The Bureau of Industry and Security and DOJ are investigating U.S. mobile phone parts producer Lumentum for potentially violating U.S. export controls on shipments to Huawei, according to corporate filings.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will likely redirect the panel's airwaves legislative focus toward a version of his 2024 Spectrum Pipeline Act (S-3909) next year should Republicans control the Senate after the Nov. 5 elections and he becomes chairman. Cruz could face continued headwinds from DOD's staunchest Capitol Hill backers if he pursues legislation similar to S-3909, lobbyists and others predicted. Current Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., hopes she can attach her rival Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) to an end-of-year omnibus package (see 2409170066).
The Commerce Department's revised space-related export control rules announced Thursday are aimed at "further[ing] U.S. innovation and technology leadership while protecting U.S. national security and foreign policy interests," the agency said. Under the revised rules, Commerce is ending license requirements for exports to Australia, Canada and the U.K. of some items for remote sensing or space-based logistics, assembly or servicing spacecraft. It also is ending license requirements for the export of certain space components to more than 40 nations. And it's proposing to transfer jurisdiction of some defense-related space technology from the State Department's U.S. munitions list to Commerce's control list, meaning Commerce could use license exceptions to allow exports of that tech to allies. The rules changes are "a really big deal [and] the biggest change to space export controls since the Obama Admin reforms," Aerospace Corp. Systems Director Brian Weeden posted on LinkedIn Friday. The changes should help the U.S. "expand [its space] technological leadership into the future," Aerospace Industries Association CEO Eric Fanning said.
Communications companies said they’re responding to power outages and network damage in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night. Emergency 911 systems appeared largely to withstand the onslaught, as they did with Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier (see 2409270058). AccuWeather said the total damage and economic loss from Milton will likely be between $160 billion and $180 billion, making it "one of the most damaging and impactful storms in Florida history."
T-Mobile sees limited potential for dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) in carrier networks, Egil Gronstad, senior director-technology development and strategy, said Tuesday. During an Ookla webinar, Gronstad said T-Mobile views its early move to launch a 5G stand-alone (SA) network as critical. It examined DSS and found the efficiency is “pretty bad,” he said. DSS has been “hyped a lot … and we also had high hopes for it.” T-Mobile decided “very early on” that it wanted to make a “quick pivot to SA.” He added, “We drove the chipset and ecosystem very hard from the very beginning to support SA.” Almost all the devices on T-Mobile’s network are SA-capable. That has allowed the carrier to “quickly refarm spectrum from LTE to 5G." Gronstad thought T-Mobile’s major competitors would have done more to move to SA by now. T-Mobile has also worked hard on voice-over new radio (NR), which is voice on a 5G network. “Voice-over NR was a fairly large undertaking -- almost as large as voice-over LTE back in the day.” Vendors tell T-Mobile “just a handful” of operators are moving to voice-over NR globally “and we are five years into the 5G journey,” Gronstad said. “There is a lot more to be done still.” T-Mobile considers high-band spectrum for 5G a “failure.” The carrier didn’t fall “for this millimeter-wave trap,” which was “mostly set up by academia.” Verizon “took the bait and banked on millimeter-wave.” Gronstad also underscored the importance of handset makers enabling the use of new technology in their phones. The pro versions of Apple’s new iPhone 16 support power class 1.5 and uplink multiple-input and multiple-output, “which was music to my ears,” he said. “We have been working so hard to try to get the flagship handset vendors to support this.” Those additions will improve coverage capacity and throughput, he said.
Dish Network’s call for sanctions against Standard General and its attorneys should be ignored. Instead, Dish should be sanctioned, said Standard General in a response filing Thursday in U.S. District Court for the D.C. Circuit (see 2409240017). Standard argued Dish’s filing substantially repeats its earlier dismissal motion and violates court procedures. Contrary to Dish’s arguments, Standard’s complaint “amply supports the alleged conspiracy, detailing circumstantial evidence that warrants an inference of conspiratorial agreement,” Standard said. “The timing and posture of DISH’s motion show its purpose is either to intimidate Plaintiffs and their counsel to dismiss claims against DISH and Mr. Ergen in the infancy of this case or to increase the chances that the Court does so.” Since Dish filed the motion for an improper purpose, the court should award Standard sanctions in the form of the expenses incurred in responding to the motion, Standard said.
