The FCC has been asking broadcasters about ATSC 3.0’s use of digital rights management (DRM) encryption and concerns that it could squeeze out some device manufacturers, said officials from ATSC 3.0 consortium Pearl TV and 3.0 device maker Tolka in an interview.
AST SpaceMobile has received the go-ahead to put more satellites in orbit but not to begin offering supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service with them. In an order dated Aug. 29 and posted Wednesday, the FCC Space Bureau said it was allowing AST to launch an additional 20 satellites and to perform telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) operations with them once they're in orbit. The bureau deferred consideration on the other 223 satellites AST has requested while it continues to review the company's request to provide SCS service. The FCC previously authorized the launch of five satellites and TT&C operations with them 13 months ago (see 2408050026). The latest order said that while commenters have claimed there already has been harmful interference from AST's already-operational satellites, the bureau hasn't received any complaints of that.
The Harris County (Texas) Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management urged the FCC to encourage carriers to make more use of satellite connections in wireless emergency alerts. With “vast swaths” of the U.S. “either sparsely inhabited or completely uninhabited, the Commission should seek to encourage telecommunications providers to leverage different technologies, such as satellite, to augment terrestrial communications systems and extend the reach of WEA,” said a filing Thursday in docket 25-224.
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., slammed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s proposal to overturn the rule allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate funds to loan Wi-Fi hot spots to students and educators. Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman criticized both that proposal and one to stop funding Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2509030064).
Fiber is available to more than half of all broadband serviceable locations (BSL) in the U.S., CostQuest Associates said in a report Thursday. Each release of the FCC's broadband coverage map sees a drop in the number of locations without fiber coverage, it noted, adding that between the first version, released in June 2022, and the most recent one, 35.7% more BSLs have fiber. There was a 6.9% increase in the past six months, between Versions 5 and 6 of the map. AT&T is the single largest fiber provider in the U.S., reaching 15% of BSLs, CostQuest said.
The FCC appointed Chairman Brendan Carr as the agency’s defense commissioner in July but only released the order Thursday. The agency didn’t comment on the reason for the delay. Defense commissioner is a procedural role historically occupied by the chair. Carr’s predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, was made defense commissioner when she was acting chair in 2021. The defense commissioner “directs the homeland security, national security and emergency preparedness, and defense activities of the Commission,” as well as serving as the principal point of contact for the Department of Homeland Security, the order said.
The FCC should investigate ABC over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s donations to and fundraising for politicians who have appeared on his show, said the Center for American Rights in a complaint filed Thursday.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 35-28 Wednesday night to advance the Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 funding bill, which would maintain the FCC’s annual allocation at $390.2 million and proposes reducing the FTC’s funding to $388.6 million (see 2507210064). The panel earlier voted 32-27 against an amendment from Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., to strike language in the bill’s report that directs the FCC to study alternatives to the commission’s lapsed affordable connectivity program (ACP) “to ensure that low-income Americans stay connected.”
The wireless industry’s need for spectrum for full-power, licensed use will be reduced by the 800 MHz “pipeline” in the reconciliation package approved by Congress this summer, CTIA President Ajit Pai said Thursday, but eventually the industry will need more. He also called on the FCC to take another look at how the 6 GHz band is allocated.
The FCC Media Bureau will gradually lift a freeze on major changes for low-power TV, Class A stations and translators through a phased process that involves temporarily reimposing modification freezes, said a public notice Wednesday. The notice also announced that there will be a 121-kilometer limit on station relocations and that new station applications will be accepted.