Getting and maintaining a satellite license is costlier in the U.S. than anywhere else, and the bond requirement means a lot of capital being set aside that could be invested in the business, according to Astranis Space Technologies. The company discussed licensing issues in a meeting with FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz, said a filing posted Monday (docket 25-133). The agency's bond structure "serves to freeze out new entrants while enabling established operators with large fleets to secure additional spectrum bond-free," it said. The small geostationary orbit satellite operator also urged the FCC to allow applications on a given orbit location rather than on a per-satellite basis.
HMB Solutions will pay a $15,000 fine for not getting prior FCC approval for the substantial transfer of control of its cable landing license for the Japan-Guam-Australia North submarine cable system, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said Monday.
ZipDX raised concerns about an FCC proposal to close a gap in the agency's Stir/Shaken authentication rules by addressing non-IP calls. Commissioners approved an NPRM in April (see 2504280038), and initial comments are due July 16. ZipDX representatives met with Wireline Bureau staff, said a filing Monday in docket 17-97.
The Wireline Bureau has extended several incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027, and the FCC could reevaluate aspects of the 2024 IPCS order, said an order and news release Monday. The new order waived the deadlines for complying with the rate cap, site commission, and per-minute pricing rules adopted in 2024 “to ensure sufficient funding for safety and security tools, while IPCS providers and the facilities they serve address the challenges of implementing these requirements.” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a release that the 2024 order “is leading to negative, unintended consequences” where prisons limit the availability of IPCS, and it “does not allow providers and institutions to properly consider public safety and security interests when facilitating these services.”
NTIA now taking a "lowest cost wins" approach in BEAD doesn't necessarily doom fiber applicants, consultant and former FCC Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Carol Mattey wrote Monday. The June 6 policy notice, which directed states to hold another round of bidding to select the lowest-cost option, doesn't mean fixed wireless applicants will prevail over fiber ones around the U.S., she said. Priority projects still win over non-priority ones, with states determining which projects qualify, Mattey said. There won't be cost comparisons between priority and non-priority projects seeking funding for the same geographic area, she said. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act defined a priority broadband project as one that can meet 100/20 Mbps speeds, easily scale over time and meet the connectivity needs of homes, businesses, 5G and other wireless technologies, she noted. While NTIA has decided that it was wrong to presume that only fiber qualified as a priority broadband project, "it would be equally inappropriate for a state broadband office to make a blanket decision that all fixed wireless applications qualify" as priority, Mattey said.
The Consumer Technology Association, CTIA and other groups opposed an FCC proposal to update its “covered list” of unsecure companies to reflect a January finding by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on connected vehicles (see 2505270059). Commenters said the FCC should let BIS complete its work before considering revising regulations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has long raised concerns about Chinese involvement in U.S. networks and in March launched a Council for National Security at the agency (see 2503130012).
Sinclair Broadcasting has reached an agreement with the FCC to pay $500,000 to resolve what was originally a $2.6 million forfeiture against the company over children's programming violations and to renew the licenses of numerous stations, said a consent decree Friday. Together with a Media Bureau order dismissing a petition to deny against several Sinclair-controlled stations, the agreement resolved a yearslong holdup in the license renewals of nearly all Sinclair stations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has pointed to the lack of Sinclair license renewals under the previous FCC as the precedent for his actions against CBS and other networks (see 2502270076).
Urban rate surveys are due Aug. 15, said the FCC Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau in a public notice Friday (docket 10-90). Providers required to complete the online survey, which identifies rates for fixed voice and broadband residential services in urban areas, will be contacted on or around July 7, it said.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is circulating an order that would deny a set of 2024 applications for review regarding upward revisions for reimbursement of services provided in the last month of the Lifeline COVID-19 waiver period. While the FCC provided a limited waiver during the pandemic of the non-usage rule -- which bars Lifeline providers from being subsidized for services that subscribers aren't using -- not extending the waiver after the relevant time period ended ultimately saves taxpayers millions, Carr said Friday. "While the Commission offered flexibility during the pendency of the COVID-19 pandemic, that does not mean we should allow providers to game the system for extra reimbursement, at the American public’s expense, after the need for this leniency had clearly -- and officially -- ended," he said. Assist Wireless, enTouch Wireless, Easy Wireless and iAccess Wireless in 2024 filed a set of applications for review of a Wireline Bureau order denying the companies an upward revision of their April 2021 Lifeline reimbursement claims. The circulating order would affirm the bureau's decision that the COVID-19 relief waiver for non-usage ended that month, and the companies aren't entitled to an additional month, the FCC said.
Changes at the FCC: Chairman Brendan Carr names Eduard Bartholme, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, and Jonathan McCormack, Broadband Data Task Force, co-chairs of the Broadband Data Task Force, replacing Jean Kiddoo, retiring; Hillary DeNigro, Media Bureau, tapped as chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force, also replacing Kiddoo; Jill Coogan, Public Safety Bureau, retires; Patricia Goff, Office of Engineering and Technology, retires; Commissioner Olivia Trusty appoints Krista Senell, Office of Engineering and Technology, as her chief of staff/senior counsel; William Holloway, Broadband Data Task Force, and Jessica Kinsey, Enforcement Bureau, as acting legal advisers; and Andi Roane, office of former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, as acting confidential assistant ... National Emergency Number Association board elects: Lee Ann Magoski, Monterey County (California) Emergency Communications Department (president); Roxanne Van Gundy, Lyon County (Kansas) Emergency Communications Center (first vice president); Cassie Lowery, Rutherford County (Tennessee) Emergency Communications District (second vice president); Melanie Jones, Guilford (North Carolina) Metro 911 (immediate past president); Mark Fletcher, RapidSOS; Leah Hornacek, Aurelian; Stephanie Johnson, Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office; Holly Barkwell, Barkwell Holland Group; and Karin Marquez, RapidSOS … Nokia Chief Legal Officer Esa Niinimaki will serve as interim chief people officer, replacing Lorna Gibb, leaving to pursue another opportunity; recruitment has begun for Gibbs' successor ... CTIA adds Vijesh Mehta, EZ Texting, to its board.