The Rural Wireless Association expressed disappointment after the FCC released an order Thursday launching a multi-round reverse auction that will pay up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the U.S. otherwise unlikely to see 5G deployments (see 2408290022). The Competitive Carriers Association also expressed concerns.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau has renewed arguments that broadcast attorney Dan Alpert has conflicts of interest and can’t represent multiple parties in the hearing proceeding on the TV and radio licenses of Antonio Guel and the Hispanic Christian Community Network, according to a transcript released Wednesday of an Aug.14 status hearing (see 2407290030). “I cannot figure out how he could both defend Mr. Guel at a deposition, and represent witnesses at the deposition,” said EB Special Counsel Michael Engel. “That's unheard of.” Alpert said that he has represented HCCN and other companies affiliated with Guel for many years, and the staff of those companies consider him their lawyer, including many of the witnesses in the case, which include Guel’s daughter Maria Guel and niece Jennifer Juarez. Alpert said all those involved have consented to him representing them. The hearing proceeding is based in part on allegations that Guel pretended to sell his stations to Juarez while actually retaining control of them. At the hearing, Engel said that in an interview with the EB, Juarez told them she had never spoken with Alpert, though he represented her before the FCC for ten years. “How was he able to discern her desires if he had never spoken to her? That's an extremely curious representation to make to Your Honor,” Engel said. “Very troubling.” Alpert said that he and Juarez communicated in writing and that Engel’s questions showed that he knew little about how LPTV stations function. Generally, they require very infrequent interactions with their attorneys, even across a decade, Alpert said. “All it requires is basically 'Hey, your annual regulatory fees are due.' Email once a year, every other year, an ownership report is due,” Alpert said. “I mean for him to be incredulous about that sort of thing, is he foolish or stupid, is what I'm asking at this point here,” Alpert said. FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin said she would weigh whether to require the witnesses to get new counsel and that such a requirement could severely delay the resolution of the case.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group launched an online letter-writing campaign urging that the FCC require environmental reviews for proposed satellites and constellations. Pointing to greater amounts of debris expected in the atmosphere from planned mega constellations, PIRG said the FCC should temporarily halt additional satellite low earth orbit launches until after it conducts environmental reviews for mega constellations and ends its categorical exclusion for satellites. Under the National Environmental Policy Act's categorical exclusion, an environmental assessment is needed only if the FCC determines the license could have a significant environmental impact. "The new space race doesn’t need to create massive space waste," PIRG said.
The FCC is seeking nominations by Oct. 28 in docket 96-45 for eight board member positions on the Universal Service Administrative Co.'s board of directors. The Wireline Bureau, in a public notice Monday, sought nominations for a representative for interexchange carriers with annual operating revenue of more than $3 billion, rural health care providers eligible for USF support, state telecom regulators, incumbent local exchange carriers with more than $40 million in annual revenue, information service providers, interexchange carriers with annual operating revenue of $3 billion or less, and two representatives for schools eligible for USF support.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel signed an enforcement and data-sharing agreement with Canada’s privacy regulator, the agency announced Wednesday. The memorandum of understanding between Rosenworcel and Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne establishes a framework for sharing enforcement-related information in both countries, the FCC said: “In today’s digital age, telecommunications carriers have access to vast amounts of personal information, which is stored and transmitted across complex networks that extend beyond traditional borders. Cross-border enforcement cooperation helps to protect consumer privacy, data, and cybersecurity.” Rosenworcel said data privacy protection and cybersecurity are a “top priority” for the commission.
During a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, representatives of the 5G Automotive Association urged “expeditious adoption” of a long-anticipated order finalizing rules for cellular vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band. Rosenworcel circulated the order for a vote in July (see 2407170042). Based on Rosenworcel’s statement at the time, “the order appears to be generally consistent with 5GAA’s most recent advocacy concerning the rules” for C-V2X, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-138.
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, joined by public interest groups, and T-Mobile opposed a petition at the FCC seeking reconsideration of last month’s 3-2 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024). They were the only filers in docket 21-31 as of Wednesday. Tuesday was the deadline for oppositions. Maurine and Matthew Molak, who sued the agency over its decision that authorized funding Wi-Fi on school buses, are seeking reconsideration (see 2408020035). The FCC should dismiss the Molak petition “as it relies on arguments that have been fully considered and rejected by the Commission within the same proceeding,” said SHLB. The Open Technology Institute at New America and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined SHLB. “Petitioners fail to identify any material error, omission, or reason warranting reconsideration of their arguments alleging the Commission’s lack of statutory authority,” the groups said. The petition “merely asserts its claims and does not raise any additional argument purporting that the Commission had either erred in its reasoning that the above-mentioned statutory provisions grant[ ] it legal authority, or that the Commission omitted or failed to consider certain facts or reasoning when making its determination.” Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, “a majority of students required the Internet to complete their homework every single day,” T-Mobile said. “Progress made in addressing the Homework Gap during the pandemic by local school districts that provided students with Wi-Fi hotspots is now in jeopardy, and so the Wi-Fi lending program contained in the Order is crucial to sustaining pandemic-era connectivity gains and connecting students.” The FCC order contains appropriate safeguards, T-Mobile said: “It requires applicants to maintain acceptable use policies that clearly state that off-premises use must be primarily for an educational purpose.” The Molaks, whose 16-year-old son died by suicide after he was cyberbullied, argued that the school bus ruling would give children and teenagers unsupervised social media access.
OMB approved for three years a revised information collection associated with the FCC's rules for the Lifeline program. The approval was announced in a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The revisions reflect an order adopted in November providing survivors of domestic violence access to safe and affordable communications services under the Safe Connections Act (see 2311150042).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Faced with increasingly reduced cable franchise fees, local franchise authorities (LFA) must focus on getting broadband providers to enter franchise agreements with them for use of local rights of way (ROW), speakers said Wednesday during NATOA's annual local government conference. But the broadband franchising path must go through statehouses and the FCC, with changes to LFAs' authority needed at the federal and state levels, they noted. In addition, speakers mentioned LFAs' consumer protection role as they addressed the audience of mostly local government officials.