The Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations is seeking comment on whether jurisdictional separations of telecom costs and revenue for rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers are still needed, said a public notice Friday. The notice also seeks comment on whether the rules should be reformed “when the industry is naturally transitioning away from legacy technologies and cost-based ratemaking” and whether there should be a permanent freeze of the separations rules "while considering the future course” of them. The FCC referred the issue to the Joint Board in a November order extending the current temporary freeze for up to six years (see 2411130043). Comments will be due 30 days after the item is published in the Federal Register.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told us last week that he voted against advancing the Kids Off Social Media Act (S-278) out of the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month (see 2502050052) because he wanted to put a “place marker” down to ensure there’s a broader discussion about the FCC’s E-rate program. S-278 would expand the Children’s Internet Protection Act, an FCC-enforced statute aimed at protecting children’s data in schools and preventing access to harmful online content. “I just wanted to put down my place marker because I am very concerned about E-rate,” Markey said, adding that he has concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to the subsidy program and wants to discuss the “totality” of it.
The U.S. solicitor general’s announcement that DOJ plans to stop defending removal protections for multimember commissions at independent agencies could include the FCC even though the agency wasn’t mentioned in the letter, Free State Foundation President Randolph May wrote in a blog post Friday. In the letter (see 2502130063), acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said DOJ will ask the Supreme Court to overturn the 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v. FTC that protects independent commissioners from presidential removal. May wrote that the FCC’s structure is “very much like” the agencies named in the letter -- the FTC, National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Product Safety Commission. “If the SG's view of the president's removal power regarding the three identified agencies is correct, it may be difficult to distinguish the FCC,” he said. However, unlike those agencies, the FCC’s governing statute -- the Communications Act -- doesn’t contain a “for-cause” limitation on presidential removal of commissioners, May wrote. The SG’s letter relied heavily on SCOTUS' 2019 Seila Law v. CFPB decision, in which the high court ruled that limiting the ability of the president to remove commissioners only for cause was unconstitutional. The Communications Act’s lack of “for-cause” restrictions “could possibly make all the difference” on whether a future SCOTUS ruling on Humphrey’s Executor allows for easier White House removal of commissioners, May said.
Securus and Pay Tel accused the FCC of acting outside the bounds of what was allowed under the Martha Wright-Reed (MWR) Act of 2022 in its July order reducing call rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039). The two providers of incarcerated people’s communication services (IPCS) filed preliminary briefs Thursday, as did state and law enforcement challengers and groups representing prisoners and their families. The case is before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though various parties are still asking that it be moved to the 5th Circuit (see 2501280053).
The FCC said Friday that it no longer contends that Maurine and Matthew Molak of Texas are barred from challenging the FCC’s declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) based on their lack of participation in the FCC proceeding that led to the action. The FCC filed a notice at the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court, which heard oral argument on the case Nov. 4 (see 2411040061).
Ligado's opposition to a DOJ interlocutory appeal of a decision in the satellite operator's lawsuit against the U.S. government (see 2501310004) is fundamentally flawed, DOJ said Wednesday. In a reply filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (docket 1:23-cv-01797), it said Ligado wrongly downplays the interlocutory appeal as merely disagreeing with the court's November decision regarding a DOJ motion to dismiss. Ligado is incorrect when it argues there is no remedy at the FCC to address its claim that its L-band spectrum rights were taken without compensation, DOJ said. It said the agency could always set aside conditions on Ligado's license.
Startup Starfish Space is eyeing a January 2026 launch for its Otter 24A in-space servicing vehicle, it told the FCC Space Bureau in an application filed Wednesday. Starfish said the mission would involve inspecting and docking with an Intelsat satellite in the "graveyard orbit" for retired non-geostationary orbit satellites, as well as providing life-extension services for Intelsat-17.
General radio operators asked the FCC to change its rules to allow internet linking of general mobile radio service repeaters (see 2502120027).
The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition told the FCC that offering flexibility and allowing companies to take individualized approaches are critical to wireless service in the state, the subject of a Further NPRM on the Alaska Connect Fund that FCC commissioners approved in November (see 2411050002). Key factors that distinguish Alaska from the Lower 48 states and affect wireless deployment "include the middle mile economic challenges, logistical challenges not faced anywhere else in the country, and the vast geographies that must be traversed to touch where people live, work and play,” the coalition said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-328.
The FCC said Thursday that Andrew, Federated Wireless, Google and Sony have been approved for additional five-year terms as spectrum access system administrators in the citizens broadband radio service band. Andrew, the newest name, is an entity owned by Amphenol, which recently purchased assets from CommScope, including its CBRS operations (see 2502040037). Federated, Google and Sony were the first to be approved as administrators, and their initial five-year terms expired in January (see 2501100025).