The House Communications Subcommittee is considering holding its first FCC oversight hearing of this Congress next week, potentially on Jan. 14, several communications policy lobbyists told us. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will likely draw most lawmakers’ questions, but fellow Commissioners Anna Gomez (D) and Olivia Trusty (R) will also appear before the subpanel, lobbyists said. Its last FCC oversight hearing was in July 2024 (see 2407090049). Carr testified at a House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing in May on the agency's FY 2026 budget request (see 2505210074).
SpaceX's direct-to-device ambitions, powered by a proposed 15,000 additional satellites in orbit, are facing opposition from rival satellite operators and astronomy interests. SpaceX submitted an FCC application in September to operate the constellation to provide D2D service globally, as well as mobile satellite service (MSS), using spectrum that the company is buying from EchoStar (see 2509220006). In comments filed this week in docket 25-340, numerous parties complained about potential spectrum interference or orbital clutter.
Industry commenters urged the FCC to move with caution in imposing new restrictions in response to a further NPRM approved in October as part of a broader order that further tightens the agency's equipment authorization rules (see 2510280024). The call for caution wasn’t new, as the Consumer Technology Association and Telecommunications Industry Association sought clarification last month about parts of the order itself (see 2512230008). Comments on the FNPRM were due Monday in docket 21-232.
A 2020 settlement with DOJ connected to the Nexstar/Tribune deal is unlikely to have much effect on the outcome of Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna, broadcast and antitrust attorneys told us.
Changes at FCC: Chairman Brendan Carr names Jonathan Williams, ex-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as chief economist and chief of the Office of Economics and Analytics; Troy Tanner retires as deputy chief of the Office of International Affairs … House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appoints Taylor Budowich, former deputy White House chief of staff, to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission … CBS News and Stations promotes Kimberly Chow Sullivan to vice president of legal affairs … Canadian orbital launch firm Maritime Launch Services appoints Melissa Quinn, seconded from MDA Space, as vice president of spaceport operations, a new position … Space tech firm Sidus Space names Kelle Wendling, formerly L3Harris Technologies, to its board … Changes at L3Harris Technologies: Jon Rambeau, formerly integrated mission systems, named head of communications and spectrum dominance; Sam Mehta, ex-communications systems, becomes head of space and mission systems; and Ed Zoiss, formerly space and airborne systems, appointed vice president of engineering and innovation.
Two low-power TV licensees that serve the Boston area are applying to the FCC for experimental 5G broadcast licenses, said a news release from the 5G Broadcast Collective on Monday. Tyche Media, licensee of WCRN-LD Boston, and Milachi Media, licensee of WWOO-LD Westmoreland, New Hampshire, are seeking the licenses “in anticipation of fully licensed 5G Broadcast facilities in 2026,” the release said. The FCC would need to open a rulemaking and issue an order to allow for fully licensed 5G broadcast stations, attorneys told us.
Most parts of a rule requiring robocall mitigation database filers to take “additional steps to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and currentness of submitted information” take effect Feb. 5, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. The FCC approved the order in late 2024 during the Biden administration.
ACN Communication Services asked the FCC Wireline Bureau for a waiver of agency rules so the company can revise the data it filed to determine the size of its payments to the USF. ACN said it’s a reseller of telecommunications and broadband services to residential and business customers and has paid into the fund since 1993. “Upon review of the most recent annual USF report,” ACN determined that its reports from 2023-25 were in error and that it had “significantly overreported its USF end user revenue,” said a filing Monday in docket 06-122.
The FCC properly axed a restriction on the use of 136.75 MHz for aeronautical en route communications in part of the U.S., but that requires eliminating another section of agency rules as well, Aviation Spectrum Resources Inc. said in a filing posted Monday (docket 25-133). The subsection of Rule 87.263 was cut as part of the FCC's direct final rule vote at its October meeting (see 2510280024). ASRI said the DFR decision missed another subsection of the rule that also deals with oversight of and restrictions on 136.75 MHz, and the repeal of both is needed to be effective. It urged either a modification of the DFR or a supplemental DFR.
The Conservative Political Action Coalition Foundation said in FCC comments Monday that a problem for consumers like unwanted robocalls doesn't necessarily justify “prescriptive regulatory intervention.” Other filers urged the agency to adopt proposals in a caller ID further NPRM approved by commissioners in October (see 2510280024). Comments were due Monday in docket 17-59.