The FCC's November order adopting long-awaited final rules for cellular-vehicle-to-everything technology in the 5.9 GHz band takes effect Feb. 11, said a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. The FCC changed the band's rules in October 2020, reallocating the 5.9 GHz band to sharing between Wi-Fi and C-V2X, with no set-aside for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), the historical allocation for the spectrum (see 2411210054). The order was adopted 5-0. “Existing licenses for DSRC systems may be renewed as necessary following this effective date but only for a period not to exceed” Dec. 14, 2026, the notice said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved on Thursday a request from GeoLinks that it surrender some local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) licenses in return for others from the commission’s inventory. GeoLinks proposes using federal funding to serve some 47,000 locations across Arizona, California and Nevada that now lack high-speed broadband access. The bureau sought comment on the request in May (see 2405170028). “The proposed modifications will enable GeoLinks to rationalize its LMDS spectrum holdings by providing access to more contiguous spectrum, which will allow GeoLinks to improve its network performance and lower its equipment and deployment costs,” the bureau said: “This will benefit rural consumers who would be able to access robust and affordable broadband service more quickly.” The modifications could also “increase the utility of the LMDS band overall, by returning spectrum to the Commission for future reassignment that could create synergies with existing LMDS licenses” in the FCC inventory, the order said.
An order FCC commissioners approved unanimously this month, aligning rules for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference held in 2019, is effective Jan. 13, said a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. Commissioners decided against adopting stricter limits for unwanted out-of-band emissions than were approved at the WRC, which had been a concern of Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington (see 2412020061).
With USF in the crosshairs at the FCC (see 2412030044), the FCC Office of Managing Director Thursday proposed a contribution factor of 36.3% for Q1 2025. That’s up from 35.8% during Q4 2024 but below a November projection of 38.8% by analyst Billy Jack Gregg (see 2411040026). The total contribution requirement for Q1 is $2.2 billion, of which just more than $1 billion is tied to high-cost program support. Next is the schools and libraries program ($657 million), Lifeline ($288 million) and the rural healthcare program ($129.5 million).
CTIA announced Thursday that President-CEO Meredith Baker will step down next year, with the expiration of her contract. Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a partner at private-equity firm Searchlight Capital, is among the early rumored candidates to succeed her. Speculation has also surrounded Brad Gillen, a CTIA executive vice president who joined the group 10 years ago and also worked for Baker when she was an FCC commissioner. Pai declined comment Thursday.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision doing away with Chevron deference won’t grind the next FCC to a halt but could prompt congressional action on the USF, former FCC officials said during panel discussions Thursday at Broadband Breakfast’s "Broadband in the Trump Administration" event.
NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said during a Thursday Broadband Breakfast event he intends to resign Jan. 20, declaring the day President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to office as the end of his leadership of the agency. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans on leaving the same day (see 2411210028). Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and some other event participants predicted potential changes in NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program once Republicans have unified control of government upon Trump’s inauguration, but suggested it’s less clear how spectrum policymaking may change next year.
Judges appeared to differ Thursday as the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court heard an ISP petition to overturn the FCC’s controversial data breach notification rules, which commissioners approved 3-2 a year ago (see 2312220054). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented (see 2312130019). In 2017, a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval rescinded similar regulations that were part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 2312200001).
FCC announces retirements of Jeffrey Steinberg, assistant general counsel; Huong Chau, Media Bureau-Audio Division engineer; Linda Sanderson Office of Economics and Analytics’ Auctions Division associate chief; and Martha Stancill, Auctions Division deputy; Daniel Shiman, OEA economist; Ying Ke, OEA geospatial data specialist; and Rachel Kazan, OEA chief of staff; new to agency is Jane Coffin, ex-Internet Society, chief-Global Strategy and Negotiations Division, Office of International Affairs.
The U.S.' decades old non-geostationary/geostationary orbit satellite spectrum-sharing framework "drastically" limits the level of satellite broadband service, SpaceX told FCC officials as the company urged action on its petition to initiate a rulemaking updating that framework (see 2408120018). In a filing posted Wednesday recapping company meetings with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office and with Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs staff, SpaceX said the agency shouldn't wait for the "unnecessarily slow" ITU to update its NGSO-GSO sharing rules. ITU's 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference called for studying potentially higher NGSO-GSO equivalent power flux density limits ahead of WRC-27.