T-Mobile will light up “over the next few days” part of the 2.5 GHz spectrum it won in the 2022 auction after the FCC said the licenses are being released (see 2402270084). Turning on the 2.5 GHz spectrum followed the carrier's multiyear push and required an act of Congress (see 2312190089). T-Mobile plans to auction 800 MHz licenses committed to Dish Wireless after cash-constrained EchoStar decided not to buy the spectrum (see 2403010041), T-Mobile executives said Tuesday at a financial conference.
House leaders removed the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510) from floor consideration Tuesday amid other committees’ objections to it, the bill’s sponsors told us Wednesday. Chamber leaders previously scheduled consideration of HR-4510 under suspension of the rules (see 2403010073), along with two other telecom-focused bills. The House voted 339-85 Wednesday to pass H.Res. 1061, which amended vehicle HR-4366 to become the Consolidated Appropriations Act FY24 appropriations minibus package that includes reduced funding for NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies compared with FY 2023 but a slight increase for the DOJ Antitrust Division (see 2403040083).
NAB and backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) are continuing to push for the bill’s passage, possibly by attaching it to a future omnibus appropriations package. The bill's supporters argue attaching the AM radio legislation to an omnibus appropriations package could help it overcome headwinds that have prevented its legislative approval since early 2023 (see 2401050065). CTA and other opponents of the measure argue it should go through a normal legislative process.
Industry groups are backing calls that would refine the FCC's challenge processes for the national broadband map and broadband serviceable location fabric, they said in reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 19-195 (see 2402200073). Many seek changes that would improve the challenge process for mobile service and increase transparency in how disputes are adjudicated within the commission.
The Senate reconfirmed Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and approved Republican commission nominees Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak Thursday night on voice votes, setting the body up to soon return to a 3-2 Democratic majority. The commission hasn't had any Republican members since former Commissioner Christine Wilson departed in March 2023. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., lifted his hold on Ferguson earlier Thursday after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted for Hawley’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act (S-3853). Ferguson, Virginia's solicitor general, is a former McConnell aide. The chamber also unanimously confirmed FCC inspector general nominee Fara Damelin, setting up the watchdog office to have its first permanent leader since Congress made it independent of the agency in 2018.
Many small and mid-sized internet service providers (ISP) have doubts that they will participate widely if at all in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. At ACA Connects' annual summit Wednesday in Washington, President Grant Spellmeyer said members are concerned "about where BEAD is headed" on project requirements and conditions. "Places like Pennsylvania have got some troubling provisions that are slowing members down," he said. "I think you're going to see wildly disparate results across the 50 states." One ISP that operates in multiple states told us it's leaning away from participating in the states with particularly onerous conditions.
Meagan Foster, former chief of staff for Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and former staffer at NTCA and USTelecom, joins Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies as senior principal with tech focus … Cable One elevates Ken Johnson to chief operating officer ... Metronet promotes Joe Salerno to senior director-business development ... Ericsson promotes Rebecca Rohr to chief compliance officer, succeeding Jan Sprafke, departing “to pursue other opportunities” … FuboTV adds Neil Glat, Sportfive, also former NFL, to its board ... CommentSold, video commerce platform, hires Filip Vítek, ex-Flaconi, as executive vice president-AI and data ... Incompas creates AI Center with MLC Strategies’ Mignon Clyburn, former FCC commissioner; Colin Crowell, The Blue Owl Group managing director; Rob Hale, Granite Telecomm CEO; Milo Medin, Google vice president-access and wireless services; and Robert Robbins, University of Arizona president, as advisers.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks should ask the Media Bureau to develop a fuller record on the FM nonduplication rules before restoring them (see 2402270019), NAB said during an ex parte meeting with an aide to Starks last week, according to a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-310. The agency should “pause” action on a circulated reconsideration order because three years have passed since the rules were eliminated, the filing said. “The benefit of this significant passage of time is that the Commission can actually collect and analyze information to better understand whether, and in what circumstances, broadcasters are taking advantage of the rule’s elimination,” NAB said.
The legal battle over the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review order appears headed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation randomly selected that circuit from the three where petitions for review were filed, said a consolidation order Tuesday (see 2402250001). The 8th Circuit was the venue for an appeal filed by Zimmer Radio. The other possible circuits in the lottery were the 5th and 11th, where appeals were filed by Nexstar and Beasley Media, respectively. All previous QR challenges were decided by a panel in the 3rd Circuit, but after a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, that panel no longer has jurisdiction in the matter. The 5th, 8th and 11th circuits are seen as having conservative leanings, while the 3rd Circuit is considered more favorable to parties seeking to uphold regulations. Parties in the case could still seek to have it moved to a different circuit, but attorneys familiar with appellate procedure told us that rarely occurs. With the circuit for the case decided, it's likely that more challenges to the order will be filed, including an anticipated one from NAB, attorneys told us. Only circuits where appeals were filed in the 10 days after the order appeared in the Federal Register are added to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s lottery.
Florida could soon join other states that designate mobile phone providers as eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) for the federal Lifeline program. Florida's House voted 113-0 for SB-478, which previously received unanimous Senate support (see 2402210055). If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the bill would immediately transfer wireless ETC designation powers from the FCC to the Florida Public Service Commission.