Two top Republican lawmakers who will have leading roles during the next Congress told us this month they're open to clawing back the $42.5 billion allocated to the BEAD program amid their party’s vocal opposition to NTIA's implementation of it during the Biden administration. Some stakeholders told us funding rescission would be difficult to execute. They insist congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration will see a revamp of BEAD’s rules and practices as much more feasible (see 2410210043).
Free State Foundation President Randolph May said this week that Senate Commerce Committee member Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., was wrong to argue (see 2412120066) that the U.S. Supreme Court’s July overturning of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright v. Raimondo was detrimental because it removed consistency from the regulatory process. Klobuchar made the argument during a Broadband Breakfast event earlier this month. The lawmaker “is right that stability in the law is important for businesses so they can intelligently plan investments and judiciously execute other business decisions,” May said Tuesday in a Washington Times opinion piece. But she “and others who take the same line should know better, especially those … who are familiar with communications law and policy. They have witnessed firsthand how reliance on the Chevron doctrine has promoted instability in the legal regime governing broadband internet providers under the guise of ‘net neutrality.’ The back-and-forth ‘switcheroos’ between the imposition of heavy-handed public utility regulations and a light-touch regulatory regime is a prime example.” Each time there has been a Democratic majority over the past decade, the FCC “has adopted stringent utility regulations for broadband providers,” while “each time the Republicans regained control, the FCC reinstituted a deregulatory regime,” May said: That’s likely to happen again when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office Jan. 20.
For her final meeting, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears poised to follow an approach closer to that of former Chairman Tom Wheeler at the end of the Obama administration than of Ajit Pai when the first Donald Trump presidency concluded. Rather than scheduled votes, the Jan. 15 open meeting will feature commission staff leading four presentations (see 2412230045).
President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration “promises to make deregulation cool again” and deepen the focus on network security, John Strand of Strand Consult blogged this week. “Network security policy is essentially bipartisan and will continue, if not strengthen, and indeed, it spans many years across both parties,” Strand wrote. Mobile telecom networks “are critical infrastructure on which every nation’s digital economy and information society depends.” China won’t change its ways and “foreign actors will shift production and investment away from China and [move] to other parts of the world.” However, China will continue making "financial and geopolitical offers to nations which are difficult to refuse ... [and] defend itself more aggressively." Beijing will do this “by building on the narrative that it is a peaceful nation that wants enterprise and that the US and others should not meddle in what they sell to who[m].” Strand said the second Trump administration will distance itself from the focus on open radio access networks. “OpenRAN has failed as a commercial and security solution,” he said: “Its interoperable interfaces and software are not 1:1 substitutes for classic network technologies, and the effort includes participation of Chinese government companies, making it insecure.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court on Tuesday rejected a petition for review that China Unicom (Americas) brought seeking to overturn the FCC’s 2022 decision revoking the company’s Section 214 authority to operate in the U.S. (see 2201270030). The decision was 2-1 with Judge Daniel Collins writing a majority opinion supported by Judge Kenneth Lee. Judge Carlos Bea dissented. The majority held that the commission “correctly interpreted its authority under the Communications Act” and that the “grant of authority to ‘issue’ certificates to telecommunications carriers must be understood as carrying with it an implied incidental authority to revoke such certificates.” The court reviewed the FCC’s authority under the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondi, which overturned the Chevron doctrine, and found that the revocation was within the FCC’s discretion to act (see 2406280043). “There was no indication in the statutory text or structure that Congress denied the FCC any relevant authority to revoke a carrier’s [Section] 214 certificate,” the majority held. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” Bea wrote in his dissent: “Today, the majority declares that” the FCC “may act as the Lord in canceling telecommunications certificates. … I disagree. Unlike the majority, I find myself constrained by the text of the statute and a regard to separation of powers principles of our Constitution to resolve this case otherwise.” All three judges were Republican appointees -- President George W. Bush appointed Bea and President Donald Trump appointed Lee and Collins.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the agency's incoming chair, has waded into ABC’s negotiations with its affiliate stations while analyst and former FCC-er Blair Levin has suggested a way the outgoing chair could complicate Carr's attempts to thwart broadcasters.
President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday he plans to nominate Michael Kratsios, the U.S. chief technology officer during his first term, as White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director. Kratsios said to “ensure our Nation’s prosperity and security, we must unleash scientific breakthroughs and ensure America's technological dominance. Now we have the President who will make it happen. A Golden Age of American Innovation lies ahead!” Trump said he’s also naming Lynne Parker, who directs the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology's National AI Initiative Office, to be PCAST’s executive director. He framed both actions as aimed at the incoming administration’s desire to “unleash scientific breakthroughs, ensure America’s technological dominance, and usher in a Golden Age of American Innovation!” PCAST “will assemble America's most distinguished minds in science and technology to advise our Administration on critical issues like Artificial Intelligence,” Trump said. He previously announced that incoming White House AI and "cryptocurrency czar" David Sacks will chair PCAST. Trump said he’s forming a separate Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, with Republican former North Carolina congressional candidate Bo Hines as its executive director. The advisory group, which Sacks will chair, aims to “foster innovation and growth in the digital assets space, while ensuring industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed,” Trump said: “Together, they will create an environment where this industry can flourish, and remain a cornerstone of our Nation's technological advancement.”
AT&T said Monday the FCC approved its proposal to to initially stop new sales and then discontinue residential local service in nine Oklahoma wire centers. The proposal was deemed granted Saturday after the agency didn’t take further action. The Communications Workers of America slammed the development.
Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said Friday he selected Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., as Communications Subcommittee chairman for the next Congress, as expected (see 2412170053). Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., will be the subcommittee’s vice chairman, Guthrie said. Hudson was a House Communications member during the last Congress but moved off in 2023. He is a Next-Generation 911 Caucus co-chair and last year championed allocating $14.8 billion in future FCC auction proceeds to pay for NG-911 tech upgrades (see 2305240069) as part of House Commerce’s Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565). Hudson's “expertise will help propel our country into the next generation economy,” Guthrie said. Hudson “will close the digital divide for rural America, affirm U.S. leadership in next generation telecommunication networks, and protect our critical communications infrastructure from adversarial attacks.” Hudson said he plans to work with Guthrie, President-elect Donald Trump and other House Commerce members “to advance strong, commonsense policies that promote innovation, streamline federal regulations, and bridge the digital divide.” He will replace current Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who was term-limited from seeking the gavel again and will instead lead the Energy Subcommittee. Guthrie said House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., will continue leading what will be renamed next Congress the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. Several communications industry groups released brief statements congratulating Hudson on his selection as the Communications chairman. Hudson and Allen “understand the importance of ubiquitous connectivity, especially in service of rural, un-served and under-resourced communities; and the need for balanced spectrum and light touch regulatory policies which boost broad-based innovation while also being small-business friendly,” said Wireless ISP Association Vice President-Government Affairs Matt Mandel. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said the broadband industry is “excited to work with [Hudson], his team and his subcommittee to turbocharge the next phase of American connectivity, innovation and technology leadership.” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said the group “and its members, including those who live in and serve communities in Rep. Hudson’s district, look forward to working with him to ensure that rural Americans have access to high-quality, affordable and sustainable broadband networks.”
Small and mid-sized cable operators are largely bullish about President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration and his choice of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to head the agency, expecting aggressive deregulation, ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer said during an interview with Communications Daily. Spellmeyer discussed the industry group's 2025 priorities, growing questions surrounding BEAD, and what one does during the lame-duck weeks before inauguration and a new administration. The following transcript was edited for length and clarity.