Top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us they are considering, but aren't yet committed to, scaling back or ceasing cooperation in advancing Republican nominees to federal entities ahead of a likely imminent panel confirmation hearing for GOP FCC nominee Olivia Trusty. Democrats are eyeing the tactic shift in response to President Donald Trump’s disputed March firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057) and other actions against independent agencies. Any roadblocks Democrats place against GOP picks would be largely symbolic and likely only delay Senate confirmations, given Republicans' 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, observers said.
Robert (Bob) McChesney, 72, academic and public intellectual known for his decades-long warnings about the threat that corporate ownership of media poses to democracy, passed away of brain cancer March 25 at his Madison, Wisconsin, home. Author or co-author of 27 books, including Rich Media, Poor Democracy, McChesney frequently appeared before the FCC. He was co-founder of Free Press, leading the organization as president during its early years and subsequently serving on its board. Survivors include his wife, Inger, and daughters Amy Martin and Lucy McChesney. A celebration of his life is planned for later this year.
Comcast wants to send the New York Yankees' regional sports network "to the Siberia of a tier and overcharge fans for it," while it carries its own SportsNet New York (SNY) in its expanded basic package, the Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network said Monday in a carriage complaint (docket 12-1). YES said Comcast's "my-way-or-the-highway demand" -- coming atop Comcast's previous dropping of MSG Networks -- looks to be part of a plot "designed to elevate the least popular of the three New York area regional sports networks into prime position." YES said Comcast is offering carriage only on its higher-priced, less-penetrated digital basic tier.
The FCC has issued a consumer alert about scam calls targeting the Chinese American community, an issue called out by Commissioner Anna Gomez in an X post Friday (see 2503280056). The FCC “is alerting consumers that scam robocalls are targeting Chinese speakers in the San Francisco community and beyond,” the alert said. The calls involve scammers impersonating Chinese law enforcement, federal employes and health care officials and have led to some victims handing over tens of thousands of dollars, it said. In a public warning Friday, the San Francisco Police Department said one of the callers had pretended to be a Chinese-speaking FCC employee. “The FCC will never call consumers and request payment over the phone and the FCC does not make outbound calls in Chinese,” Monday’s alert said.
The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services asked the FCC to update its rules on 406 MHz satellite personal locator beacons and maritime survivor locating devices. Recent updates to standards for both types of devices “have significantly improved distress alerting and locating capabilities,” said a petition for rulemaking Monday. “These enhancements benefit not only the person in distress by using these devices but also assist search and rescue authorities. The updates ensure that authorities are quickly alerted to the distress situation, its location, and the identity of the person in distress.”
The FCC moved quickly to seek comment on a petition filed by CTIA last week (see 2503270059) asking the commission to launch a rulemaking aimed at updating its rules to implement the National Environmental Policy Act. The Wireless Bureau released a notice Monday, seeking comment by April 30, replies May 15, in RM-12003.
TDS Telecom asked the FCC to waive a requirement that it file data as part of the Connect America Fund program by July 1. In a Monday filing, TDS blamed the Universal Service Administrative Co. for a delay in submitting the Q4 2023 performance testing data covering Tennessee. It said it attempted to file the data in January 2024, “nearly six months prior to the due date,” but USAC’s performance measures module “prevented the company from doing so (by ‘locking’ the Tennessee fields) apparently because previously submitted quarterly data for Tennessee was undergoing a routine verification review.” TDS said it “uploaded and certified” the data “immediately upon receiving notice from USAC that it could and should do so” on Nov. 7. Absent a waiver, TDS said it stands to lose $3 million in support “all on account of a systems issue” that wasn’t the carrier’s fault.
CEO Dave Abel and others from Aventiv Technologies met with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on the July order reducing call rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039). Aventiv is the parent of incarcerated people’s communication services (IPCS) provider Securus, which “anticipates resuming offering subscription plans, but will first need to evaluate call rates and call volumes under the new rate caps in order to structure and price these offerings,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 12-375. “We also relayed our experience with customers with implementing the Order and the effect of the Order on the state of the IPCS marketplace and our expectations,” Aventiv said.
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said Monday that she, Vice Chairman Rick Allen, R-Ga., and Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., refiled the Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act. The measure, which passed the House in past Congresses (see 2409180049), would direct the FCC to establish a 6G task force that provides recommendations about ensuring U.S. leadership in developing that technology’s standards. House leaders included the Future Networks Act in an ultimately scuttled December continuing resolution, which would have also enacted several other telecom measures (see 2412170081).
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents FCC staff, has sued President Donald Trump, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and the leaders of numerous other federal agencies over Thursday’s executive order ending collective bargaining for many federal employees (see 2503280044). Under that order, federal agencies will cease recognizing NTEU as representatives for their employees and will stop the payroll deductions federal workers have requested to pay their union dues, “cutting off more than half of NTEU’s revenue stream,” the group said in the complaint, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:25-cv-00935). The order eliminates union rights “for two-thirds of the entire federal workforce” and “is in direct conflict” with laws passed by Congress to facilitate collective bargaining for federal workers, NTEU said in a news release Monday. The national security exemptions to the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act cited in the order have never before been used to deny entire Cabinet-level agencies collective bargaining rights, “only discrete offices within agencies that clearly perform primarily security or intelligence work,” NTEU said. “NTEU-represented employees at FCC do not primarily perform security, investigative, or intelligence work,” it said. “They review and act on license applications for radio, enforce FCC rules regarding construction and operation of communications systems, and respond to consumer inquiries.” The FCC didn’t comment. NTEU has represented FCC employees since 1978. Their current collective bargaining agreement took effect in March 2023 and wasn’t set to expire until March 2030.