CEO Emmett Fitch and others from OptimERA met with aides to FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez on the company’s proposal for mobile service under the Alaska Connect Fund. Fitch provided “background on OptimERA’s history, current cellular business, and plans to develop and launch new cellular service in dozens of small, unserved, tribal villages in Alaska,” said a filing Thursday in docket 23-328.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Thursday that his “expectation” remains that President Donald Trump will move on minority party nominees to the FCC and other commissions, despite Democrats’ concerns that the administration will choose to leave such seats empty (see 2504010053). Several Senate Commerce Committee Democrats who voted Wednesday to advance Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty said they won’t back her final confirmation unless the Trump administration commits to maintaining Democratic FCC seats, including picking a party-affiliated nominee to succeed retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2504300047).
CTIA urged the FCC to move aggressively to promote full-powered licensed use of 4 and 7/8 GHz spectrum ahead of the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027. The Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC), EchoStar and Kuiper Systems also responded to an FCC notice seeking comment on positions that the FCC’s WRC Advisory Committee approved last month (see 2504150032).
Major communications trade groups filed a petition Thursday asking the FCC for a rulemaking on its enforcement procedures, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy decision about whether federal regulatory agencies can bring in-house proceedings to enforce civil penalties. CTIA, the Competitive Carriers Association, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association filed the petition.
The federal government wants the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to block a lower court injunction staying a White House executive order ending collective bargaining arrangements for employees at numerous agencies, including the FCC, IRS and Food and Drug Administration. The order removed collective bargaining rights at roughly 40 agencies on national security grounds, affecting two-thirds of the federal workforce. The injunction was issued last week after a legal challenge brought by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers at the FCC. NTEU has said the order is an existential threat to the union (see 2504040037).
CTIA’s proposal that the FCC launch a rulemaking to update its rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is facing huge backlash from states and tribal groups (see 2503270059). CTIA also asked the commission to tackle restrictions under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The petition received support from industry. Comments were due Wednesday in RM-12003.
The FCC released the drafts of the three items set for a vote during the commission’s May 22 meeting, including the “bad labs” order and Further NPRM, which downplays some concerns raised by industry last year (see 2409050017). Also on the agenda are foreign-ownership rules and an NPRM looking at satellite broadband (see 2504300049).
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats used a Thursday confirmation hearing for deputy commerce secretary nominee Paul Dabbar to restate their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to the Commerce Department doling out appropriated broadband and semiconductor funding. Cantwell and Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also emphasized their diverging views on repurposing DOD airwaves for commercial 5G use, an issue that’s been a major sticking point in negotiations to include a spectrum title in a coming GOP-sought budget reconciliation package (see 2504180027).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s statements and actions as head of the agency run exactly counter to his prior positions as a commissioner, said the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s Robert Corn-Revere in an article Wednesday in The Dispatch. Corn-Revere served as chief counsel to former FCC Commissioner James Quello.
The FCC Space Bureau signed off on a modification of Lynk Global's previous authorization, now allowing it to provide supplemental coverage from space service in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. In the approval Tuesday, the FCC gave the go-ahead to Lynk's use of Docomo Pacific's terrestrially licensed spectrum in the 845.1-845.3 MHz and 890.1-890.3 MHz bands. Lynk Chief Global Affairs Officer Amy Mehlman said the company is "taking great strides on our mission to connect everyone, everywhere, and this approval demonstrates our progress on our strategic roadmap, enabling Lynk and our trusted partner, Docomo, to provide services in parts of the country that are underserved or out of reach from conventional mobile networks.”