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.
Competitive Carriers Association membership is shrinking, but the remainder are hopeful about future spectrum auctions and policy calls that could mean the difference between life and death for many small players, CEO Tim Donovan said in an interview Thursday.
The latest comments posted in docket 25-223 show disagreement on what changes the FCC should make to its approach to its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress (see 2509090010). Among them, USTelecom and CTIA urged the commission to refocus the report to look just at deployment. Commissioners approved a notice of inquiry in August on the preparation of the reports, with an eye on more narrowly focusing them based on the statutory language (see 2508050056).
NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth announced Wednesday that she's sending a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr asking the agency to launch an auction of the 1675-1680 MHz band. It would be the first 5 MHz of the 500 MHz that NTIA is required to identify for auction under the reconciliation package, signed into law in July (see 2507070045). Carr aide Arpan Sura said the FCC is “laser-focused” on the upper C band for what is likely to be the only major spectrum auction in the next few years. Both spoke at NTIA’s spectrum policy symposium.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $46.9 million fine against Verizon for violating FCC data rules in a decision that could trigger the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case, given the current split in the circuits (see 2509100019). In August, the D.C. Circuit upheld a similar fine against T-Mobile (see 2508150044), while the 5th Circuit earlier rejected a fine imposed on AT&T (see 2504180001).
SpaceX’s purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar, announced Monday, wasn’t a surprise (see 2509080052), AT&T CEO John Stankey said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs conference. “I'd probably argue that that may be the highest and best use of that spectrum for a variety of reasons because it does harmonize very well globally.”
The FCC released drafts Tuesday providing the details of items slated for votes at the agency’s Sept. 30 open meeting, including a Further NPRM on jamming contraband cellphones smuggled into correctional facilities and kicking off its 2022 quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules. Two infrastructure items and an order scrubbing wireline regulations as part of the “Delete” proceeding round out the agenda (see 2509080060).
Commenters urged the FCC not to go too far to limit the information it reports in its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress. Commissioners approved a notice of inquiry in August on the preparation of the reports, with an eye on more narrowly focusing them based on statutory language (see 2508050056). Comments were due Monday in docket 25-223.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s initial approval of non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology as part of terrestrial networks was critical to the growth of satellite connections, experts said Tuesday during an RCR Wireless virtual forum. They agreed that the opportunities offered by NTN are just starting, with significant growth expected.