Nationwide commercial mobile radio service providers have until Dec. 12 to comply with the FCC's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call georouting rule, while non-nationwide providers have until Dec. 12, 2026, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. The georouting order was adopted 5-0 at the agency's October meeting (see 2410170026) and goes into effect Dec. 12, the notice said.
Verizon continued its push for FCC handset unlocking rules last week in a series of meetings with commissioner aides. Verizon seeks a locking period of at least 60 days for postpaid phones, 180 days for prepaid, the carrier said in meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks. A filing was posted Thursday in docket 24-186. “Regardless of the locking period the Commission adopts, a uniform unlocking policy that applies to all providers is paramount; the record is replete with evidence that uniformity will benefit both consumers and competition,” it said.
The FCC wants oppositions by Nov. 25 concerning multiple pending petitions for reconsideration of the commission's order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register (see 2411070040). Replies to oppositions to the petitions are due by Dec. 5 in docket 23-62. Stephen Raher, Deaf Equality and TDIAccess, NCIC Communications and HomeWAV filed petitions.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended several comment deadlines concerning pending proceedings on incarcerated people's communications services, said an order Friday in docket 23-62. Public interest groups sought the extension (see 2411040059). Reply comments on the commission's NPRM are now due by Dec. 17. Replies on the commission's annual reports public notice are now due by Dec. 9. Paperwork Reduction Act comments are due by Jan. 7.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other officials condemned Friday an alleged wave of hate texts following the presidential election's conclusion Tuesday night. The NAACP said Thursday it received reports of texts in multiple states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania, from an unknown source, urging that recipients report to a plantation to pick cotton. The "messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday's election results,” NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson said. “These messages are unacceptable,” Rosenworcel said. “That’s why our Enforcement Bureau is already investigating and looking into them alongside federal and state law enforcement.” The FBI said Thursday night it’s “aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.” Cloud-based mobile phone service provider TextNow believes at least some of the messages came through its service in what it called “a widespread, coordinated attack.” As “soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, rapidly disabling the related accounts in less than an hour,” the company said in a statement. President-elect Donald Trump’s team sought to distance itself from the text messages amid criticism from the NAACP and others that his campaign’s rhetoric prompted the onslaught. Trump’s “campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages,” a spokesperson said in a statement. The Biden administration condemned “these hateful messages and anyone targeting Americans based on their ethnicity or background.” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) and New York AG Letitia James (D) both raised alarm bells about the text messages. “These messages are horrific, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated,” Brown said. “If you have been sent one of these texts, I am asking for you to please come forward and report it.” James called the messages “disgusting and unacceptable,” and also encouraged anyone “who has received an anonymous, threatening text message to report it to my office.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other congressional Democrats also condemned the texts. There “are extremists in America who feel empowered” following Trump’s election to a second term to send the “racist, vile and threatening” messages, Jeffries said Friday. “We will not be intimidated by anyone.” House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York urged “a full investigation into the source of these despicable messages and call for the perpetrators of this hateful scheme to be held accountable for their actions.”
The FCC received 2,734 applications from schools, libraries and consortia seeking $3.7 billion from its $200 million cybersecurity pilot program, the FCC said Friday. It is reviewing the applications, but the program may not survive the start of the second Trump administration, industry officials warned.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday night to stand down from working on controversial matters during the transition from President Joe Biden to President-elect Donald Trump, as expected (see 2411060042). Cruz's “pencils down” request to Rosenworcel followed a similar Wednesday call from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the favorite to lead the agency when Trump takes office in January, backed a pencils-down call Thursday (see 2411070046).
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could be a big beneficiary of Donald Trump's election, with some seeing his SpaceX reaping rewards from changes to NTIA's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and the next FCC offering a warmer reception to SpaceX requests. Yet government ethics experts believe Musk and his businesses could face a particularly big challenge if he becomes leader of a government efficiency effort, as Trump promised during the campaign. "He's like a walking potential conflict of interest," said Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Broadcast executives during Q3 earnings calls were hopeful for ownership deregulation and progress on ATSC 3.0 from a Republican-controlled FCC, but FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr -- the perceived front-runner to chair the agency -- said Thursday that scrutinizing broadcasters is among his priorities. “We're very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” said Sinclair Broadcast CEO Chris Ripley during Sinclair’s call Wednesday. “It feels like a cloud over the industry is lifting ... and ... some much-needed modernization of the regulations will be forthcoming.” In a news release Thursday, Carr said when the transition to the next administration is complete “the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth while advancing our national security interests and supporting law enforcement.”
FCC special counsel Tracy Bridgham, retiring from agency, effective Nov. 29, with Enforcement Bureau attorney William Knowles-Kellett appointed to take Bridgham's role heading the FCC Chapter, National Treasury Employees Union and becoming president-elect until special election; Satellite Programs and Policy Division special counsel Julia Malette will replace Knowles-Kellett as executive vice president ...