Along with its pending request for a planned 258-satellite radionavigation satellite service (see 2307120002), Xona Space Systems is requesting that the FCC approve launch and operation of one of those satellites. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Monday, Xona said the satellite would be the first of the 258 providing commercial RNSS capabilities. It is intended to validate the company's first production-class satellite and evaluate its Pulsar radionavigaiton service's performance.
Paramount Global’s self-preferencing behavior on the Pluto TV streaming platform shows how the proposed Skydance Media/Paramount deal would hurt independent programmers, Fuse Media told the FCC in comments posted Monday in docket 24-275. Fuse said its Shades of Black streaming channel launch saw viewership on Pluto start dropping notably, beginning in late 2022, suggesting Pluto was trying to undermine the channel while promoting proprietary programming aimed at the same African American audience through Pluto's Black Cinema and Black Visionaries channels. Fuse said Skydance CEO David Ellison's plan to use Oracle AI capabilities -- his father, Larry Ellison, is a co-founder of Oracle -- would allow Paramount to further control content acquisition and distribution via Pluto. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the agency's incoming chair, has said a political news distortion complaint against Paramount's CBS could affect the Skydance/Paramount agreement (see 2411190051).
President-elect Donald Trump and ABC agreed to a $15 million settlement in Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network over comments anchor George Stephanopoulos made during a March 10 broadcast about a jury verdict on sexual assault allegations that journalist E. Jean Carroll brought against Trump. The U.S. District Court for Southern Florida issued an order closing the defamation case Monday. ABC will pay $15 million as a contribution to the foundation responsible for constructing Trump’s presidential library, the settlement agreement said. The network must also attach a note to an article on ABC's site stating that ABC News and Stephanopoulos regret the anchor's statements. Under the settlement, the network also agreed to pay $1 million for Trump’s legal costs. The defamation complaint was based on a Stephanopoulos interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on his Sunday ABC television show. Stephanopoulos repeatedly said during the interview that multiple juries found Trump liable for raping Carroll. In 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll but not for raping her. Generally, it is considered difficult for public officials to win defamation cases, because under U.S. Supreme Court precedent it requires proof that the journalist's statement was made with malice. As such, the bar for bringing such a case is “high” but not “insurmountable,” said Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford in a blog post about a defamation case against Fox. Some see ABC’s settlement as connected to Trump’s impending presidency and his history of threats against the network. Trump has repeatedly threatened the network’s “license” (see 2409230022) and a conservative group has filed an FCC complaint against the network over its hosting of a 2024 presidential debate. ABC’s decision to settle the case instead of fighting it could “increase the possibility of additional lawsuits -- or threats of lawsuits -- from government officials who probably couldn’t actually win a defamation lawsuit because of the strong First Amendment protections that exist when speaking about those public officials or public figures generally,” said Freedom Forum First Amendment specialist Kevin Goldberg in an interview Monday. ABC didn’t comment.
The FCC’s Consolidated Data Base System’s public access search function will be discontinued Jan. 2, the Media Bureau said in a public notice in Monday’s Daily Digest. “The vast majority of all CDBS filed applications and associated attachments have been transferred to LMS [Licensing and Management System], and may be viewed using the LMS search function,” the PN said. “Persons seeking information regarding broadcast applications filed in either LMS or in CDBS should search LMS.”
The FCC broadband data task force’s sixth data collection filing window for facilities-based providers will open Jan. 2, said a public notice in docket 11-10 Monday. Providers will have until March 3 to submit their availability data as of Dec 31. “Providers who are already licensees of the Fabric and all other Fabric licensees (including state, local, and Tribal government and other third-party entities) will receive an email from CostQuest, the FCC’s Fabric contractor, providing them with links to access to the December 2024 Fabric data,” the PN said. Changes from previous versions of the broadband serviceable location fabric include “additional Broadband Serviceable Locations and corrections to addresses, unit counts, building types, land use, and geographic coordinates,” the PN said. “We encourage filers to submit their availability data as of December 31, 2024, as early as possible in the filing window,” the PN said. “Failure to timely file required data in the new BDC system may lead to enforcement action and/or penalties.”
