The FCC Space Bureau signed off on two of Planet Labs' proposed Tanager satellites with some of the conditions SpaceX sought. SpaceX has urged the agency to put similar conditions on numerous operators as were imposed on its second-generation constellation (see 2301180049). In an order in Monday's Daily Digest, the bureau said some second-generation analogous conditions tailored for the specific conditions presented in the Tanager application are "appropriate." It said Planet Labs must report any loss of control of a Tanager satellite at altitudes above 350 km. The bureau also conditioned the Tanager approval on Planet Labs coordinating with NASA and the National Science Foundation. The bureau said it was deferring decisions on the third and fourth Tanager satellites pending Planet Labs submitting additional orbital debris mitigation information.
SES' O3b is asking the FCC for 26 additional months to meet milestones for making operational its Ka-band satellites authorized in the agency's U.S. market access order. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Monday, O3b said the COVID-19 pandemic initially delayed its mPower satellites. Next, performance deficiencies were discovered in 2023 in the first four mPowers. It said design updates addressing those issues delayed manufacture of later mPowers. It asked that its milestone deadline for having 50% of the mPowers in the U.S. market access application be operational move from June 7, 2024, to Aug. 7, 2026. It also asked that the milestone deadline for the remaining 50% be moved from June 7, 2027, to Aug. 7, 2029.
The Texas Association of Broadcasters filed a petition for review Thursday (docket 24-60226) in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the FCC’s gathering of equal employment opportunity workforce diversity data. TAB's filing alleges the agency, through its Feb. 22 EEO order, “seeks to deputize private activists to pressure” broadcasters to “achieve the FCC’s long-held goal of imposing race and gender quotas on broadcast stations.” The order violates broadcasters' constitutional rights and is arbitrary and capricious, the petition said. The TAB appeal joins another filed in the 5th Circuit earlier this month by the National Religious Broadcasters and the American Family Association (see 2405060057). In addition, groups of religious broadcasters, including the Catholic Radio Association, filed several applications for review (see 2405010070).
The FCC Wireline Bureau made several Rural Digital Opportunity Fund census block groups eligible for other funding programs following letters from Charter and Altice notifying the commission that each company was surrendering some winning bids (see 2405010080). The bureau said in a public notice Friday in docket 19-126 that the carriers "will be subject to penalties" for their defaulted bids.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Monday asked for comments June 12, replies July 12, on rules for implementing multilingual wireless emergency alerts. The FCC proposes requiring that providers support template alert messages, “which the Bureau translated into the thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United States aside from English, and American Sign Language,” the notice said: “The Bureau also seeks comment on whether the templates and their translations are accurate and will be effective at encouraging the public to take protective action during emergencies; whether templates addressing other types of emergencies should be supported; whether ‘form-fillable’ elements can be added to the templates, allowing alert originators to customize the templates with information specific to each emergency; and whether additional languages should be supported.” Comments can be filed in dockets 15-91 and 15-94.
Dish Wireless spoke with FCC Wireline Bureau staff on the company’s amended petition seeking eligible telecom carrier status in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina and in the District of Columbia (see 404080037). “DISH clarified that it is a facilities-based wireless provider offering 5G voice and broadband services in markets throughout the country,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 09-917: “DISH has successfully tested this capability and is working toward launching at scale" and "as soon as possible ... will offer a combination of services (including Lifeline service) using its own facilities in portions of each state where the network is suitable and resale of its network partners to provide coverage in the remaining areas of the state.”
NCTA representatives discussed concerns about Samsung Electronics America’s request for a waiver for a 5G base station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see 2309130041), speaking with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Earlier, NCTA raised questions as well (see 2404090058). Samsung’s proposed radio threatens the utility of the CBRS band because of Samsung’s design choice not to use a filter between the C-Band and the CBRS band,” said a filing last week in docket 23-93. “The Commission could not justifiably grant Samsung’s waiver request without setting a precedent that future parties would rely on for other radios in these frequencies and many others,” NCTA said. Among those represented at the meeting were Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Enterprises.
T-Mobile is proposing a swap with SoniqWave in which it would trade licenses purchased in the 2021 3.45 GHz auction for more 2.5 GHz spectrum. The swap would let T-Mobile “provide improved broadband coverage and enhanced data capacity using contiguous 2.5 GHz … spectrum in multiple markets throughout the United States,” said a Form 603 filing at the FCC. In exchange, SoniqWave would get 28 licenses in 14 partial economic areas “in the developing 3.45 GHz band,” the filing said: “SoniqWave believes that the growing eco-system around the 3.45 GHz band, coupled with the variety of wireless carriers that are, or soon will, be deploying in that band, offers exciting opportunities not presently available to it.”
CTIA representatives updated the FCC about its stance on a proposed 5G Fund, now before commissioners (see 2403260052). An auction should occur only after funding is released for the broadband access, equity and deployment program, the CTIA representatives urged in meetings with aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks, Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez. “The wireless industry is making record investments to deploy 5G nationwide, but there are some areas where difficult geography or sparse population mean that subsidies will be necessary to support mobile broadband,” a filing posted Monday in docket 20-32 said: “While the BEAD program will not directly fund mobile broadband deployment, it is likely to result in the deployment of fiber broadband backhaul facilities and fixed wireless services that will facilitate the expansion of 5G coverage in rural areas.” Representatives of AT&T, UScellular, Verizon and T-Mobile attended the meetings.
The FCC wants comments by May 28, replies by June 7, in docket 03-123 on Telecom Relay Services Fund compensation formulas, funding requirements and contribution factors from July 1 through June 30 that Rolka Loube Associates proposed, a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Friday said.