FCC commissioners adopted a series of items implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 during their open meeting Thursday (see 2407140001). A report and order reduces the permanent per minute rate caps for audio calls and for the first time establishes interim rate caps for video calls for incarcerated people. The law also clarified the FCC’s authority to also set rate caps for intrastate and international calls.
FCC commissioners approved 3-2 a draft order and Further NPRM at their Thursday open meeting that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. The FCC Republicans issued dissents as expected (see 2407170035). In a lengthy dissent, Commissioner Brendan Carr questioned whether the order would survive a legal challenge.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled the Chevron doctrine (see 2406280043), and in SEC v. Jarkesy (see 2406270063) were “a good thing,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Wednesday during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council webinar. Other former FCC officials disagreed sharply with the rulings that appear to expand judges' power while reining in regulatory agencies like the FCC.
Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington appears likely to win renomination regardless of which party takes the White House in November, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Some observers believe it's unlikely Democrats will use Simington's 2025 confirmation process to strike back against any FCC structural changes Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr may propose if former President Donald Trump wins and nominates him as chairman, as expected (see 2407120002). Carr’s reconfirmation last year (see 2310020043) means his term doesn’t expire until 2028, so he wouldn't face a new round of Senate scrutiny.
Expect a Donald Trump White House and FCC to focus on deregulation and undoing the agency's net neutrality and digital discrimination rules, telecom policy experts and FCC watchers tell us. Brendan Carr, one of the two GOP minority commissioners, remains the seeming front-runner to head the agency if Trump wins the White House in November (see 2407120002). Despite repeated comments from Trump as a candidate and president calling for FCC action against companies such as CNN and MSNBC over their news content, many FCC watchers on both sides of the aisle told us they don’t expect the agency to actually act against cable networks or broadcast licenses under a second Trump administration.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel showed no willingness Tuesday to abandon a March Further NPRM that would ban bulk billing arrangements between ISPs and multi-dwelling unit owners (see 2403050069) despite bipartisan criticism during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing. She was similarly unmoved by GOP skepticism about a proposal requiring disclosure of AI-generated content in political ads (see 2405220061). During the hearing, Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr called for the FCC to backtrack on both proposals because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision and other rulings (see 2407080039).
FCC commissioners will vote July 18 on a notice seeking comment on uniform, industrywide handset unlocking requirements, as expected (see 2406250049), FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Wednesday in her Note from the FCC. Commissioners will also vote on a controversial proposal allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services, a plan to cut the cost of correctional institution phone rates and rules to improve video programming accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing. Next-generation 911 rounds out the agenda.
The FCC Wednesday notified certified spectrum access system administrators in the citizens broadband service band that they are now permitted to implement changes to the existing aggregate interference model used to protect federal operations in the band. Among the changes, SAS administrators may now assume an 80% time division duplex activity factor and 20% network loading factor for each CBRS device in the aggregate interference calculation, said a notice from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. Administrators may use median irregular terrain model terrain dependent propagation loss “using reliability and confidence factors of 0.5 -- to calculate the aggregate received power levels” within a protection area. The FCC urged administrators to submit a demonstration of their ability to implement the new testing parameters in docket 15-319. NTIA approved the changes in a letter to the FCC posted Wednesday. “The changes outlined … will expand Internet access to more people across the country,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: “They could not have been implemented without the collaboration of the Navy and our ongoing coordination with the FCC.” The change will expand use of the band to tens of millions of Americans, said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The CBRS dynamic spectrum sharing framework is already fertile ground for wireless innovation, and through collaboration with [DOD], NTIA, and stakeholders, we are expanding opportunities for reliable spectrum access while also ensuring that federal incumbents remain protected,” she said. The changes authorize service to approximately 72 million more POPs and expand the total unencumbered CBRS area to roughly 240 million POPs nationwide, the agencies said. CBRS is a prime example of how industry and government can coordinate on spectrum, Ira Keltz, deputy chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology said Wednesday at the International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART) conference in Denver. When CBRS started, the initial exclusion zones were “huge” and would have excluded 75% of POPs, he said. NTIA, working with engineers, was able to reduce the size of the zones so that CBRS made more sense, industry was willing to invest, and the Navy felt comfortable that its radars would be protected, Keltz said. “It just really comes down to people being open-minded,” he said. Derek Khlopin, NTIA deputy associate administrator, noted the work to make CBRS work better. “These improvements we’ve made have been phenomenal,” he said, also at the ISART conference. He credited the Navy for its willingness to work with the NTIA and the FCC. “With little ‘greenfield’ spectrum available yet ever-increasing demand for spectrum-driven utilizations, sharing allows more efficient use of limited spectrum resources,” emailed Richard Bernhardt, vice president-spectrum and industry at the Wireless ISP Association: The development “will provide more predictability and allow for approximately 72 million additional people to be covered by CBRS without having to move or change power due to Federal operations.”
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces retirements of Mark Nadel, attorney-adviser, Wireline Bureau, and Diane Burstein, deputy chief, Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau … NAB announces election results, including newly elected to radio board: Collin Jones, Cumulus Media executive vice president-corporate strategy and development/Westwood One president, chair; Kevin Perry, Perry Publishing and Broadcasting president-CEO, first vice chair; and Leonard Wheeler, Mel Wheeler president, second vice chair; to television board: Lynn Beall, Tegna executive vice president-chief operating officer, media operations, first vice chair; Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley, second vice chair; RaMona Alexander, American Spirit Media vice president-general manager, WDBD and corporate programming, third vice chair.; and to designated TV network seat on executive committee: Keith Murphy, Paramount senior vice president-regulatory counsel; NAB also appoints Pilar Ramos, TelevisaUnivision executive vice president-general counsel-corporate secretary, to fill vacancy on TelevisaUnivision’s television board.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces retirements of Mark Nadel, attorney-adviser, Wireline Bureau, and Diane Burstein, deputy chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau … C Spire promotes President Suzy Hays to CEO, effective July 1, succeeding Hu Meena, who will step up to chairman of Telapex, holding company for C Spire and Franklin Telephone … Sprinklr, unified customer experience management platform, elevates interim Chief Operating Officer Trac Pham to co-CEO alongside current CEO Ragy Thomas; Pham previously was Synopsys chief financial officer ... Celestial AI, optical interconnect technology provider, taps former Siprocal and Astra Space executive Kelyn Brannon as chief financial officer ... HG Insights, data analytics platform for tech companies, appoints former SolarWinds Chief Product Officer Rohini Kasturi as CEO and board member ... Clari, AI-powered revenue platform, hires former Envoy and Skybox Security executive Claire Darling as chief marketing officer.