The House approved the Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act (HR-1377), an amended version of the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act (HR-3293) and Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (HR-3343) Monday on voice votes. The Senate, meanwhile, was set to vote Monday night to invoke cloture on the House-passed FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) with language that would authorize the AWS-3 reauction to offset $3.08 billion in funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412110067). HR-1377 lead sponsor Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said on the floor that the measure “strengthens American leadership in 5G and future wireless communications” by directing NTIA to encourage U.S. companies and others to participate in international standards-setting bodies (see 2303240065). “China and other adversaries are investing heavily in 5G deployment and are actively working to shape these standard-setting processes to serve their interests,” he said: “If they succeed in skewing future standards toward their own priorities, the U.S. risks being placed at a significant economic and strategic disadvantage.” HR-3293 lead sponsor Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., said his legislation “takes a crucial step towards bridging this divide and streamlining the process for deploying broadband infrastructure” by directing NTIA to lead an interagency strike force to help prioritize reviews for communications use authorization requests to deploy on federal land (see 2305240069). “Faster broadband deployment will create jobs, stimulate economic development and improve quality of life for all Americans,” he said: “Students will have access to online reading resources, telehealth services will become more accessible and rural communities will be better connected to the global economy.” HR-3343 lead sponsor Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, said the bill “will help close the digital divide for rural Americans” requiring NTIA to submit a plan to Congress for tracking the acceptance and processing of communications use authorizations on federal property. “By enhancing government accountability and accelerating broadband deployment, we're not just improving a process,” he said: “We're investing in our future as a nation. This will help ensure investments in broadband expansion reach Americans more quickly and effectively.”
The FCC should examine the validity of Ligado's claim that it has satisfied a requirement in the agency's 2020 Ligado order for availability of compliant mobile satellite service/ancillary terrestrial component (MSS/ATC) devices, aviation, satellite communications and weather information, users say. In a docket 11-109 filing posted Monday, they say they can't find certified dual-mode equipment for purchase or lease in the FCC's equipment authorizations or via internet searches. Parties signing the filing include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, American Meteorological Society, Boat Owners Association of the United States, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Iridium, Lockheed Martin and National Weather Association. Ligado told the FCC in October that a dual-mode MSS/ATC-capable L-band router that supports satellite and terrestrial connectivity, using Ligado’s MSS/ATC L-band spectrum, was commercially available.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s Nov. 13 letters to tech companies (see 2411150032) about their relationship with news website rating service NewsGuard are inaccurate and repeat false information, NewsGuard co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz said in a letter Friday to Carr, the agency's incoming chair. “We wish you had reached out to us before sending your letter because it relies on false reporting about us,” the co-CEOs wrote. Carr also relied on reporting from Newsmax, which has “misled” the commissioner in order to undermine the service’s credibility because it rates Newsmax poorly, NewsGuard's letter said. “An analogy would be a maker of unsafe cars objecting to its rating by Consumer Reports by making false claims about the magazine’s testing process,” NewsGuard said.
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday denied to review a petition from telecom groups challenging a New York law requiring that ISPs offer a certain plan for eligible low-income households (see 2404260051). The Affordable Broadband Act requires $15 monthly plans providing 25/3 Mbps speeds. Some saw the decision to uphold the 2nd Circuit's ruling in favor of the law as unsurprising given the legal battle over the FCC's reclassification of broadband as a Title II telecom service (see 2410010024).
Gogo Business Aviation asked the FCC to extend to July 21 its deadline for meeting requirements of the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. Under the program, which Congress hasn't fully funded, providers must remove, replace and dispose of Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. Gogo has already received one extension, through Jan. 21 (see 2403290040). Its replacement process is “predicated on a multi-year timeline due to the unique nature of its aviation operations, the need for custom radio equipment rather than off-the-shelf solutions for both its ground infrastructure and airborne components, Gogo’s limited spectrum holdings, and the operational challenges in removing and replacing equipment on thousands of aircraft nationwide,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. Gogo uses equipment from Chinese supplier ZTE.