Two groups are challenging the FCC’s October order giving the FirstNet Authority, and indirectly AT&T, use of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2410220027). The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) is challenging the order, while the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) is protesting aspects of it. Both recently filed petitions for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Wednesday he has “no plans to resign,” an apparent response to talk that he was eyeing a Jan. 20 departure, in tandem with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, when Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr takes the gavel (see 2411210028). Several Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us earlier Wednesday they were concerned that he would leave early and they were considering joining Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in pushing Starks to stay into the early months of President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Punchbowl News first reported Tuesday night that Schumer is urging Starks to stay. Meanwhile, Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington also is facing pressure to delay an early potential exit, but his departure doesn’t appear as imminent.
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Tuesday on a Summit Ridge request to shutter operations of the 3.45 GHz relocation reimbursement clearinghouse by March 1 (see 2410240020). “We seek comment on this request and on any other issues relevant to the Clearinghouse wind down process,” the bureau said. Comments are due Dec. 18 in docket 19-348.
NextNav is hopeful the incoming FCC will move forward on an NPRM that proposes reconfiguring the lower 900 MHz band to enable terrestrial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services as well as 15 MHz of spectrum for 5G (see 2404160043), emailed CEO Mariam Sorond. Some observers expect Commissioner Brendan Carr, already picked as the next agency chair under President-elect Donald Trump, will move quickly on spectrum issues that the current FCC left unresolved (see 2412020043). “Our national security, economic strength, and public safety depend on having a reliable terrestrial backup to the essential GPS technology we use every day,” Sorond said: “To ensure dependable PNT services in case of GPS disruptions,” the U.S. “must enable terrestrial PNT as part of a comprehensive system of systems that backs up and complements GPS.”
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau on Tuesday sought comment on changes to the telecommunications relay services that accessibility advocacy groups proposed in an August white paper. Comments are due Jan. 17, replies Feb. 18, in docket 03-123. The paper cites the “compelling need for Federal and state policymakers to proactively adapt TRS obligations and programs to reflect the evolution of the country’s analog telecommunications networks to IP-based networks.” TDIAccess, the National Association for State Relay Administration, Gallaudet University and Telecommunications Access of Maryland submitted the paper. According to the paper, “the transition to IP-based networks has caused substantial changes to the use of and demand for analog TRS, rendering some analog TRS obsolete for many uses, while such services continue to be the solutions of choice for parts of the affected community,” the bureau said: The groups assert that “alternative services need to be made available because ‘the transition from traditional analog communication systems to more advanced digital and IP-based networks is accelerating.’”
Much of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's agenda as the agency's incoming chair doesn't require an FCC majority to move forward, New Street Research's Blair Levin noted Monday. Part of that is because Carr can get Congress to act, and some is due to the delegated authority FCC bureaus have, Levin said. Carr's efforts to investigate tech companies and amplify the voice of conservatives on social media platforms don't require a formal FCC proceeding, he said. For example, Carr can tie up Skydance's proposed Paramount purchase, which would signal other networks that unfavorable news coverage could affect M&A approvals. In addition, Carr could have the FCC general counsel issue a policy statement about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that eliminates the expansive immunities courts have read into the statute, Levin said. And Carr doesn't need a majority to stop work on items with which he disagrees, such as bulk billing rules, Levin said. Outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel "never effectively used her bully pulpit [and thus] had the least consequential term as Chair in modern FCC history," he argued. She failed on such issues as losing spectrum auction authority and not getting an extension of the affordable connectivity program, Levin said. Mentioning Levin's note during a Practising Law Institute event Tuesday, Carr said Levin would need “a food taster” at that night's FCBA annual dinner. Levin's note is a reminder that “it's all downhill from here" for his upcoming stint as chairman, Carr said. “They like you on the way in, they definitely do not on the way out, and I don't expect that pattern to be broken any time soon,” he said. Rosenworcel Chief of Staff Narda Jones said during a different PLI panel that she hadn't read Levin's essay but that her boss was proud of the FCC’s work “to reach communities and stakeholders who haven't necessarily been the focus of the commission's work before.” She pointed to the ACP, formation of the Space Bureau, maternal health mapping, and the Missing and Endangered Persons alarm code as important achievements of the Rosenworcel FCC.
Public interest and consumer groups replying to an FCC notice of inquiry (see 2411150025) encouraged the agency to launch a more targeted inquiry on data caps and said ISPs haven’t built a case for caps to continue. Industry groups opposed FCC intervention. Reply comments were due Monday in docket 23-199.
NTIA on Tuesday released the first of the band-specific reports called for in the national spectrum strategy (see 2403120056) on the 37 GHz band. Due last month, the report was developed with DOD and recommends a federal and nonfederal co-primary sharing framework for the lower 37 GHz band.
Communications industry executives and former federal officials said during a Practising Law Institute event Tuesday they see a likely GOP-led budget reconciliation package next year as a potential vehicle for legislation that would reinstate the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. House Commerce Committee leaders and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have repeatedly attempted to reinstate the authority during this Congress only to have their efforts stall (see 2409170066).
FCC Commissioner and incoming Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday discussed empowering local broadcasters, moving "aggressively” on USF revisions and opening up the space economy and jumpstarting spectrum policy. Speaking at the Practising Law Institute's 42nd Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation, Carr said he's “really looking forward” to taking the commission's top seat.