Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, this week urged the wireless industry to rally behind his push to make a spectrum title part of the budget reconciliation package before Congress. Cruz was among the last of the speakers at CTIA’s 5G Summit on Tuesday (see 2505060036).
The importance of AI and other new technology to wireless industry growth and success was a major topic at this week’s CTIA 5G Summit. Other discussions centered on the need for more high-power licensed spectrum in the U.S. and the threat from China (see 2505060036).
The U.S. has a variety of paths to reach 600 MHz of high-power spectrum for carriers' use, the often-discussed goal of Congress, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters Tuesday following remarks at CTIA’s 5G Summit. The challenges that China presents also dominated discussions.
UScellular executives on Friday projected a mid-2025 closing on the proposed sale of wireless assets to T-Mobile following regulatory approvals. During a call with analysts to release Q1 results, UScellular said it lost 39,000 postpaid subscribers in the period ending March 31.
A petition by major trade associations asking the FCC for a rulemaking on the commission's enforcement procedures, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy decision, raises interesting issues for the agency under Chairman Brendan Carr, industry experts told us. The groups on the petition are CTIA, the Competitive Carriers Association, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (see 2505010058). Experts said they’re watching closely what the FCC does next.
The FCC on Friday approved waivers for Ericsson and Samsung Electronics America to offer dual-band radios that operate across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum. Samsung filed its waiver request last year, and Ericsson, which already had a waiver, sought a second that parallels Samsung's request (see 2303170044). NCTA and WISPA raised concerns, which the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology addressed in the order.
The FCC sought comment Friday on eliminating 2,057 docketed proceedings as dormant. A sampling studied by Communications Daily found many smaller, limited dockets, often in which few, if any, filings had been made. The FCC said it closed almost 100 other dockets “administratively” in advance of the release. The notice from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) isn’t tied to the ongoing “Delete” proceeding, the agency said. Comment deadlines will come in a Federal Register notice.
Major communications trade groups filed a petition Thursday asking the FCC for a rulemaking on its enforcement procedures, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy decision about whether federal regulatory agencies can bring in-house proceedings to enforce civil penalties. CTIA, the Competitive Carriers Association, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association filed the petition.
CTIA’s proposal that the FCC launch a rulemaking to update its rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is facing huge backlash from states and tribal groups (see 2503270059). CTIA also asked the commission to tackle restrictions under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The petition received support from industry. Comments were due Wednesday in RM-12003.
The FCC released the drafts of the three items set for a vote during the commission’s May 22 meeting, including the “bad labs” order and Further NPRM, which downplays some concerns raised by industry last year (see 2409050017). Also on the agenda are foreign-ownership rules and an NPRM looking at satellite broadband (see 2504300049).