Carr Pulls Bulk-Billing Ban and AWS-3 Auction NPRM Among Other Items
New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s decision to pull all items on circulation for a vote by commissioners wasn’t a surprise, industry officials said. Since taking office a week ago, President Donald Trump has pushed a deregulatory agenda and issued a regulatory freeze among a slew of executive orders on his first day (see 2501210070). Among the FCC items withdrawn was a controversial NPRM that former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated in March on banning bulk broadband billing in multi-tenant environments (see 2408010064).
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“There are no Items on Circulation,” a single line read on the agency’s circulation list (see 2501240054). Among the items listed previously was an NPRM seen as a preliminary step to an AWS-3 auction, which was not expected to be controversial (see 2501060044). However, Carr has long been a proponent of moving quickly on spectrum, and industry lawyers said they don’t anticipate that removing the NPRM will significantly slow the start of an auction, expected this year (see 2501230041).
Pulling the items showed “a performative element” consistent with the new administration, a longtime FCC watcher and attorney said. “That said, this might not be much more than wanting to start with a clean state.”
Summit Ridge Group President Armand Musey told us it seems unlikely Carr was targeting the AWS-3 reauction NPRM. “Perhaps Carr wants to tweak items, so the outcomes reflect his input and deprive the prior Democratic regime of the ability to take credit,” Musey said. “The politics at the FCC seem to get worse all the time.”
Other items on the list included a draft order circulated in June that would require emergency alert system and wireless emergency alert participants to create and implement cybersecurity plans (see 2406280053). Also on the list was a long dormant floodplains NPRM from 2022 and a January enforcement item.
Bulk Billing
In a statement Monday, Carr said the bulk-billing NPRM could have raised the cost of internet for apartment dwellers "by as much as 50 percent." He added, "This regulatory overreach from Washington would have hit families right in their pocketbooks at a time when they were already hurting from the last Administration’s inflationary policies." There is "a lot of work ahead to reverse the last Administration’s costly regulatory overreach," but he didn't elaborate or address other pulled items.
Industry voices and others applauded withdrawal of the bulk-billing item. ACA Connects hailed the death of the ban Monday: “It means that residents in places like apartment buildings, condos, and affordable housing units can continue reaping the benefits of these arrangements -- reduced rates, better services, and more broadband.”
National Multifamily Housing Council President Sharon Wilson Geno called it “a huge win for renters,” adding: “Bulk-billing arrangements have made high-speed internet more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans, especially for low-income renters and seniors living in affordable housing.” National Apartment Association CEO Bob Pinnegar said the FCC "is acknowledging the critical role these agreements play in encouraging broadband investment, bridging the digital divide and lowering internet costs.”
Bulk-billing agreements "provide significant benefits, particularly in multi-unit dwellings, by offering residents cost-effective access to essential services,” ALLvanza said. "They streamline billing, reduce costs, and ensure more households can afford high-quality services, promoting economic efficiency. Additionally, bulk billing can help bridge the digital divide ... and we are encouraged that the Chairman recognizes bulk billing’s role in making services more accessible and affordable for low-income communities."
Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, said clearing the circulation list “is consistent” with Trump’s executive memorandum “ordering a freeze on all new rules and regulations subject to a review by the newly appointed agency heads.” He added, “It seems appropriate” that Carr “will want to take stock and chart a path forward before proposing or adopting even pending orders.” Items like the AWS-3 NPRM will likely “be circulated again soon, although possibly with changes.”
Cooley’s Robert McDowell said, “Occasionally, new chairs who come after a change in the President's party pull circulation items.” It’s “an opportunity to reboot,” he said. “They may not like many of the items, or they may want to rewrite others and circulate them again later. It is their prerogative. But one thing is for sure: eventually more items will be back on the circulation list."
Joe Kane, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy, predicted that “the content of the noncontroversial items will remain noncontroversial.” But Carr “may want to put his own spin on some details,” he said. “It's also indicative of Carr operating his independent agency with a similar mindset to the White House."
In a blog post Friday, lawyers at Wiley said: “In addition to slowing regulatory activity generally, the Freeze Order may impact the timing, or even the fate, of certain regulatory actions taken at the end of the Biden Administration -- particularly as related to controversial items.” But they acknowledged that the reach of Trump's freeze remains unclear. “The Order could be read to cover so-called ‘independent’ agencies, such as the FCC and FTC, although historically Executive Orders and Presidential memoranda have merely ‘encouraged,’ and not directed, these agencies to take specific actions.”