LAS VEGAS – An ATSC 3.0 datacasting joint venture that combines the spectrum of the four largest TV groups is viable now but would be capable of nearly 10 times the capacity if the FCC requires a nationwide transition, said executives from Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray and E.W. Scripps in a news conference Monday at NAB Show 2025. Their joint venture, Edgebeam Wireless, was announced in January (see 2501070079).
Globalstar promotes Vice President Tamer Kadous to add general manager and head of the terrestrial spectrum and network solutions business to his responsibilities; names Daaman Hejmadi, ex-7Rays Semiconductors, vice president, general manager and leader of wholesale satellite capacity business … Infrastructure construction firm MasTec taps Chris Mecray, formerly DuPont de Nemours, as vice president-investor relations, replacing Marc Lewis, who is retiring but remains an adviser during the transition … Comviva Technologies appoints Bhagwati Shetty, formerly Mahindra Group, as chief human resources officer … The Internet Society names Yogesh Khanna, formerly Sev1Tech, as executive vice president and managing director, succeeding Sally Wentworth, now president and CEO.
5G broadcast supporters say HC2’s petition to allow low-power TV stations to transmit in that standard and reach mobile devices could represent a lifeline for an LPTV industry in distress, while some critics say it appears to be aimed at allowing low-power TV owners to get out of the broadcast business.
The House Commerce Committee said Tuesday it plans to vote Wednesday on the newly refiled NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-2482) and 10 other tech and telecom bills. The markup session will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. Also on the docket: the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (HR-633), Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act (HR-859), Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (HR-866), Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (HR-906), Communications Security Act (HR-1717), OpenRAN Outreach Act (HR-2037), Rural Broadband Protection Act (HR-2399), Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act (HR-2449), Secure Space Act (HR-2458) and Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (HR-2480). House leaders included previous versions of all the bills except HR-1717 and HR-2037 in a scuttled December continuing resolution package (see 2412170081).
NTIA's outgoing BEAD director warned of the "significant risk" of program changes that would saddle rural America with subpar broadband access but benefit SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In a 1,100-word letter sent over the weekend to colleagues and friends after his last day on Friday as head of BEAD, Evan Feinman said changes coming down the pike from Commerce include a limit on per-location BEAD spending and some kind of pause, as well as an increase in low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and a reduction in fiber use. States already face BEAD uncertainty in light of Commerce this month dropping the fiber preference and saying it was undertaking a review of other program rules (see 2503060047).
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director nominee Michael Kratsios and FTC nominee Mark Meador on Wednesday, with some panel Democrats joining all Republicans in supporting President Donald Trump’s picks. Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and seven other Democrats voted against Meador. Cantwell noted that Meador “hedged” in his responses to questions from her and other Democrats about whether he would “refuse to carry out illegal orders from” Trump. “The answer from any nominee should simply be ‘no,’” she said: “I just don’t believe today that [Meador] is the right person for the FTC. We need somebody who believes that they’re not just a rubber stamp for the president, but have responsibilities and duties to carry out.”
Senate Commerce Committee member Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Tuesday that he is pushing for his Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (S-674) to be part of an upcoming GOP-led budget reconciliation package. He and other lawmakers at Incompas' Policy Summit were divided along party lines over a push within the Commerce Department and Congress to revamp NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Meanwhile, Moran appeared to lean in favor of repurposing some federally controlled spectrum even as he emphasized that lawmakers must “straddle” the interests of the wireless industry and U.S. military as they negotiate the matter as part of reconciliation (see 2502190068).
The Senate Commerce Committee was eyeing a March 13 confirmation hearing for NTIA nominee Arielle Roth and potentially also FCC nominee Olivia Trusty, but that panel wasn’t final as of Thursday afternoon, several communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. President Donald Trump nominated Roth, Senate Commerce Republicans’ telecom policy director, in early February (see 2502040056). Trump picked Trusty, a Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer, for the FCC seat that former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vacated Jan. 20 (see 2501160077).
States face less certainty and clarity about the BEAD program in light of Commerce axing its fiber focus and indicating more rules changes could be forthcoming, according to broadband policy experts. Earlier in the week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the agency is launching a review of BEAD rules and dropping its emphasis on fiber (see 2503050067).
President Donald Trump urged lawmakers Tuesday night to “get rid” of the 2022 Chips and Science Act, which allocated $52 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing (see 2207280060). The law “is a horrible, horrible thing,” Trump said during his Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress. He asked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to use “whatever’s left over” in unobligated Chips and Science Act funding “to reduce debt or any other reason you want to.” Trump was sharply critical of the statute during the 2024 presidential campaign, saying subsidies were a bad idea (see 2412090046). Johnson drew heat himself during the closing days of the campaign by first calling for Congress to repeal the Chips and Science Act and then quickly reversing course (see 2411040062).