The U.S. government will seek dismissal of Vermont National Telephone (VTEL) litigation against Dish Network designated entities (DE) Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless over allegations of fraud in the 2015 AWS-3 auction. The U.S. is the relator in the VTEL litigation. DOJ filed a notice of intent to intervene and dismiss Friday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:15-cv-00728). It hasn't said in court filings the reasoning behind its move to get the case dismissed, and didn't comment Monday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2022 reversed the lower court's dismissal of VTEL's False Claims Act suit against the Dish DEs and remanded it to the D.C. District Court (see 2205170026).
An FCC draft order on collecting broadcaster workforce diversity data using form 395-B has three votes but may not be approved until next week or later under the agency’s “must vote” procedures, industry officials told us. The draft equal employment opportunity item would make broadcaster diversity data publicly available in an online portal and includes a Further NPRM on extending the rules to cable, industry officials told us. “Broadcasting has such a great influence, it is essential that any hint of discriminatory intent or impact” be considered when assessing a broadcaster’s qualifications to hold a license, said Multicultural Media Technology and Internet Council Senior Adviser David Honig, a longtime supporter of the EEO proposal.