SpaceX’s purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar, announced Monday, wasn’t a surprise (see 2509080052), AT&T CEO John Stankey said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs conference. “I'd probably argue that that may be the highest and best use of that spectrum for a variety of reasons because it does harmonize very well globally.”
Paramount Global has appointed Kenneth Weinstein, a former CEO of the conservative policy think tank the Hudson Institute, to serve as the ombudsman for CBS News, it said in a release Monday. The Center for American Rights and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr praised the hiring, but academics told us Paramount’s creation of the ombudsman position under government pressure raises concerns about Weinstein’s independence. CBS News was recently targeted by the Department of Homeland Security over an interview with Secretary Kristi Noem and announced changes to its interview process last week.
The FCC released drafts Tuesday providing the details of items slated for votes at the agency’s Sept. 30 open meeting, including a Further NPRM on jamming contraband cellphones smuggled into correctional facilities and kicking off its 2022 quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules. Two infrastructure items and an order scrubbing wireline regulations as part of the “Delete” proceeding round out the agenda (see 2509080060).
Commenters urged the FCC not to go too far to limit the information it reports in its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress. Commissioners approved a notice of inquiry in August on the preparation of the reports, with an eye on more narrowly focusing them based on statutory language (see 2508050056). Comments were due Monday in docket 25-223.
The FCC dropping its twin probes against EchoStar seemingly shows that the agency is all for EchoStar selling its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum to SpaceX and its 3.45 GHz and 600 MHz licenses to AT&T, wireless and spectrum experts told us. Some also said the SpaceX deal could open the door to the satellite operator becoming a wireless competitor.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a $46.9 million fine against Verizon for violating FCC data rules. Judges heard the case in April and appeared skeptical of claims that Verizon had the right to a jury trial before the FCC handed down the fine (see 2504290060).
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said at investor conferences last week that he expects the FCC will act on the national ownership cap by the end of the year and possibly as early as this month. “I think we have a pretty clear line of sight” that the cap will be eliminated, Sook said at a Bank of America event Thursday. Sook said he had “a high degree of confidence in the Trump administration,” as well as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Gail Slater. Carr has been “very adept and very clever” by using an open national cap proceeding that had lain "dormant through the Biden administration and the [Jessica] Rosenworcel FCC, and reviving that by refreshing the record,” Sook said. Nexstar Chief Technology Officer Lee Ann Gliha said at Citi's Global TMT Conference on Wednesday that “we feel like we’re pushing on an open door, a bit.” Nexstar needs the cap to be eliminated to allow its proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna to proceed (see 2508190042).
Twilio representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about ways to better address unlawful robocalls and robocall fraud. “Persistent robocalls, impersonation of trusted institutions, and multifaceted schemes, such as inbound voice fraud using multiple carrier networks, contribute directly to the fraud the industry is seeing today,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-59. Twilio also noted that the “increased sophistication of bad actors, such as masked digital forensics, targeted ‘spearfishing,’ and account takeovers, are especially difficult to detect and prevent.”
CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom urged the FCC to act on their request to overturn a January declaratory ruling and NPRM addressing the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks (see 2501160041). The ruling concluded that Section 105 of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) “affirmatively requires telecommunications carriers to secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications.”
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology started proceedings Monday aimed at withdrawing recognition from seven test labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government. “The recognition of four other such labs [has] expired since the adoption of our rules and will not be renewed,” a news release said. The FCC has focused on blocking labs with ties to nations that present a security risk to the U.S. from testing devices that will be used here (see 2505220056).