Ron Repasi, chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, is leaving the agency. An email sent to industry on Monday announced a retirement party in the commission meeting room Sept. 26. Repasi took over from longtime OET Chief Julius Knapp, initially in an acting capacity, in late 2019. Knapp had led the OET since 2004. Repasi has been in the middle of most spectrum policy issues at the FCC, from 6 GHz rules to the future of the citizens broadband radio service, lower 12 GHz and other bands, industry officials said. Repasi became chief FCC engineer on a permanent basis 18 months ago. “Please join us for a retirement celebration honoring … Repasi on his many accomplishments during his 32 years of Government service,” said the email on his retirement.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday invalidated the FCC’s definition of “qualifying concealment element” in its wireless siting declaratory ruling approved in June 2020 under former Chairman Ajit Pai (see 2006090060). A three-judge panel upheld other parts of the 2020 ruling, but a lawyer who argued the case declared victory and called on the FCC to immediately make changes based on the 9th Circuit's instructions.
The DirecTV-Disney blackout (see 2409090003) illustrates the unsustainable two-tiered system of linear video regulation, with rules for some but not all operators, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said Thursday. "We must balance the scales," he said, urging that the FCC in the future "either unleash the video marketplace from outdated rules or balance it with smart and targeted reforms." He added, "What cannot persist is a system that entrenches marketplace power at the expense of the consumer."
T-Mobile asked the FCC for permission to use information from the E.U.’s Galileo system “in conjunction” with U.S. GPS to provide 911 location information. The company satisfied FCC conditions for commercial mobile radio service providers “to receive authorization to use information derived from Galileo signals to improve its 911 location services,” according to a filing posted Thursday in docket 07-114. “More importantly, grant of the requested authorization would serve the public interest by increasing the availability, accuracy, and reliability of T-Mobile’s 911 location services, which will better help emergency responders quickly find and assist 911 callers, potentially saving callers’ lives,” T-Mobile said. The commission has recognized that “supplementing GPS with Galileo … signals can increase the availability, accuracy, and reliability of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing services,” the carrier added.
The BWI Business Partnership urged the FCC not to grant the FirstNet Authority effective control of the 4.9 GHz band. “The FCC’s current 4.9 GHz regulations allow effective communication by public-safety agencies and their partners in Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and throughout Maryland,” the partnership said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 07-100.
T-Mobile US and Lycamobile USA told the FCC they settled a lawsuit in a state court in King County, Washington. T-Mobile sued Lycamobile, saying it accidentally undercharged the company for more than a year for access to its network. The lawsuit was referenced in objections Lycamobile made to T-Mobile’s buy of Mint Mobile, a low-cost prepaid wireless brand, and other assets from Ka’ena (see 2405200031). The filing was posted on Thursday in docket 23-171.
AI is “part of everything” and will only grow in importance, but the U.S. is falling behind other countries in developing AI policy, Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said Thursday during the Augmented and Virtual Reality Conference. “Innovation and technology are moving forward and policy is falling further and further behind,” DelBene said. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Extended Reality Association (XR) sponsored the conference at the AT&T Forum.
The FCC defended its decision to reclassify broadband as a Title II telecom service under the Communications Act in a reply brief to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday (docket 24-7000). It argued the court's decision staying the order pending review was done "without showing adequate statutory support." Moreover, the motions panel lacked "the benefit of the full briefing presented here" (see 2408130001).
Attorneys, academics and First Amendment experts told us that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s calls for ABC to lose its license over Tuesday's presidential debate telecast (see 2409110058) are nonsensical and that government action against a broadcaster would likely ultimately fail. In addition, some said presidential calls for action against broadcasters over their reporting aren’t unprecedented. “All political players tend to do this when it suits them,” said veteran First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere, now chief counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “None of them have the constitutional authority to back it up.”
The FCC reminded ISPs Tuesday that all providers must comply with the commission's consumer broadband labels by Oct. 10. The commission gave smaller providers until then to come into compliance. Most providers were required to comply by April 10 (see 2310100058).