Industry groups disagreed on the steps the FCC should take to close a “gap” in the commission’s Stir/Shaken authentication rules, making it harder for scammers to hide their identities. CTIA warned of unintended consequences, while other comments asked the commission to move quickly and resolutely.
The FCC posted on Thursday the drafts for all the items teed up for votes at the commission’s Aug. 7 open meeting. Most have a deregulatory bent.
Public Knowledge and New America’s Open Technology Institute urged the FCC to move to a modern spectrum-sharing framework, with an automated, third-party database, to manage the lower 37 GHz band. The groups this week filed joint comments in docket 24-243 on an April Further NPRM from the FCC (see 2507150060).
The FCC avoided a potentially disastrous result when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the USF contribution factor in its Consumers’ Research decision last month (see 2507020049), HWG’s Chris Wright said during a practitioners panel that was part of an FCBA CLE Tuesday (see 2507150081). “If the case had gone the other way” it would have “called into question almost everything in the Communications Act,” said Wright, a former FCC general counsel.
The FCC's move to consider an NPRM on copper retirements at the July 24 open meeting (see 2507030049) is part of a global trend, experts said Tuesday during a World Broadband Association webinar. Operators worldwide have the same concerns as those in the U.S. about the cost of maintaining legacy networks as fiber is deployed, panelists said.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday unveiled a full agenda for the Aug. 7 open meeting, leading off with proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Also included are draft orders that Carr said were aimed at streamlining submarine cable licensing and satellite and earth station licensing. As will be true for the July meeting, cutting regulation will be a priority in August (see 2507030049).
Future rules for the 37 GHz band must protect licensed wireless operations in the upper 37 and 39 GHz bands and shouldn’t impose new emissions limits, CTIA said in comments on a Further NPRM aimed at spurring greater use of the spectrum. FCC commissioners approved an order and FNPRM on the band in April and comments were due Monday in docket 24-243. The National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) repeated its concerns (see 2409300028) about protecting the 36-37 GHz earth exploration satellite service (EESS) band, which is critical for science, it said.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month upholding the USF in the Consumers’ Research case was a win for the FCC (see 2507020049), but the fight isn’t over, Jacob Lewis, FCC associate general counsel, said during an FCBA CLE on Tuesday. Lewis warned that Consumers’ Research has already renewed its challenge in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making a different argument for overturning parts of the fund.
The Rural Wireless Association will ask the full FCC to review an order passed by the Wireless Bureau's and Office of International Affairs' acting chiefs Friday approving T-Mobile’s purchase of wireless assets from UScellular (see 2507110045), the group said Monday in an emailed statement. But new Commissioner Olivia Trusty indicated her support for the three merger orders handed down last week, suggesting that Chairman Brendan Carr would likely have a majority for approval if he sought a commissioner vote.
Concessions from T-Mobile and Verizon that the companies offered as part of recent transactions were critical to getting major carriers to the table to address long-standing pricing issues, said Todd Schlekeway, president and CEO of NATE, an association representing infrastructure builders. The agreements also address concerns about workforce security and contractors who work on towers being fully vetted, he said.