FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appoints Tim Schram, Nebraska Public Service Commission, to the Universal Service Administrative Co. board … NAB promotes Grace Whaley to director of communications; Alex Siciliano, senior vice president of communications, leaves for another opportunity.
AST SpaceMobile is turning out six satellites a month from its Texas manufacturing facilities and plans four more launches this quarter as it looks to have 45-60 satellites in low earth orbit by year-end, it said in an FCC filing Friday (docket 25-201). The company is seeking the agency's authorization to operate its full 248-satellite constellation (see 2506200061).
The FCC Media Bureau’s Audio Division has dismissed several low-power FM applications from religious organizations because they didn’t meet the agency’s localism requirements and contained false certifications, according to letters in Friday’s Daily Digest. LPFM applications from Yahweh HTX, Holly USA Espirit Church, Radio Casa de Adoracion TX, USA Church in the Hills and Church of the Last Call were dismissed for making false certifications about the locations of their transmitter site and the residences of their board members, according to similar letters from the Audio Division.
The FCC should open an inquiry on the financial viability of PBS and NPR stations in the wake of the end of federal funding, said the Center for American Rights in an email to acting Media Bureau Chief Erin Boone, according to an ex parte filing Friday in docket 25-322. The FCC should ask “PBS and NPR and their affiliated stations to be transparent, honest, and proactive about this new landscape.” The email pointed to public broadcasting stations that have announced impending closure or plans to end their PBS affiliations (see 2512120040). CAR first pushed for an inquiry into PBS and NPR stations in a filing last month (see 2512110052). America’s Public Television Stations has said such a proceeding would “needlessly divert time and resources away from local public television stations’ public service to their local communities.”
T-Mobile slammed an opposition to its request for environmental review of a proposed monopole telecommunications facility in North Caldwell, New Jersey. Commenter Nihir Jariwala raised “allegations regarding wetlands, wildlife (including migratory birds), tower lighting, and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act,” T-Mobile said in an undocketed filing posted Friday by the FCC. The allegations are “generalized, speculative, and unsupported by site-specific evidence.”
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment Friday on Piper Networks' request for a waiver of rules allowing wider use of its enhanced transit location system. The waiver would let Piper obtain equipment authorization for its ultra-wideband train positioning system as fixed-wireless infrastructure in the Greater New York City and Boston areas and in Harris County, Texas. The system already operates under the FCC’s handheld UWB device rules. Piper requests that its system be allowed to operate in the 3.248-4.990 GHz band in the same areas where it’s already authorized to operate. Comments are due Feb. 16, replies March 2, in docket 19-246.
NextNav is challenging the findings of a technical study that Neology filed last month (see 2512160017) on the risks posed to band incumbents if the FCC approves NextNav's proposal to use the 900 MHz band for a “terrestrial complement” to GPS. In a filing posted Friday in docket 25-110, NextNav said it stands by its earlier analysis that found minimal interference risks.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment Friday on a waiver request by Vivint for doorbells that contain ultra-wideband transmitters operating in the 6-10 GHz band. The technology allows users to unlock a paired smart lock, “similar to other devices for which the Commission has previously granted waiver,” OET said. It uses a camera and facial recognition software “to confirm the identity of the person approaching before unlocking the door.” Comments are due Feb. 16, replies March 2, in docket 26-11.
Representatives of Cisco Systems and Hewlett Packard Enterprise met with the FCC last week to urge the agency to make a tweak to its draft 6 GHz order and further NPRM, which is set for a vote Jan. 29 (see 2601080066). According to a filing Friday in docket 18-295, the companies told an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that they're pleased with the item in general but want the commission to seek comment on “other updates to the FCC’s rules reflecting technological and business developments since the 6 GHz rules were adopted in 2020.” Some Wi-Fi use cases “may not have been considered specifically when the Commission adopted” those rules.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau on Friday extended for six months, through July 16, the conditional certifications for Rogervoice to provide IP captioned telephone service and for Tive to provide video relay service, supported by the telecommunications relay service fund. In 2024, the bureau granted Rogervoice conditional certification to provide service for a period of two years, which was set to end Tuesday, the order said.