The Senate Commerce Committee cleared the Global Investment in American Jobs Act (S-2563) on Tuesday, but only after a sometimes-contentious debate in which Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., attempted to attach an amendment aimed at criticizing actions by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and the Trump administration that were perceived as damaging the First Amendment. The panel also unanimously advanced an amended version of the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act (S-2666).
Financial and electric utility trade groups are urging the FCC to extend the compliance deadline for its revoke-all robocall rule, given that the caller ID further NPRM on the agency's October agenda proposes rolling back that rule. In separate comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-59, both industry coalitions said meeting the currently proposed April 11, 2026, deadline would mean businesses would have to start allocating resources now. The electric utility associations noted that any subsequent revisions would represent wasted investments.
The FCC’s draft further NPRM on ATSC 3.0 is seen by broadcasters as an indication of Chairman Brendan Carr’s good intentions toward the industry, but 3.0 opponents said the item highlights concerns about encryption, privacy and spectrum use.
Astranis is urging the FCC not to drop its 2-degree spacing requirement for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites. In a docket 25-306 filing posted Monday, Astranis also advocated that the space modernization NPRM on the FCC's October agenda (see 2510070038) keep the buildout milestones for GSOs and the existing station-keeping limits.
The CBS News ombudsman has started accepting complaints about the network's coverage, according to the network's website. "Have feedback for the CBS News Ombudsman? Please reach out to ombudsman@cbsnews.com and the ombudsman will review your inquiry as soon as possible," it says.
The call-branding Further NPRM on the FCC's October agenda (see 2510070038) needs to delve more into what happens when originating providers don't meet their branding obligations, ZipDX said Monday (docket 17-59). Language about "enforceability" doesn't spell out who the enforcers might be or what obligations they might have, the conferencing service provider said. It called for the FNPRM to ask what entities, aside from the originating provider, should have responsibility in ensuring that caller identity information is correct.
EchoStar's proposed sale of its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceX (see 2509080052) rewards the company for spectrum warehousing, wrote Matthew Glavy, the former head of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Command, in Saturday's Washington Examiner. Ligado is following the same model, sitting on unused spectrum and then trying to flip it for big profits, he said, and the FCC should resist the temptation to let Ligado consummate a spectrum deal with AST SpaceMobile.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawyer Eric Troutman has filed as an independent candidate for a U.S. House seat representing parts of Orange County, California, he announced on his TCPAWorld blog Saturday. Democratic Rep. Dave Min is the incumbent.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reacted Saturday to the nationwide No Kings protests, saying in a post on X that the demonstrations “were more effective than they appeared,” because the U.S. has a president “with a mandate to make his country great” instead of a king. “We have a President, elected by an historic and overwhelming vote of the American people -- an election won in the face of lawfare, media opposition, and multiple attempts to take away the choice that rightly resides in the hands of our electorate,” Carr wrote, with a photo of President Donald Trump’s face accompanying the post.
A draft further NPRM proposing the relaxation of some FCC requirements for broadband labels is expected to be approved at the agency’s Oct. 28 meeting, but it isn’t yet clear how Commissioner Anna Gomez will vote on it.