FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Wednesday that, despite concerns, she voted for a notice of inquiry to study revisions in how the FCC examines competition in its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress. Commissioners approved the NOI earlier in the week, and it was taken off the agenda for Thursday’s meeting (see 2508050056). While Gomez’s comments on the NOI were predominantly negative, she said she voted yes to give the public a chance to weigh in.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Public Knowledge urged the FCC to safeguard consumers' privacy as it considers rules for next-generation 911, the group said this week in comments on a Further NPRM that commissioners approved in March. Most comments called for the FCC to move with caution as it considers updated rules (see 2508050042).
The FCC is facing persistent calls from one unsuccessful bidder for Paramount Global to revisit the approval of the company's sale to Skydance Media, but we're told the commission is unlikely to heed them. The agency didn't comment Wednesday.
Former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel joins the MIT Media Lab as executive director, effective mid-September … Space services firm Spire Global names Quintin Jones, formerly Joint Chiefs of Staff, vice president and head of North America … Wireless broadband supplier Inseego names Lawrence Hau, ex-Vantiva, as chief supply chain officer, and Zack Kowalski, formerly Kajeet, as senior vice president of business development, new positions.
Anterix representatives met with FCC Wireless Bureau staff about the agency's 2018 900 MHz freeze and other issues, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-99. The representatives “noted that while the FCC has historically frozen bands during a technology transition to preserve a stable landscape and prevent speculative entrants, they understand certain incumbents could have a legitimate, limited need to expand capacity or coverage,” the filing said. “Anterix encourages such entities to contact it and has been able to assist in meeting requirements in those instances.”
President Patrick Halley and others from the Wireless Infrastructure Association discussed the FCC’s moves to streamline wireless siting in a meeting with Commissioner Olivia Trusty, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-250. WIA “highlighted the many positive effects that the FCC’s wireless infrastructure reforms have had on wireless deployment and the critical importance of maintaining and strengthening the FCC’s wireless siting rules.”
CTIA called on the FCC to update its rules to spur the deployment of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). “Decades-old restrictions on airborne spectrum use in certain bands, which were put in place when only traditional aircraft existed, limit the ability to use modern communications networks to support UAS operations,” CTIA said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-133. Current spectrum regulations “prohibit airborne operations in some bands due to restrictions in either the federal rules themselves or the Table of Frequency Allocations.” But these restrictions didn’t “contemplate the interference-mitigation capabilities of modern wireless network design, nor development of low-altitude air vehicles like drones. Such airborne use restrictions on flexible-use commercial wireless spectrum are outdated, burdensome, and impede innovation, making them ripe for Commission review.”
Representatives of the National Sheriffs’ Association met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty about the group’s concerns over last year’s rules on incarcerated people’s communications services (see 2501280053). The group “summarized the major arguments in its past filings, with particular emphasis on the role of safety and security measures in enabling access to IPCS,” said a filing this week in docket 23-62. It also “discussed the role tablets play in the carceral setting.”
Missouri-based Bluebird Fiber said Tuesday that it hopes to close on its purchase of Everstream's assets by the end of the year. The purchase received U.S Bankruptcy Court approval last week, but Bluebird said the closing still requires regulatory approvals. Bluebird CEO Jason Adkins said Everstream's fiber network and staff "will mesh perfectly with our fiber network and team." The newly combined company "will form one of the largest fiber enterprise businesses in the Midwest." The sale doesn't include Everstream's Pennsylvania assets, which are being wound down. Ohio-based Everstream has told the FCC it doesn't want its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to interrupt service operations or affect rates or terms of service for existing customers (see 2505300037).