Broadcasters called for the FCC to “delete” nearly every reporting and filing obligation the agency imposes on them in scores of comments posted in docket 25-133 Monday, but the agency should roll back ownership rules first, NAB said. Multichannel video programming distribution (MVPD) interests and allies repeatedly argued that the highly competitive video distribution marketplace necessitates doing away with rules they claim tip the competitive scales. The docket also received many comments from space interests and the telecom industry (see 2504140037 and 2504140046).
Given the scope and scale of the reforms the FCC adopted in its 2024 incarcerated people’s communication services order, pushback by facilities and IPCS providers is to be expected, the Brattle Group and Wright petitioners' representatives told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office. In a docket 23-62 filing posted Friday recapping the meeting, the Brattle and Wright reps said there's no compelling evidence necessitating a change to the IPCS reforms. They discussed a Brattle analysis of cost data and argued that the price caps in the 2024 order allow a balance of IPCS providers recovering their costs and a reasonable profit while providing "just and reasonable rates" to consumers. Separately, provider NCIC Correctional Services requested an unredacted version of the Brattle analysis.
Comments in Chairman Brendan Carr's “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket (25-133) continue to roll in to the FCC. As of late Friday, the due date, nearly 600 comments have been filed. Also on Friday, USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter compared the docket to “spring cleaning.”
The Z-Wave Alliance slammed a recent NextNav engineering study that found no interference concerns with the company’s proposal for the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services (see 2503030023). The NextNav proposal is one part of a GPS notice of inquiry approved last month by the FCC (see 2503270042).
GCI representatives met with FCC staff to explain the carrier’s request for clarification on the agency’s Alaska Connect Fund (ACF) order (see 2501310053). "Key changes" will make the order "more effective in serving rural Alaska," said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-328. The FCC should “clarify that the goal for all areas cannot reasonably be 5G at 35/3 or 7/1 Mbps” and “reconsider removing support and, instead, target ACF support to areas that need it,” GCI said: “Clarify the standards for being ineligible to participate in the ACF based on Alaska Plan performance. Reconsider and permit GCI to use its Anchorage consumer plans for comparable pricing.” The GCI representatives said they met with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics.
While FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has indicated that the agency envisions more steps to retire copper networks, beyond a series of orders issued in March, we're told it's unclear what big regulatory burdens remain. The agency last month called its steps "initial" and promised additional action (see 2503200056). Carr used similar language at last week's FCC meeting (see 2503270042). His office didn't comment further.
As the spectrum wars continue, WifiForward released a study Wednesday that found Wi-Fi was responsible for more than 7 million U.S. jobs in 2023. It projected that the figure would grow to more than 13 million by 2027 and 21 million by 2032. “This growth is driven by significant direct employment derived from the economic value of Wi-Fi, coupled with substantial indirect employment from upstream supply chains and a Wi-Fi-facilitated boost in consumer spending,” the analysis said. Telecom Advisory Services wrote the study.
The FCC should reform and refocus its annual reports on broadband availability required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, the Phoenix Center said in an analysis released Wednesday. Historically, the FCC’s Section 706 reports “have been plagued by partisan interpretations and have failed to address the core issues behind broadband deployment gaps,” the center said in a separate news release. The FCC hasn’t created consistent definitions of when a deployment timeline is “reasonable” and “timely,” as required by the statute, and what actions should be taken when deployment doesn’t meet those requirements, the Phoenix Center said.
A wave of retirements has hit the FCC, likely owing to a combination of early retirement offers, the transition in administrations, return-to-office requirements and increased pressure on federal workers, according to interviews with FCC employees and union officials.
Regulatory fees assessed on all authorized satellites and earth stations, not just operational ones, help better distribute the fee burden to everyone benefiting from FCC Space Bureau employee resources, the Satellite Industry Association said. In docket 24-85 comments posted Wednesday, SIA said this would also mean lower per-station and per-satellite fees. The group backs assessing satellite regulatory fees based on how much a particular type of operator likely benefits from "full-time employee resources" and constellation size. But it opposes alternative approaches that use a subjective analysis of a system's design and operations, it said. If the FCC takes a fee approach that looks at the number of authorized satellites in a fleet, it must use consistent methodology across satellite operators for what constitutes an authorized satellite, SIA added.