Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz is promising modernization of the bureau's licensing, as well as making spectrum available for more intensive space uses. Speaking Wednesday at Satellite 2025, Schwarz said he sees space policy through the lens of economic growth, and the bureau's "main job ... is to facilitate and accelerate all the investments in your industry." Slow processing of applications and overly burdensome rules "are creating unnecessary regulatory drag." Schwarz -- who noted that he lives on a farm in the Washington region served by satellite-delivered broadband -- said regulatory drag can compound over time, resulting in significant effects on the economy and the types of services the space industry offers.
The Donald Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs is misguided and won’t be sustained long term, consultant Deborah Lathen said Wednesday at a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Other speakers said it could take years to convince people about the importance of broadband in areas that are just being connected while confusion reigns on the future of the BEAD program.
The FCC is seeking suggestions on which of its rules should be eliminated in a docket (25-133) called “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” the agency announced in a news release and public notice Wednesday. “The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public’s participation and feedback throughout this process,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in the release. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.”
The Trump administration is eyeing an expedited review of federal spectrum holdings to identify bands that GOP lawmakers could mandate for reallocation in a coming budget reconciliation package, a former Commerce Department official and communications sector lobbyists told us. Telecom-focused congressional leaders indicated some progress in Capitol Hill negotiations to reach a spectrum reconciliation deal but cautioned that there has been no major breakthrough. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and congressional DOD supporters remain at loggerheads.
Basalt Technologies wants FCC Space Bureau approval to test a three-cubesat constellation operated by AI. In an application posted Tuesday to launch and operate its Spirit-EEL system, San Francisco-based Basalt said a huge challenge for modern satellite fleets is the provision of "continuous, high-precision management without labor-intensive staffing." It said it would use AI systems to manage and control the earth imaging satellites in orbit "with minimal human intervention" as it tests the algorithms.
Comments on the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking on loud commercials are due April 10 and replies April 25 in docket 25-72, said a public notice Tuesday. Unanimously approved at the Feb. 27 open meeting, the NPRM asks for comments on the agency’s enforcement of its Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act rules and potentially extending them to streaming services (see 2502270058.
NAB’s call for an ATSC 3.0 tuner mandate (see 2502260051) is “highly concerning” and a reversal of its stance in a 2017 joint petition with CTA and others, which requested FCC authorization of the new standard, CTA said in a meeting last week with aides to Commissioner Nathan Simington, according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday. “The key element” of that 2017 joint petition “was the voluntary nature of the transition,” CTA said, adding that it “strongly believes the transition to ATSC 3.0 must remain voluntary and market-based, not guided by government mandates.”
The FCC and NAB disagreed in court filings this week about how last week’s 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding the FCC’s forfeiture order against Gray Media applies to the broadcaster challenge of the 2018 quadrennial review order in the 8th Circuit. Oral argument in that case is set for March 19. The 11th Circuit ruled against Gray, saying Note 11 -- an FCC rule against broadcasters swapping network affiliation to get around ownership limits -- doesn’t violate the Communications Act or the First Amendment (see 2503070004. The 8th Circuit petitioners, which include Zimmer Radio, Nexstar, NAB, Beasley Media and Tri-State Communications, have made similar arguments against Note 11 in their filing opposing the 2018 QR, which expanded the reach of the rule to include low-power stations and multicast streams.
The FCC's "know your customers" requirement seemed to indicate that voice providers would have flexibility in adopting effective measures, but the proposed $4.5 million Telnyx fine seems to belie that, according to the Cloud Communications Alliance and Voice on the Net Coalition. In docket 17-59 Tuesday, the voice-provider trade groups said the FCC is required by law to put out guidance that's subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking before imposing high civil forfeitures. They said the FCC should make clear that forfeitures can be imposed only when a voice service provider actually knows of illegal traffic or intended to allow the traffic onto its network. Otherwise, providers acting in good faith could be subject to substantial forfeitures, they said. The trade groups said it's not clear what standards the FCC will apply to determine whether a provider took “affirmative, effective measures” to prevent customers from making illegal calls. They said last year's Lingo Telecom content decree (see 2408210039) can't serve as "know your customers" guidance unless there's first a notice-and-comment rulemaking. Telnyx is fighting the proposed robocall fine (see 2503050026).