Texas expects to soon get NTIA approval of its initial plan for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, but first it must submit another revision of volume 2, said Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) Director Greg Conte. NTIA approved plans for Alabama and Florida on Thursday, leaving Texas as the lone state or territory without NTIA approval to access its funding. Administrator Alan Davidson said on a Politico podcast Thursday he’s optimistic NTIA will be able to approve Texas’ plan “in the coming weeks.” He also chalked up Republicans’ recent criticisms of BEAD as a symptom of election-year politics.
In talks with corporate governance lawyers, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington has begun promoting how the FCC's cyber-trust mark could help reduce operations costs, making suppliers from trusted nations more competitive against Chinese suppliers. In an extensive interview with Communications Daily last month, Simington also discussed "smart and targeted" reforms of linear video distribution regulation (see 2409120059), his new practice of dissenting from monetary forfeitures (see 2409060054) and how he sees U.S. industrial policy in the context of China (see 2408200041). In addition, he touched on incentivizing commercial orbital debris removal. The following transcript was edited for length and clarity.
The FCC violated the Communications Act by not rolling back broadcast ownership rules in the 2018 quadrennial review (QR) order, ignoring the increased competition broadcasters face, said petitioners Zimmer Radio, Nexstar, NAB, Beasley Media and Tri-State Communications in a reply brief filed in docket 24-1480. It was filed in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday. In addition, all four network affiliate groups and a host of radio companies filed intervenor briefs against the FCC. The Communications Act's provision requiring QRs -- Section 202(h) -- isn't a “check-the-box exercise,” said the petitioner’s brief. “Congress intended it to operate as a mechanism of continuing deregulation,” and the plain text instructs that the FCC “demonstrate affirmatively that its rules remain necessary in light of competition” or “modify or repeal them entirely.”
A news distortion complaint filed Wednesday against CBS by the Center for American Rights (CAR) over the network's recent interview with Vice President/Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is unlikely to result in FCC penalties. However, a wild card is the proposed Skydance/Paramount deal, which could spark FCC action on the news distortion complaint, attorneys told us. Paramount Global is CBS' parent.
The FCC's mapping broadband health in America platform will soon include additional details on telehealth access and maternal health, the Connect2Health Task Force told commissioners during their open meeting Thursday (see 2409250041). While the FCC has adopted rules requiring georouting wireless calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, it's uncertain whether it will require georouting to other emergency helplines, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said during a news conference following the meeting. The 5-0 988 georouting approval was expected (see 2410040005). Commissioners also unanimously voted for adoption of an order on hearing aid compatibility requirements (see 2410170030) and tentatively selected applicants for new low-power FM station construction permits.
FCC commissioners on Thursday approved 5-0 a draft hearing-aid compatibility order providing details on how the U.S. will reach 100% compatibility. FCC officials said the order included a few tweaks, accommodating commissioners' concerns and those of CTIA (see 2410090051) and disability advocates (see 2410150024). Commissioners voted at their monthly open meeting (see 2410170026), which was focused on consumer items. It was the last before the Nov. 5 election.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Verizon and Frontier this week filed an application at the FCC that would transfer control of the domestic and international Section 214 authority held by wholly owned subsidiaries of Frontier to the acquiring company. As part of the filing, the companies provided a public interest statement, a key document as regulators plow through details of the proposed transaction. The deal faces potential investor headwinds.
Gail Slater, an economic adviser to Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is in consideration to serve as FTC chair if Donald Trump becomes president again, but the two sitting Republican commissioners will likely get first consideration, former FTC and White House officials told us in interviews this week.
Although the regulatory status of broadband is “in flux,” the U.S. Supreme Court shouldn’t further delay New York state’s enforcement of a 2021 affordable broadband law, the state’s Attorney General Letitia James (D) said Tuesday. James submitted briefs in case 24-161 opposing ISP groups’ petition for a writ of certiorari and application seeking a stay of the New York Affordable Broadband Act (ABA). “The equities and the public interest weigh heavily in favor of allowing the ABA -- duly enacted consumer-protection legislation that aids the State’s most vulnerable residents -- to take effect without further delay,” wrote James.