FCC members unanimously approved Ligado's use of its L-band spectrum for terrestrial use, the agency announced Monday morning. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the vote "another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.” The vote "reflects the broad, bipartisan support that this order has received," he said.
The FCC and the Office of the Solicitor General filed a cert petition at the Supreme Court seeking reversal of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Prometheus IV. Parties to the case sent us the filing, which wasn't yet online or confirmed by the FCC.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order to OK with conditions Ligado’s application for a low-power terrestrial nationwide broadband network, the agency confirmed Thursday morning in a long-anticipated move. The L-band operations could support 5G and the IoT, the regulator said. “This draft order would both promote more efficient and effective use of our nation’s spectrum resources and ensure that adjacent band operations," including GPS, "are protected from harmful interference,” it added.
T-Mobile/Sprint got its final OK, as the California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 Thursday for a revised proposal that reasserted the agency’s authority to review the deal while adjusting some conditions.
The California Public Utilities Commission reasserted authority to review T-Mobile/Sprint, while tweaking some conditions the carriers opposed, in a revised proposed decision released Wednesday. Commissioners plan to vote Thursday.
The Technology Policy Institute is the latest organization in media, technology and telecom to reschedule an event due to COVID-19. TPI moved its annual conference from Aug. 16-18 in Aspen, Colorado, across the country to Boar's Head Resort in Charlottesville on Oct. 16-18, we were told this week. It's one of the farthest out on the calendar events to be rescheduled due to COVID-19.
Frontier Communications is the latest telco to file for bankruptcy. Bondholders representing more than 75% of the carrier's approximately $11 billion in unsecured bonds agreed to support the plan that's expected to reduce the company’s debt by more than $10 billion, said an email we received at around 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The company said it and subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
COVID-19 effects continue to be felt in media, telecom and technology. NAB won't move when planned, we were told Tuesday afternoon.
The FCC’s move to new headquarters near Union Station has been delayed at least two months due to COVID-19, a spokesperson told us Monday afternoon. The move had been slated to happen in late June.
The FCC Office of General Counsel and Media Bureau won't investigate any allegedly inaccurate statements by President Donald Trump on COVID-19 that broadcasters carried. FCC staff "today wholly rejected a petition by Free Press demanding a government investigation into broadcasters that have aired" such statements during White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings and related commentary "regarding the coronavirus pandemic by other on-air personalities." That's per a letter/order the commission announced Monday.