIS AtoN serves the paramount goal of part 80 by promoting maritime safety through the use of radio technology,” the bureau said.
FCC commissioners will vote at their May 23 open meeting on an NPRM proposing labs from companies on the agency’s “covered list” of unsecure firms be barred from participating in the equipment authorization process. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr announced the NPRM Wednesday. “This new proceeding would permanently prohibit Huawei and other entities on the FCC’s Covered List from playing any role in the equipment authorization program while also providing the FCC and its national security partners the necessary tools to safeguard this important process,” a news release said. “We must ensure that our equipment authorization program and those entrusted with administering it can rise to the challenge posed by persistent and ever-changing security and supply chain threats,” Rosenworcel said. The NPRM is “another significant step in the FCC’s work to advance the security of America’s communications networks,” Carr said: It proposes “to ensure that the test labs and certification bodies that review electronic devices for compliance with FCC requirements are themselves trustworthy actors that the FCC can rely on.” The NPRM builds on a 2022 order, which bans FCC authorization of gear from companies including Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hikvision and Dahua Technology (see 2211230065). Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded part of that order to the FCC to further develop the definition of critical infrastructure (see 2404020068). Commissioners will also consider an adjudicatory matter from the Media Bureau, and four items from the Enforcement Bureau as part of the abbreviated agenda, per Rosenworcel's note. She thanked other commissioners for their work on national security issues. “Working together, we have enacted and enforced rules to safeguard our wired and wireless networks from communications equipment that has been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to national security,” she said.
Catholic broadcasters and groups filed two petitions for reconsideration against the FCC’s equal employment opportunity order in part because it updates Form 395-B to account for nonbinary employees.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Tuesday extended the deadlines for SI Wireless and other carriers to remove, replace and dispose Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. The deadline for Si Wireless was extended from May 24 to Nov. 24. “SI Wireless states that it has continued to experience delays in obtaining replacement equipment, in some cases experiencing delays of 4-6 months,” said the notice in docket 18-89: “It also asserts that equipment vendors are focusing on their production of 5G equipment and have reduced or terminated production of 4G LTE equipment, making it more difficult to access 4G-only LTE equipment.” Among the other extensions, the bureau moved the deadline for Bristol Bay Cellular from April 25 to Oct. 25, for Commnet Wireless from four deadlines in July to deadlines in January, for Mark Twain Communications from June 6 to Dec. 6, for Pine Belt Cellular from July 18 to Jan. 17, for Plateau Telecommunications from July 18 to Jan. 18, for Point Broadband Fiber from five deadlines in April and May to October and November, and for Southern Ohio Communication Services, from April 6 to Oct. 6.
The FCC Media Bureau approved a Cumulus "pro forma" request to assign several broadcast licenses from one Cumulus subsidiary to another and will seek comment on a remedial petition from the company to allow an increase in foreign ownership, said an order Friday. The foreign-ownership request is connected to a Singaporean company, Renew Group, which in January informed the SEC that it now owns approximately 9.8% of the equity and 10.01% of the voting interests in Cumulus. Under the terms of a 2020 foreign-ownership approval (see 2005290046), Cumulus must seek FCC approval for any foreign investor to own more than 5% of the voting interest in the company. Cumulus has certified that Renew’s acquisition of interests exceeding the 5% threshold “was an independent investment decision that occurred on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and was wholly beyond Cumulus’s control, was not reasonably foreseeable to Cumulus, and was not known to Cumulus before Renew reported the acquisition to the SEC.” Friday’s order grants the internal transfers of control but imposes conditions limiting the voting rights associated with the stock Renew owned until a declaratory ruling approving the foreign ownership is issued. The conditions would also limit Renew investors from serving as officers of Cumulus, attending board of directors meetings or having any role in management of Cumulus stations or decisions to buy or sell stations until a declaratory ruling is issued, the order said. Until the ruling, dividends payable to the Renew investors will be placed in escrow, the order said.