Dish Network and its CEO Charles Ergen want Standard General (SGCI) and its attorneys to be sanctioned over the broadcaster’s lawsuit against Dish, Byron Allen, the FCC and several unions and public interest groups (see 2409100008), said a motion for sanctions Tuesday. The Standard filing is “frivolous,” violates federal rules of civil procedure and infringes on Dish’s First Amendment rights, the filing said. Dish wants the court to sanction SGCI and its attorneys to cover all of Dish’s expenses from the case and dismiss the complaint. “Frustrated that SGCI’s transaction financing expired and the merger agreement terminated, Plaintiffs have concocted a false narrative that the FCC’s actions must have been caused by a vast racist conspiracy against Mr. Kim,” said the Dish filing, referring to Standard founder Soohyung Kim. The Standard complaint doesn’t show any evidence of a conspiracy but rather disparate parties that disliked the Standard/Tegna deal for different reasons, Dish said. “There is absolutely nothing actionable about a desire to see a deal fail, especially a deal that was artificially engineered to raise DISH’s costs,” Dish said. Standard’s conspiracy claims “rest on the mere fact” that attorney David Goodfriend, who represented unions against the Standard deal, has also worked for Ergen and Allen, Dish said. “This ‘conspiracy’ theory offends the First Amendment’s right to association,” Dish said. “This action was commenced in retaliation, as a rich man’s manifestation of a temper tantrum, in order to harass the parties that Plaintiffs hold responsible for the failure of their merger deal.” Standard didn't comment.
U.S. companies and trade groups applauded a recent Bureau of Industry and Security rule that expanded the agency’s export control exemption for certain standards-setting activities. They said the rule change will help remove licensing barriers that American officials face at international bodies while working on emerging technology standards. While the Technology Trade Regulation Alliance welcomed the rule changes, it said BIS should continue expanding the exemption to cover a wider set of technologies discussed in standards bodies involving the electronics, telecommunications and aviation industries. For example, the TTRA said BIS should harmonize its standards-setting-related controls with how it treats other information shared publicly, such as fundamental research. The rule “appears inconsistent with the BIS approach to other First Amendment protected commercial speech,” the alliance said. UL Standards & Engagement, a nonprofit standards development organization, and the Wi-Fi Alliance said the rule update will help their members more easily participate in standards bodies. The Wi-Fi Alliance specifically said the rule confirms that the type of standards-related activity its members are involved in “is not restricted by the Export Administration Regulations.” BIS issued rules in 2020 and 2022 that authorize releasing certain controlled technology for specific standards-setting activities, including when companies on the Entity List, such as Huawei, are participating in those bodies.
NTIA urged the FCC to defer action for now on NextNav's proposal that would reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band, "enabl[ing] a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2404160043). NextNav, meanwhile, defended the proposal but agreed testing is needed. Other commenters objected to the proposal, reflecting concerns raised in initial comments (see 2409060046). Replies were due Friday in docket 24-240; many were posted Monday.
A disappointed Lumen is reviewing its options after the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission rejected a proposed settlement between the company and UTC staff related to the state’s method of regulation, a Lumen spokesperson said Tuesday. The pact would have reduced regulation of the telco by classifying Lumen’s CenturyLink ILECs as competitive. In a 3-0 order Friday, the commission took issue with a proposed process for discontinuing service in challenging customer locations (CCLs), which the agreement defines as “an existing CenturyLink local service customer location in Washington that lacks both fixed internet availability from at least one provider at [25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload] speed or greater priced at $61.13 per month or less, and mobile wireless service at $61.13 per month or less.” Under the pact, CenturyLink would have to get UTC approval before discontinuing stand-alone residential or business exchange service to any area including a CCL. However, the commission agreed with concerns by the state attorney general’s public counsel office that “that the CCL definition is too narrow, and that the discontinuance process could leave some customers without adequate service.” The commission sought “broader protections and a more stringent approval process.” The UTC added that “CenturyLink, a profitable company that has previously accepted federal money to provide these services to customers needs to do more to meet the needs of its most vulnerable customers who would be affected by the inequities of this proposal.” The rejection means a “temporary extension” of the current alternative form of regulation (AFOR) scheme until parties can adjust the settlement and the commission can resolve Lumen’s Jan. 8 petition seeking competitive reclassification, said the order in docket UT-240029. CenturyLink has operated for nearly a decade under an AFOR in Washington state (see 2402060015). Lumen “worked closely with [Washington UTC] staff to reach a settlement creating a comprehensive new regulatory structure reflective of today’s competitive market,” said the company’s spokesperson. “The proposed settlement contained multiple levels of safeguards that ensured no CenturyLink customers would be left without service.”