FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr “has gone full-on Fox News fire-breather in a despicable-if-calculated attempt to get a promotion,” wrote Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron in an op-ed for nonprofit news outlet Common Dreams Thursday. Carr’s “actions and associations should disqualify him from ever serving as FCC chairman, no matter who the president is in 2025,” Aaron added. Carr is widely seen as the likely chair if Republicans win the White House in the election. Carr’s office didn't respond to a request for comment. In the column, Aaron says Carr’s authorship of a chapter in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 book "Mandate for Leadership" is unethical. He notes Carr is the only in-office federal official to do so. By working with Project 2025, Carr has associated himself with “an array of anti-abortion zealots, anti-vaxxers, Big Liars, book banners, climate deniers, conspiracy theorists, immigrant bashers and other assorted haters,” Aaron said. The Heritage Foundation didn’t comment. The post also describes Carr as “fawning over” Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump and “buttering up” Space X CEO Elon Musk. Carr is “too busy licking Musk’s cybertruck shoes to worry about his hypocrisy,” Aaron wrote. The column, Digital First Project Executive Director Nathan Leamer said, is “par for the course with that organization," which "routinely pushes myths and hyperbole to their far left activist audience.” Leamer, like Carr, served as an aide to former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Aaron’s post has the “same energy” as a 2021 Free Press petition submitted to the FCC (see 2109150060) that included comments about shooting Republicans, Leamer said. “Carr’s record," Aaron wrote, "is beginning to get some attention from members of Congress — but more need to speak out about his dalliances with the far right and his trouble telling the truth.”
Privacy and mental health advocates are largely supportive of the privacy protections in the 988 call georouting draft order, which is on the FCC's October meeting agenda (see 2409260047). An FCC official told us 5-0 approval is likely.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated on Friday for a commissioner vote rules that would expand parts of the 6 GHz band where new very-low power (VLP) devices can operate without coordination, beyond the initial 850 MHz commissioners approved last year (see 2310190054). When the FCC took comment earlier this year, Wi-Fi advocates and 6 GHz incumbents disagreed sharply on whether to expand VLP use of the band (see 2404290035).
Congressional Democratic leaders remain intent on attaching funding to restore the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program to a year-end legislative package (see 2409170066). Some lawmakers acknowledge the push faces long odds in what’s likely to be a fraught lame-duck session. Some ACP boosters believe Capitol Hill’s lame-duck dynamics could change depending on the outcome of the Nov. 5 election. GOP lawmakers aren’t enthusiastic about attaching ACP money to a legislative vehicle this year, in part citing their longstanding demand for a major overhaul of the program in conjunction with additional funding.
FCC veteran Ira Keltz named agency’s acting chief engineer ... Verizon appoints Santiago Tenorio, ex-Vodafone, chief technology officer and senior vice president-strategy and technology enablement, starting Oct. 28 … FCC Enforcement Bureau names Andy Hendrickson, ex-Verizon, CTO.
AST SpaceMobile Chairman/CEO Abel Avellan met with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to discuss the company's near-term plans for testing direct-to-device commercial satellites, potential timing of full commercial deployment of D2D service and regulatory approvals needed, said a posting Thursday in docket 20-32.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Miami office sent a warning to two North Miami, Florida, landowners over pirate radio broadcasts from their property, said an agency notice of violation issued to Toussaint Orius and Marie Orius in Thursday’s Daily Digest. EB agents found unauthorized radio broadcasts coming from the Orius’ property in March. The notice said the landowners could face a fine of up to nearly $2.4 million for hosting an unauthorized radio broadcast.
SpaceX and European mobile network operators are at odds over the out-of-band emissions waiver SpaceX is seeking for its supplemental coverage from space service (see 2408130008). In a letter to the FCC Space Bureau this week, Vodafone, Orange, Liberty Global, Telefonica, PPF, Telenor and United Group said they were "gravely concerned" about proposed lower safeguards protecting terrestrial MNOs from interference. They said the current aggregate out-of-band emission limit "represents the bare minimum level of protection that mobile network operators require from spurious emissions" in low- and mid-band spectrum. That current limit, they added, "should be regarded as a 'best case,'" as terrestrial MNOs could experience amplified interference when multiple competing direct-to-device satellite systems operate, or an individual D2D operator expands the number of satellites in orbit, prompting more coincident interference. In docket 23-135, SpaceX said the MNOs, all investors in rival D2D operator AST SpaceMobile, are on a "scorched-Earth campaign to hamstring" competition. They "provide zero technical support for their opposition" and don't address SpaceX and T-Mobile technical assessments showing adjacent-band terrestrial networks would be protected, SpaceX said. Nor do they provide any technical support for their "specious" best-case claims, it added. If the best-case claims are correct, SpaceX said, AST operations would cause far more interference to users than the protection level being demanded of SpaceX.
Government officials should disclose their schedules except in limited circumstances when doing so might compromise their safety, former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Thursday, responding to criticism of FTC Chair Lina Khan. “Why aren't public officials' schedules made publicly available?” he said. “I asked and advocated long ago that they be, especially travel. Except in limited instances of security, make officials post them to the Internet!” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar on Wednesday defended Khan’s upcoming appearances with Democratic lawmakers. She regularly attends “official events at the request of Members of Congress” and abides by the rules governing her role as chair, he said. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., on Wednesday claimed Khan is improperly campaigning on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris (see 2410020046). Farrar noted Khan in 2024 attended “at least a dozen official events where Members of Congress invited her to listen to their constituents, because every community has a stake in fair competition.” Khan “speaks often about the importance of hearing from Americans across the country, because that’s how to best understand the way markets actually work,” he said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Thursday tentatively approved Virginia-based SDF's application to serve as a contraband interdiction system (CIS) operator, helping address contraband phones in correctional facilities. Approval lets SDF “market and sell its CIS as described in its application, and begin phase two testing,” the bureau said. The FCC required two phases of testing in a 2021 order (see 2107130029).