The regulatory structure that governs broadcasting “is an anachronism” and wouldn’t exist if it were a new technology introduced today, wrote Eric Fruits, a senior scholar for the International Center for Law & Economics, in a post Thursday for Truth on the Market. An emerging technology today wouldn't be subject to rules like retransmission consent, ownership caps and the public interest standard, he said. “The idea that a panel of three to five presidentially appointed FCC commissioners in Washington can better determine the ‘public interest’ than the public itself -- through its viewing choices in a competitive market -- is a relic of progressive-era central planning,” Fruits said. “In reality, the vague standard invites regulatory capture and rent seeking, where politically connected groups lobby the FCC to define the public interest in ways that benefit them, rather than the public at-large.”
The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night that it plans to vote Oct. 8 on the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act (S-2666). The measure would direct the FCC to create a public-private task force to recommend new methods “to combat unlawful robocalls made into” the U.S. from outside the country, as well as determine whether the agency’s Stir/Shaken rules “adequately provide call authentication for unlawful robocalls from foreign originating providers or foreign intermediate providers through gateway providers” in the U.S. The task force would also examine whether creating a robocall-focused office within DOJ would improve the department’s ability to conduct enforcement against unlawful robocalls. The Senate Commerce meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
The Senate Commerce Committee is eyeing November dates for an FCC oversight hearing that will likely feature heated confrontations between panel Democrats and commission Chairman Brendan Carr over his media regulatory actions, congressional aides and lobbyists told us. The hearing will also include the agency's other Republican, Olivia Trusty, and its lone Democrat, Anna Gomez, lobbyists said. Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has faced pressure from committee Democrats to specifically bring Carr in to answer questions about his mid-September comments against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as influencing the network’s since-reversed decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air (see 2509220059). Cruz was among several Republicans who also criticized Carr’s comments (see 2509190059).
New Street analyst Blair Levin ends affiliation with Brookings and joins the Center for Strategic International Studies’ Strategic Technologies Program as a senior associate (nonresident) … Morgan Lewis promotes Danielle Burt and Patricia Cave to partner in the firm’s telecommunications, media and technology practice … Changes at broadband fiber connectivity provider Clearfield: Anis Khemakhem promoted to chief commercial officer, replacing Allen Griser, who becomes executive adviser until he leaves by year-end; Mike Ward, ex-Charles Industries, joins as vice president of sales for broadband; and Marc Temple, formerly Meritec, becomes vice president of channels and strategic alliances ... Correction: Douglas Kyle retires from the FCC's Public Safety Homeland Security Bureau after 36 years of service (see 2509300059).
Northrop Grumman's Space Logistics subsidiary is seeking FCC approval for telemetry and commanding operations for its MRV-1 robotic spacecraft when it conducts satellite servicing missions in and around geostationary orbit. In an FCC Space Bureau application Tuesday, Space Logistics said MRV-1 is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026. MRV-1 will attach propulsion augmentation mission-extension pods onto client satellites, lengthening the fuel life of those satellites, the company said.
Actress Jane Fonda and more than 700 entertainment industry figures have resurrected a First Amendment group originally established to battle McCarthyism, in part as an apparent reaction to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s recent pressure on broadcasters and networks. “The McCarthy Era ended when Americans from across the political spectrum finally came together and stood up for the principles in the Constitution against the forces of repression,” said the relaunched Committee for the First Amendment on its new website Wednesday. “Those forces have returned. And it is our turn to stand together in defense of our constitutional rights.” The original Committee for the First Amendment was formed in 1947 by Hollywood figures -- including Henry Fonda -- to protest House Un-American Activities Committee hearings against screenwriters and directors. “We are moved by their courage to speak truth to power and alarmed by how relevant their words are today, 78 years later,” the website said.
Quintillion plans to build new branches of its subsea cable system off a new extension stretching from Nome, Alaska, to other locations in the state. In an FCC application Tuesday to modify its existing cable landing license, Quintillion said the new branches would provide fiber-optic infrastructure to communities in its service region, giving them "a diverse, resilient, low latency, competitive pathway to U.S. and global interconnectivity and cloud services."
Petitions to deny SpaceX's acquisition of EchoStar spectrum licenses are due Oct. 30, according to an FCC Wireless Bureau public notice Tuesday (docket 25-302). Oppositions are due Nov. 14, replies Nov. 24. SpaceX is buying EchoStar's AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses (see 2509080052). Also due Oct. 30 are petitions to deny AT&T's purchase of EchoStar's 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz licenses (see 2509300046). EchoStar is reportedly talking with Verizon about the sale of its AWS-3 spectrum licenses (see 2509300057).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Given the deluge of financial scam calls, texts and emails that Americans constantly receive, Congress needs to clarify the enforcement authority that the FCC and other agencies have over abuse of communications channels, said the National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. The task force, convened by the Aspen Institute, issued a report Wednesday that proposes a national public-private strategy to prevent scam calls.