The FCC defended its 50% upward adjustment of a fine it imposed on Verizon for data violations, bringing the total penalty to $46.9 million, in a brief filed Wednesday at the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The court heard Verizon’s challenge of the fine in April (docket 24-1733), with judges appearing skeptical of the carrier’s arguments (see 2504290060). This week, they asked both sides about the adjustment as they near a decision. The FCC defended the fine even though now-Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington had opposed it (see 2504250062).
The FCC’s “bad labs” order and Further NPRM, approved by commissioners 4-0 last week and posted this week, contains a lengthy cost-of-benefit analysis weighing the costs and risks of not moving forward with the rules. FCC officials noted last week that this was the only major change from the draft (see 2505220056), though the agency also added a paragraph on DOJ's concerns. Other changes were mostly cosmetic, based on a side-by-side comparison.
While BEAD is critical to serving the most difficult-to-reach 5.5 million homes in the U.S., the money available through the program pales in comparison to what providers are spending to bolster broadband connectivity, Fiber Broadband Association CEO Gary Bolton said in an interview. The slow pace in making changes to the BEAD program has been “a colossal failure” on NTIA’s part, he added. FBA will hold its Fiber Connect conference next week in Nashville.
NextNav sees signs that the U.S. is moving to allow alternatives to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), said Ed Mortimer, its vice president-government affairs, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. The U.S. was once the leader in GPS but has “fallen behind” countries like China and Russia, which already have alternatives available for PNT, he said.
Major communications industry trade associations complained about state broadband regulations in a joint filing at the DOJ in response to a request for comments by the department’s new Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force. Like the FCC’s “Delete” proceeding, the initiative is part of the Trump administration’s push to cut regulation.
The FCC made limited changes to an NPRM on foreign-ownership rules, as agency officials indicated at last week's meeting, where commissioners approved the item 4-0 (see 2505220056). The FCC posted the NPRM on Tuesday.
While the FCC is downplaying the extent of staff departures, uncertainties surround their effect on the agency. Industry officials also said the attrition so far -- 78 employees were announced to have left as of the end of April (see 2505200058) -- is concentrated among the most experienced staff and could presage a much larger exit.
NTIA is “hard at work” identifying 600 MHz of midband spectrum for licensed use, acting Administrator Adam Cassady said at an agency town hall last week. “That is utterly critical to our mission,” he said. Lynna McGrath, deputy associate administrator for the Office of Spectrum Management (OSM), said NTIA has set up five working groups to explore the commercial use of three target bands.
The Rural Wireless Association urged the FCC in comments posted Friday to look at AT&T’s proposed buy of 700 MHz and 3.45 GHz licenses from UScellular in the broader context of the U.S. wireless market. The sale of the licenses is tied to a larger deal with T-Mobile that's also still before the FCC (see 2504150046). Replies to oppositions were due at the FCC on Thursday in docket 25-150.
The FCC approved an order and Further NPRM Thursday aimed at squelching “bad labs,” continuing work started in the last administration. Commissioners also decided the agency would look well beyond its initial plans of considering the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands for satellite broadband spectrum. Those items were approved 4-0, as were updated foreign-ownership rules (see 2505010037).