Actress Jane Fonda and more than 700 entertainment industry figures have resurrected a First Amendment group originally established to battle McCarthyism, in part as an apparent reaction to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s recent pressure on broadcasters and networks. “The McCarthy Era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression,” said the relaunched Committee for the First Amendment on its new website Wednesday. “Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights.” The original Committee for the First Amendment was formed in 1947 by Hollywood figures -- including Henry Fonda -- to protest House Un-American Activities Committee hearings against screenwriters and directors. “We are moved by their courage to speak truth to power and alarmed by how relevant their words are today, 78 years later,” the website said.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
An FCC order expanding the reach of the do-not-originate lists and strengthening call-blocking capabilities is effective Dec. 15, said a Monday notice by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. Commissioners approved the order in February (see 2502270058).
The Telecommunications Industry Association Monday asked the FCC to act quickly on rules that could speed up the transition by carriers away from legacy copper networks (see 2507240048). Comments were due Monday in docket 25-208. The FCC also continues to hear from consumers on what they see as the advantages of traditional wireline phones (see 2509250045).
Broadcasters, MVPD groups and public safety entities largely agree that the FCC's plans to revamp emergency alerting are a good thing, but they differ on the direction they want those plans to take, according to comments filed in docket 25-224 by Thursday’s deadline.
AST SpaceMobile's ability to meet its goals for deployment and start its direct-to-device service relies largely on the availability of New Glenn rockets, space finance group Mach33 wrote Wednesday. AST has said it hopes to have 45-60 of its Block-2 satellites operational by the end of 2026 and offer intermittent U.S. service in late 2025, Mach33 said, adding that each of Blue Origin's New Glenn rockets would carry six to eight Block-2 satellites. It said that in a worst-case scenario, AST would have to rely on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket for launches, but Falcon 9 is already in heavy demand, with flight slots booked years out.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Questionable maps, staff shortages and accountability concerns have pressured states as they participate in NTIA's $42.5 billion BEAD program, broadband experts said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Flaws in the FCC’s broadband fabric and limited state capacity could leave millions of homes without service, while shrinking eligibility has already cut out up to 60% of locations that were eligible during earlier subgrantee rounds, they said.
Illinois released its revised draft Tuesday for its final BEAD plan under NTIA's "Benefit of the Bargain" round. The state received 66% more applications than previous rounds, with an average cost of about $6,100 per location, wrote Office of Broadband Director Devon Braunstein. That's 21% less per location than the state's previous round, she noted.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Tuesday reminded incarcerated people’s communications service providers that they must file annual reports by Nov. 3. The FCC has delayed the reporting deadline three times. It was originally April 1.