President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday night he’s naming Republican FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as permanent chair of the commission when he takes office Jan. 20 and will nominate Mark Meador, a former antitrust staffer for Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah., to the commission seat currently held by Chair Lina Khan. Both moves were expected. Khan’s current term expired Sept. 26, meaning she would have needed renomination to another term to remain at the FTC. Ferguson has been a commissioner since earlier this year.
The House Republican Steering Committee said Monday afternoon they selected Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky to lead Commerce Committee in the next Congress. Guthrie prevailed over current Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who is term-limited out of that role at the end of this Congress. The full House GOP conference still needs to approve Guthrie's selection. Guthrie, a Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chair and a past House Communications member, said earlier this year an airwaves legislative package would be be a top priority if he became House Commerce chairman and such legislation didn't already pass this year (see 2404110059). Guthrie also backs a Universal Service Fund revamp (see 2411270060). Latta congratulated Guthrie shortly after the vote.
The House and Senate Armed Services committees released a compromise version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) Saturday night with language allocating $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, as expected. The measure also provides up to $500 million through 2033 to the Commerce Department for regional tech hubs. The language in HR-5009, originating from the Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act (S-4207), would give the FCC $3.08 billion in Treasury Department borrowing authority for rip and replace reimbursements.
The FCC has signed off on SpaceX providing commercial supplemental coverage from space services using its Starlink satellites. In an FCC Space Bureau order issued Tuesday, the bureau said the direct-to-smartphone service -- done in partnership with T-Mobile and using 1910-1915 MHz unlinks and 1990-1995 MHz downlinks on a secondary basis -- is likely to avoid causing harmful interference with in-band terrestrial operations. The bureau said it's in T-Mobile's "best interest to ensure that SpaceX will not cause harmful interference." It also said its own "rigorous analysis" of SpaceX plans indicate the satellite company can adjust its equivalent isotropically radiated power in a way that won't cause interference with Omnispace, which had raised interference concerns with the agency.
The FCC on Thursday adopted long-awaited final rules for cellular-vehicle-to-everything technology in the 5.9 GHz band. “These rules will improve transportation safety and permit more efficient mobility as this advanced communications technology is integrated into vehicles and infrastructure,” said a news release. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated proposed rules in July.
President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday night he will name Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as permanent chairman when he takes office Jan. 20, as expected. Communications sector officials and lobbyists have long pointed to Carr as the prohibitive favorite to take over the gavel if Trump won the election. Carr in part has benefited from strong ties to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who will play a role via Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency in recommending a potentially major structural revamp of federal agencies. Musk recently spoke in favor of Carr’s elevation to the chairmanship in conversations with members of Trump’s team, lobbyists told us.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday night to stand down from working on controversial matters during the transition from President Joe Biden to President-elect Donald Trump, as expected. Cruz's “pencils down” request to Rosenworcel followed a similar Wednesday call from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the favorite to lead the agency when Trump takes office in January, backed a similar pencils-down measure Thursday.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas appears on course to take the panel's gavel next year, having prevailed Tuesday night in his reelection bid as Republicans won back control of the chamber. All major news organizations called the election for Cruz, who led Democratic Rep. Colin Allred Wednesday 53%-44% with 95% of votes counted.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s office pulled a draft order on robotexts and robocalls from the agenda for the commissioners' open meeting Thursday and returned it to circulation. The FCC issued a notice late Tuesday that the item was deleted from the agenda. Some observers warned last week of potential opposition from Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington over First Amendment concerns, though they noted commissioners have traditionally embraced additional robocall rules as one of the FCC's top consumer items.
The FCC gave the go-ahead to EchoStar's request this week for extensions of milestones in its 5G network buildout. In a notation Friday in the FCC's Universal Licensing System, the agency said it granted the extension request contingent on EchoStar fulfilling the conditions it made with its application. EchoStar previously cited issues ranging from the pandemic's impact on supply chains to the cost of moving Boost subscribers from the legacy Sprint CDMA network to the T-Mobile network as reasons for delaying its 5G work. Accordingly, it asked that the FCC extend 2025 milestone deadlines into late 2026.