The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and industry disagreed on whether there are any steps that the FCC should take now to spur adoption of next-generation 911. All agreed that regulators should move cautiously, echoing initial comments (see 2508050042). Reply comments were due last week in docket 21-479 on the Further NPRM that commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042).
If the FCC moves forward with sweeping changes to how it enforces National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) rules, it will have to do so over the objections of the tribes, some states and historic preservation interests, based on comments that were due Thursday in docket 25-217. Other comments raised questions about how the regulations apply to satellite projects (see 2509190007).
Republican FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty agreed Thursday with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that broadcasters lack the same First Amendment protections as others because of how they're regulated. Speaking at a Free State Foundation lunch, Trusty also indicated that she believes President Donald Trump is legally able to fire FCC commissioners, though she noted that issue is before the courts.
The spectrum that is likely to be used for a “Golden Dome” and other details remain unclear eight months into the second Trump presidency (see 2503100058), National Spectrum Consortium CEO Joe Kochan told reporters in a briefing Wednesday. Leaders of the consortium, which works with industry and the government on spectrum issues, also said reallocating the upper C band for 6G and moving to more dynamic sharing remain complicated, with no easy answers in sight.
As communications evolves, NATO is “at the forefront” of trying to understand new technologies, “testing and experimenting” to see which are “the most impactful,” said Antonio Calderon, chief technology officer of the NATO Communications and Information Agency, during a Mobile World Live webinar Wednesday. Other speakers said 5G means new opportunities for business and government agencies, and companies are experimenting with private networks and network slicing.
California, New York and other “blue” states supported an application for review asking the FCC to rescind a Wireline Bureau order delaying some incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507310049). Other groups also supported the review in filings posted Tuesday in docket 23-62.
Groups opposed to the order giving the FirstNet Authority, and indirectly AT&T, control of the 4.9 GHz band through a nationwide license (see 2410220027) and the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA), which had only a few quibbles with the order, clashed in briefs filed this week at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Oral argument has yet to be scheduled in the case (docket 24-1363). The FCC approved the order during the last administration with support from current Chairman Brendan Carr (see 2411130027).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Tuesday that he’s generally satisfied with how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is playing out and raised doubts about whether the agency will plow further into the issue. The debate over Section 230 “is still alive,” but given changes by social media companies, Carr is in a “trust-but-verify posture,” he said at a Politico summit focused on AI.
As policymakers look at reforms to the USF, they need to examine why so many people who are eligible for support don’t enroll in Lifeline and other programs, experts said Monday during an event hosted by Georgetown University's Center for Business and Public Policy. The session coincided with Monday's deadline for responding to the congressional USF working group's request for comments and proposals on USF reform.
Despite continuing questions about how quickly major wireless providers really want the next major spectrum auction, the FCC is under the gun to hold an upper C-band auction in just two years. But industry experts told us that, as was said of the baseball field in 1989’s Field of Dreams, if the FCC holds an auction the carriers will come.