The full FCC has voted to reject the Weather Alert Radio Network’s appeal of a 2024 Media Bureau decision rejecting 105 WARN applications for low-power FM stations in nine U.S. states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, said an order Thursday. WARN’s applications didn’t meet FCC requirements for a public safety radio service, and it didn’t provide any documentation that it had been in contact with state, local and national public safety entities, the order said. “Because WARN had not established that a public safety organization had officially authorized it to provide a public safety radio service on its behalf in the relevant proposed service area,” it didn’t meet the agency’s requirements that it have jurisdiction in its service area.
CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom met with aides to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on their request to overturn a January declaratory ruling and NPRM addressing the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks (see 2501160041). The ruling found that Section 105 of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires “carriers to secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications.” The association representatives “discussed measures that providers are taking to address past and ongoing threats to cybersecurity, including risk management and remediation,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 22-329.
Nokia filed at the FCC data related to its initial commercial deployment as a spectrum access system administrator for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2407180035). All the data was redacted from the filing made Wednesday in docket 15-319.
Representatives of the RAIN, LoRa, Wi-Fi, WiSUN and Z-Wave alliances met with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about their objections to NextNav’s proposal to offer a terrestrial complement to GPS using 900 MHz spectrum (see 2507280039).
Consumer Technology Association representatives discussed spectrum, national security and other issues with Commissioner Olivia Trusty, according to a filing posted Thursday in 21-232 and other dockets. “CTA encourages continued investment in 5G and 6G infrastructure, broadband expansion and efficient use of licensed and unlicensed spectrum,” the filing said. “To that end we are pleased with the reinstatement of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority.”
A broad coalition of associations urged the FCC to move with caution on revamped equipment reauthorization rules in response to a Further NPRM that commissioners approved in May (see 2505220056). The groups joining the filing were the Consumer Technology Association, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Incompas, the Information Technology Industry Council, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association.
Consolidated Communications is planning to end legacy voice service for more than 36,000 subscribers in six states as soon as Jan. 27. In a series of FCC applications posted Thursday, Consolidated said that in each case, it has overbuilt its copper network with fiber and will transition residential subscribers of its basic local exchange services to a VoIP replacement. To be transitioned are 4,176 subscribers in six exchanges in Pennsylvania, 13,624 subscribers in 11 exchanges in Texas, 4,701 subscribers in five exchanges in Illinois, 8,490 subscribers in 38 New England exchanges in Maine and New Hampshire, and 5,147 subscribers in 17 Vermont exchanges, Consolidated said.
Alphabet's Starfish Infrastructure is planning a private, non-common carrier subsea fiber-optic cable system connecting the U.S. to Bermuda, the Azores and Spain. Sol would be the first cable system connecting Florida to Southern Europe and the second directly connecting the U.S. to the Azores, Starfish told the FCC in an application Wednesday. It said demand for additional capacity between the U.S. and Southern Europe "continues to increase substantially each year."
Top NTCA officials met with FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty on the group’s regulatory agenda, said a filing Thursday in 13-5 and other dockets. “NTCA highlighted association priorities … including the importance of effective universal service programs and regulatory certainty in serving rural America and the need for further enhancements and refinements to the National Broadband Map,” it said.
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet Sept. 25, as expected (see 2506120070), the agency said Thursday. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. at FCC headquarters. CSRIC members are scheduled to vote on a report about recommended best practices on the ethical and practical use of AI and machine learning, the notice said, as well as hear updates on other reports.