Some space operator interests, including SpaceX and the Commercial Space Federation, are keen on shot clocks for satellite and earth station licensing determinations, according to docket 25-133 filings posted Monday in FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's "Delete" proceeding. Space industry filings also included several companies targeting technical rules and requirements. Other "Delete" proceeding submissions presented deregulatory ideas from telecom, broadcast and cable interests (see 2504140046 and 2504140063).
CTIA offered the FCC a list of programs for streamlining through the commission’s “Delete” proceeding in comments posted Monday in docket 25-133. In addition, USTelecom recommended “eliminating, streamlining, or reforming” some 3,000 rules in the "Code of Federal Regulations." The comments provide commission staff with thousands of suggestions to wade through as they evaluate changes the telecom industry suggested. As of late Monday, the commission has received nearly 900 comments in the proceeding (see 2504140063 and 2504140037).
Broadcasters called for the FCC to “delete” nearly every reporting and filing obligation the agency imposes on them in scores of comments posted in docket 25-133 Monday, but the agency should roll back ownership rules first, NAB said. Multichannel video programming distribution (MVPD) interests and allies repeatedly argued that the highly competitive video distribution marketplace necessitates doing away with rules they claim tip the competitive scales. The docket also received many comments from space interests and the telecom industry (see 2504140037 and 2504140046).
The USF's future is one of the biggest issues for Competitive Carriers Association members, CEO and President Tim Donovan said in an interview. The organization is “cautiously optimistic” following U.S. Supreme Court arguments in the Consumers' Research case (see 2503260061), he said.
The FCC Media Bureau has approved another TV deal that involves a top-four duopoly, according to an order in Friday’s Daily Digest. The deal involves Marquee Broadcasting’s proposed purchase from Imagicomm of KIEM-TV Eureka, California (NBC), and low-power KVIQ-LD Eureka (CBS). “The evidence in the record demonstrates that splitting up the two top-four network affiliations would likely lead to a reduction in network programming and local news in the Eureka [designated market area], which would not serve the public interest,” the order said. Although the top-four prohibition historically hasn’t applied to LPTV stations, the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review order extended it to those stations and multicast streams. Oral argument in the broadcaster legal challenge of that order was held in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month (see 2503190064). The bureau approved another top-four deal by Gray Media earlier this year (see 2503120066), and media brokers told us they expect to see an increase in such deals being proposed since the agency now seems more open to them.
WISPA urged a few changes to the FCC’s draft 37 GHz item, set for an April 28 commissioner vote. The filing was posted Friday in docket 24-243. WISPA called for more focus on a dynamic spectrum management system for the band. The group also raised questions about power levels as measured in effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP).
Lumi United Technology asked the FCC on Friday to approve its requested waiver for an ultra-wideband (UWB) door lock system that would operate in the 6-10 GHz frequency range (see 2502250037). “Three parties filed comments in this proceeding, and all three parties support the waiver,” Lumi said in docket 25-102. “The comments confirm that the Lumi UWB Door Locks will pose no risk of harmful interference and that there are significant public interest benefits to granting the waiver request.”
The Competitive Carriers Association supported petitions for reconsideration of the FCC’s August order launching a 5G Fund filed by the Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers (CWRC) and the Rural Wireless Association (see 2501140056). CCA agrees that “several aspects” of the order “require prompt reconsideration,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-32.
Given the scope and scale of the reforms the FCC adopted in its 2024 incarcerated people’s communication services order, pushback by facilities and IPCS providers is to be expected, the Brattle Group and Wright petitioners' representatives told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office. In a docket 23-62 filing posted Friday recapping the meeting, the Brattle and Wright reps said there's no compelling evidence necessitating a change to the IPCS reforms. They discussed a Brattle analysis of cost data and argued that the price caps in the 2024 order allow a balance of IPCS providers recovering their costs and a reasonable profit while providing "just and reasonable rates" to consumers. Separately, provider NCIC Correctional Services requested an unredacted version of the Brattle analysis.
The FCC lacks authority to impose new Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (Calm) Act requirements on current licensees or extend the rules to streaming services, said industry commenters in filings in docket 25-72, which were due Thursday. A nonprofit dedicated to fighting noise pollution and the Hearing Loss Association of America wrote in support of tougher FCC Calm Act enforcement, while NAB, NCTA and the Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA) opposed any further ad loudness rules. “The Commission cannot -- and should not -- alter the CALM Act technical standards or impose new obligations,” NCTA said.