Garmin International defended its request for a waiver of FCC rules for handheld general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices limiting them to one transmission every 30 seconds (see 2310060031). Garmin proposes “digital data transmission parameters that, although different than the currently applicable rule, are more protective of GMRS voice communications,” a filing Thursday in docket 24-7 said. Relative to existing rules, “Garmin’s proposed parameters would drastically reduce the duration of each digital data transmission to provide more frequent -- but, in the aggregate, substantially shorter -- data transmissions,” Garmin said.
The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council will meet Aug. 29 at FCC headquarters, a Friday notice in the Federal Register said. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. TAC last met June 21.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling Wednesday against the FCC's Universal Service Fund contribution factor for the first quarter of 2022 will likely have little to no immediate impact on the commission's USF-funded programs and providers contributing to the fund, trade groups and legal experts told us (see 2407240043). It's uncertain how the U.S. Supreme Court would interpret conflicting rulings of the 5th, 6th and 11th circuits. Consumers' Research asked SCOTUS in a supplemental brief filed Thursday (docket 23-456) to grant rehearing as a result of the circuit split.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper possess the best telecom policy credentials among the main contenders to be the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, broadband advocates and other policy observers told us. All the contenders hold broadly similar views to Vice President Kamala Harris on broadband and telecom policy matters, but could bring different perspectives to the ticket, experts said in interviews last week.
Omnispace’s Mindel De La Torre, former FCC international bureau chief, joins non-terrestrial network service provider Skylo Technologies as head-regulatory affairs ... Fox News Media names Katherine Meeks, previously Gibson, Dunn, as general counsel, effective Aug. 19; Bernard Gugar steps down as general counsel and executive vice president-corporate development ... Computer networking company Netgear appoints Pramod Badjate, ex-Arista Networks, as president-general manager-Netgear Business; Kirsten Daru, ex-Life360, as general counsel-chief privacy officer; Antonio Lopez Reus, ex-Amazon, as vice president-strategy and strategic partnerships; adds onXmaps’ Laura Orvidas to board; and promotes Fiona Spratt to senior vice president-people ... 5G mobile and fixed wireless solutions provider Inseego appoints Semtech’s David Markland as chief product officer and Dean Antonilli, as senior vice president-sales-service providers and names Sal Aroon, ex-Form, as vice president-head of operations.
Spire Global has plans for launching one of its Lemur-class earth observation satellites by early February on a SpaceX rideshare mission. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Thursday seeking authorization for the Lemur mission, Spire said it would use the same frequencies and operating parameters as previously authorized Lemurs along with nonstandard imaging equipment that would make it larger than the other authorized Lemurs. The FCC in 2018 authorized Spire's Lemur constellation of up to 872 satellites.
The FCC's treatment of space vehicles used principally for rendezvous and proximity operations and in-orbit servicing as small satellites for regulatory fee purposes (see 2406140064) goes into effect Sept. 13, said a notice for Friday's Federal Register. The fee structure will be effective for FY 2024 assessment and collection of regulatory fees, according to the notice.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a proposed class action suit that alleged Intelsat's then-chairman and two investor groups participated in insider trading (see 2304270005). In a docket 23-15822 order Wednesday, the appellate court said plaintiff Walleye hedge funds didn't adequately prove that David McGlade, Silver Lake Group and BC Partners possessed material nonpublic information. The three-judge panel said the Walleye funds also didn't adequately plead that Silver Lake and BC knew about Intelsat meeting with the FCC in November 2019 regarding the pending C-band clearing before the two funds sold big blocks of Intelsat shares. Walleye alleged the funds knew the FCC was leaning toward a public auction of the spectrum, and the FCC's subsequent announcement resulted in a big drop in Intelsat's stock price. Deciding were Judges Milan Smith, Andrew Hurwitz and Anthony Johnstone, with Smith penning the order.
The Media and Democracy Project submitted a petition with 25,532 signatures calling for an FCC hearing on whether Fox News' conduct during the 2020 election violated the agency's requirements for broadcast licensees. The item was filed on the one-year anniversary of MAD’s original filing challenging the license renewal of Fox-owned station WTXF-TV Philadelphia and includes signatories from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, MAD said. The FCC has not acted on MAD’s petition to deny. “These thousands of signees want satisfaction for the discord Fox has sown, alienating friend from friend and family member from family member over contrivances it pushed to preserve ratings and profits,” the filing said. “While FOX has peppered this proceeding with politicians and sports teams, we have dedicated our efforts to educating everyday Americans about the FCC’s role in determining whether FOX's leadership meets the character expected of a broadcast licensee,” MAD Executive Director Milo Vassalo said. A New York Times article Tuesday reported that Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch is involved in a court battle with several of his children over changes to the family trust and ownership of Fox. Former Fox and Disney executive Preston Padden, who supports MAD’s petition, said the FCC would have to act if control of Fox is transferred from Rupert Murdoch to one of his sons. Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman said that while the agency normally resolves license challenges before a transfer of control is complete, it could simply deny the MAD petition or refuse action on the transfer. Fox didn’t comment.
The FCC’s rule barring stations from using affiliation deals to get around ownership limits falls outside the agency's congressional authority, Gray Television told the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday. In a supplemental brief (docket 22-14274), Gray said the appellate court should determine that authority's scope and meaning without deference to the commission. The 11th Circuit earlier this month requested a brief about the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision (see 2407110058). Gray is appealing a $518,000 forfeiture order over its alleged violation of the FCCs "Note 11" affiliation deals rule related to its purchase of the network affiliation of an Anchorage TV station (see 2301040059). The FCC has 14 days to respond to the supplemental brief. In its brief, Gray said Loper Bright mandates that the court first resolve whether the agency had statutory authority to promulgate and enforce Note 11. It said while Congress gave the FCC regulatory authority over license transfers, Note 11 and the forfeiture order are about what the FCC considers the "functional equivalent" of a license transfer.