The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Wednesday on AT&T’s proposed buy of 3.45 GHz licenses from UScellular. Because the acquisition would give AT&T more than 40 MHz of 3.45 GHz spectrum holdings in some markets, the company must seek a waiver under FCC rules, said a bureau notice. Petitions to deny are due April 25, oppositions May 12 and replies May 22, in docket 25-150.
The FCC Wireless Bureau has established the application process for parties seeking certification as a space launch frequency coordinator for the space launch service under the agency's Part 26 rules. In a public notice Tuesday in docket 24-687, the bureau said applicants will need to show they meet minimum qualifying criteria, including an ability to complete coordination using machine-to-machine interface with any NTIA automated coordination process. Separately, the bureau issued licensing and coordination procedures for the commercial space launch service (docket 13-115).
The FCC asked for comment Wednesday on a petition for rulemaking that the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) filed asking the agency to modify the power maximum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limits for the 4.9 GHz band. The changes are aimed at allowing the band to be used more effectively for 5G. In October, a unanimous FCC changed the rules for the public-safety spectrum, giving FirstNet access to the band (see 2410220027). Comments are due April 25, replies May 12, in docket 07-100.
The FCC should require that before space launches, the space launch frequency coordinator work with the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA), the FCC-designated coordinator for medical body area networks (MBAN), said GE HealthCare Technologies. In a docket 13-115 filing posted Wednesday recapping a meeting with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office, GE reiterated its argument that the MBAN rules aren't intended to protect commercial space launch operations in the 2360-2395 MHz band (see 2503240039). GE said EWA coordination would determine whether the proposed launch operations in the 2360-2395 MHz band would occur within 200 miles of a registered MBAN deployment and let the MBAN and space launch operations coexist through such steps as isolating spectrum use or lowering the transmit power of the space launch operations.
The FCC asked for comment by April 9 on an application by AM Communications Labs for authorization to obtain North American Numbering Plan phone numbers directly from the Numbering Administrator. The company is an interconnected VoIP provider and “indicates that it intends to initially request numbers in the States of Texas, Georgia, and Florida,” the Wireline Bureau said in a Tuesday notice. Comments should be filed in docket 24-628. The bureau also sought comment by April 9 in docket 24-135 on a similar application by Allo Communications, which plans to request numbers for Nebraska.
The FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program helped expand telehealth-based treatments related to the COVID-19 pandemic for health care providers, said a final report Tuesday on the program from the Wireline Bureau. The program operated from 2020 until 2023 and provided reimbursements to heath care providers to aid in the delivery of telehealth services to patients in their homes and mobile locations.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez defended the USF program during a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court argument in FCC v. Consumers’ Research (see 2503260061).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
House Oversight Committee members in both parties appeared not to move from their existing positions on cutting federal CPB funding after a dramatic Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing on perceived public broadcasting bias Wednesday (see 2503210040). GOP lawmakers appeared to still favor zeroing the money, with some telling us they want to push it through via a coming budget reconciliation package rather than wait for the FY 2026 appropriations process. Democrats backed maintaining the CPB appropriation and mocked Republicans for holding the hearing instead of probing perceived Trump administration abuses. CPB funding opponents got a boost when President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he “would love to” see Congress defund public broadcasters.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, drew some colleagues’ incredulity Wednesday after his office released a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking documents that could support his claim that military officials during the Biden administration circumvented federal lobbying restrictions by pressuring defense contractors to lobby against spectrum legislation.