WTA members are concerned about the uncertainty stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court review of FCC v. Consumers' Research, a case that could invalidate how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045), as well as the future of the enhanced alternative connect America cost model program, representatives from the group said in a meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. WTA members also “raised the need for addressing both USF contribution and distribution reform,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. “The current contribution factor is above 36% and is unsustainable, and therefore the Commission should look to assess [broadband internet access service] providers and work with Congress to have edge providers and others who should be contributing to USF do so in order to bring the contribution factor down and be spread equitably among all users.” The WTA members also reported on meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez.
The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center joined Consumers’ Research in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject how the FCC handles USF. FCC v. Consumers' Research, which SCOTUS will hear March 26, challenges the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called three of his predecessors -- Democrats Tom Wheeler and Reed Hundt and Republican Alfred Sikes -- partisans with "TDS," or Trump derangement syndrome, after they condemned Carr's actions against media companies, according to a report in Status. “I gotta imagine it’s hard when the curtain is closing on your career and yet you’re still yearning for one more moment in the limelight,” Carr said. Hundt told Status that the FCC’s independence was intended to keep it from being used as a weapon to reward friends and punish enemies, while Sikes said the First Amendment should be “foundational” to the way the FCC acts. Wheeler said he reached “a breaking point” when the FCC announced an investigation into Comcast over its diversity, equity and inclusion practices. “They’re just partisans that are mad the Biden FCC didn’t do more to punish their political enemies,” Carr said. “In contrast to them, though, I will ensure that everyone gets a fair shake from this FCC.”
CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom on Wednesday asked the FCC to reconsider a January declaratory ruling by the FCC in response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks, which now-FCC Chairman Brendan Carr had opposed (see 2501160041). The ruling concluded that Section 105 of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) “affirmatively requires telecommunications carriers to secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications.” An accompanying NPRM seeks comment “on ways to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of our nation’s communications systems and services.” Members of the associations “were early adopters of cybersecurity risk management practices, collaborate on these issues with government agencies, and participate in public-private partnerships,” said a petition for reconsideration in docket 22-329. The ruling, “adopted in the waning days of the prior administration without any opportunity for public comment, supplants this longstanding collaborative approach,” the groups said. It also established “an ‘uncoordinated … and counterproductive’ policy based on an expansive reading” of CALEA “that imposes onerous network-wide duties on covered entities.” The ruling is inconsistent “with CALEA’s text, structure, and purpose,” they said: “Congress did not intend for CALEA to evolve into a general cybersecurity statute over three decades after its enactment.”
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Wireless carriers must add spectrum and deepen their fiber commitment, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said Wednesday. “Carriers should buy every piece of spectrum they can get their hands on … because we’re going to run out at some point relatively soon,” he told a Broadband Breakfast webinar. “There’s a scramble for both categories of assets, and they’re both imperative.”
President Donald Trump’s latest norm-busting executive order (see 2502180069) directing the FCC, among other "so-called independent" agencies and executive branch bodies, to submit regulatory actions to the White House before they're published in the Federal Register could complicate Brendan Carr’s push to be an active chairman at the FCC, industry experts said Wednesday.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, seemed during and after a Wednesday panel hearing to be eyeing an escalation of his long-simmering battle with DOD and its most vociferous congressional supporters, who oppose legislation mandating reallocation of spectrum bands for 5G use, which they say could impact military incumbents. Cruz touted his 2024 Spectrum Pipeline Act during the hearing as the preferred language for an airwaves title in a budget reconciliation package, as expected (see 2502180058). Some witnesses strongly praised Cruz's proposal. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and many panel Democrats criticized it.
Supply chain annual reports from advanced communications providers are due by March 31, the FCC Office of Economics and Analytics said in a public notice Tuesday. The law and FCC rules require providers to report on whether they have rented, purchased, leased or obtained equipment or services from the agency’s list of unsecure companies. The filing results from prior supply chain annual reports were released as a public list last year (see 2411270027). The reporting portal and filing instructions are on the FCC’s website.
T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon make up the largest reach in the wireless market across the country, a report from Ookla found Tuesday. "Of course, much of their strategies have been dictated by their spectrum holdings -- particularly how much mid-band spectrum they were able to acquire," the report said. T-Mobile has the largest percentage of 5G users in urban and rural markets, it said, noting that the company has been the "most vocal" about its rural market expansion efforts. Ookla said more efforts are underway to expand 5G coverage in rural markets through the FCC's 5G Fund for Rural America.