The Wireless ISP Association questioned whether the FCC has legal authority to adopt a draft order and Further NPRM that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. The issue is set for a July 18 vote (see 2406270068). WISPA said in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (see 2406280043), “the Commission’s authority to adopt the rules proposed in the Draft Order may not withstand judicial scrutiny.” Loper overturned the Chevron doctrine, which gave agencies like the FCC deference in interpreting laws that Congress approved. WISPA said if the FCC moves forward anyway, it should expand the rules to also support fixed wireless connections and citizens broadband radio service deployments. A WISPA representative spoke with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, a filing Wednesday in docket 21-31 said.
Republican ex-FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly marked the death of former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., noting he respected the lawmaker's opposition to the commission approving Ligado’s L-band plan even though it prompted Inhofe placing a July 2020 hold on O'Rielly's reconfirmation (see 2007280039). Then-President Donald Trump withdrew O’Rielly’s renomination less than a week later for unrelated reasons (see 2008040061). “People suspect I was angered by his hold on my nomination years ago,” O’Rielly said. “To the contrary, I respected his engagement and views on a tough issue.” Inhofe, 89, died Tuesday.
The U.S. Supreme Court is "clear[ly] ... exasperated with the FCC's flip-flopping between Title I and Title II" classification of the internet, International Center for Law & Economics scholars blogged Wednesday. ICLE's Eric Fruits and Ben Sperry pointed to Justice Neil Gorsuch's concurrence in the Loper Bright decision. Gorsuch cited the FCC's changing Title II policies despite no changes in statutes governing those regulations as a weakness of Chevron deference. The current legal appeal of the agency's most-recent reclassification (see 2406030053) could be tied up in courts for years, Fruits and Sperry added. It's unclear if the FCC's most recent flip "was the last or if there will be one more."
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FTC should rely more heavily on statutory text when writing rules, given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of Chevron, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak told us Wednesday (see 2407090044 and 2406280043). Chevron could significantly affect the FTC, given its aggressive rulemaking approach under Chair Lina Khan, legal experts told us in interviews.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 31-25 Wednesday to advance its Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee FY 2025 funding bill without advance FY 2027 money for CPB after Democrats didn’t attempt to restore the allocation. The House Rules Committee, meanwhile, will consider filed amendments to Appropriations’ FY25 Financial Services Subcommittee bill (HR-8773) that aim to undo a ban on the FCC implementing an equity action plan and increase the FTC’s annual funding. The measure proposes boosting the FCC’s annual allocation to $416 million but includes riders barring the commission from implementing GOP-opposed net neutrality and digital discrimination orders (see 2406050067).
Open network architecture is a flourishing trend beyond 5G and open radio access networks, speakers said Wednesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. The wholesale model has worked for the middle mile and in wireless, Incompas President Angie Kronenberg said: “It’s exciting to see the discussion now happening about last-mile connectivity and fiber.”
Regulators should establish an AI safety model with a supervised process for developing standards and a market that rewards companies exceeding those standards, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday in a Brookings Institution column. This supervised process should convene “affected companies and civil society to develop standards,” he wrote in a column with telecom and tech policy analyst Blair Levin. “Just as the standard for mobile phones has been agile enough to evolve from 1G through 5G as technology has evolved, so can a standard for AI behavior evolve as the technology evolves,” they wrote. Wheeler and Levin recommended ongoing oversight, which would require transparency and collaboration between public and private partners.
NextNav said Monday it won a $1.9 million award from the Department of Transportation to conduct real-world field tests of its 3D positioning, navigation and timing technologies. In April, NextNav asked the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for PNT services (see 2404160043). “We realize the importance of a terrestrial PNT complement and backup to support our nation’s critical infrastructure, and we look forward to working with the U.S. DOT to demonstrate our PNT capabilities,” NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond said.
NTCA urged that the FCC adopt additional safeguards as part of a draft order and Further NPRM that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. Commissioners are set to vote on the measure July 18 (see 2406270068). “The most effective use of E-rate funds would be to ensure that funded Wi-Fi hotspots are not made available where service is already available as reflected in the National Broadband Map,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-31 said. The FCC shouldn’t fund a hot spot “at any location that is currently connected leveraging the use of high-cost USF support,” NTCA said. NTCA met with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington.