In two recent interviews, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested that the agency could auction the spectrum of broadcasters that don’t wish to comply with its public interest standard. “Maybe some of these broadcast TV stations that have the public interest obligation and don't want to comply with it anymore, we can effectively auction that spectrum if they want to purchase it without the public interest discount,” Carr said in an interview Tuesday on the Salem News Channel’s The Hugh Hewitt Show. “Maybe that's an idea that we should do, is reauction those broadcast airways.”
The FCC should rescind the post-Salt Typhoon cyberattack declaratory ruling it made in January, which requires carriers to secure their networks against unlawful access and interception, said CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom in an ex parte filing posted Thursday. The trade groups filed a petition for reconsideration of the ruling in February (see 2502190081).
It's concerning that the FCC's further NPRM on broadband labeling, which is on the agency's October meeting agenda, doesn't address concerns about whether providers are complying with the rule or ask how the label can be improved, tech policy groups told Commissioner Oliva Trusty's office. In a docket 22-2 ex parte filing Thursday, they criticized the draft FNPRM for focusing solely on weakening requirements.
Comcast, Google and T-Mobile are among at least 10 tech and telecom companies that the White House said Thursday have donated to President Donald Trump’s proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Trump on Wednesday estimated the ballroom’s construction will cost $300 million, up from the administration’s initial projection of $200 million. Other donating companies include Amazon, Apple, HP, Facebook parent Meta, Microsoft, Micron and Palantir. The family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also a donor, the White House said.
The suspension of most FCC functions as part of the broader government shutdown (see 2509300060) is already generating “a fair number of negative consequences” for the agency, and the gridlock will worsen the longer the closing lasts, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday during a USTelecom event. Meanwhile, Senate Communications Subcommittee Chair Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., raised continued concerns about how NTIA’s June 6 policy restructuring notice for its $42.5 billion BEAD program (see 2506060052) is affecting their respective states’ plans for their allocation of the connectivity money.
The Consumer Technology Association “remains concerned” about NAB’s proposal for an ATSC 3.0 tuner mandate, the trade group said in a meeting Monday with aides to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Media Bureau staff, according to an ex parte filing in docket 16-142. The group praised the FCC’s draft ATSC 3.0 further NPRM for asking questions about consumer costs and technical feasibility of the 3.0 transition.
The supplemental coverage from space service that SpaceX plans to offer using AWS-H block spectrum rights, which it intends to buy from EchoStar, wouldn't include Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the satellite operators. In a docket 25-302 filing posted Wednesday, the companies said that's because the AWS-H block license for those territories was sold to Liberty Latin America in 2024. The filing recapped a meeting that SpaceX and EchoStar representatives had with staffers from the FCC Wireless and Space bureaus and the Office of General Counsel.
While CTIA supports efforts to delete outdated and repetitive rules, the FCC should keep one on procedures for spectrum lease notifications, the group said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 25-133. The rule is among nearly 400 listed for elimination as part of the agency's latest direct final rule, which is scheduled for a vote at the Oct. 28 meeting (see 2510070038). Section 1.9060 "serves a purpose that other existing rules do not address," CTIA said, because the cross-referenced sections address lease applications but not notifications. "If the Commission were to repeal Section 1.9060 in its entirety as part of this proceeding, there would be no remaining rule regarding amendments, waivers, and dismissals of spectrum lease notifications, which could create uncertainty as to requirements and procedures for lessors’ and lessees’ filings and other actions related to spectrum leases."
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke of New York and House Communications Subcommittee member Nanette Barragan of California are leading 33 other House Democrats in opposing FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s proposal to supersede and suspend its 2024 incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS) order (see 2506300068). The United Church of Christ, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and justice reform groups also urged the FCC earlier this week to “reverse course” on Carr’s IPCS draft order (see 2510210047), which the commission is slated to vote on at its Oct. 28 meeting.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.