The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the FCC’s Top Four prohibition and its extension to low power TV stations and multicast streams but upheld the agency’s other broadcast ownership rules in a unanimous opinion Wednesday on the 2018 quadrennial review. Petitioners Zimmer Radio, Nexstar, NAB, Beasley Media and Tri-State Communications challenged the order in October. In weighing whether to retain broadcast ownership rules, “the FCC properly considered all three of its public interest goals—competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity,” said the opinion. “In sum, Petitioners have not shown that the Commission’s decision was not reasoned or reasonable.” However, the agency’s justifications for retaining the Top Four prohibition were “counter to the evidence before the agency,” the opinion said. The court also vacated the FCC’s extension of the top four prohibition to multicast channels and LPTV, and ruled that Congress didn’t intend for the agency to use the quadrennial review process to tighten regulations. The court will wait 90 days before issuing the mandate in the case to give the FCC an opportunity to provide “adequate evidence to support any of its articulated justifications for retaining the rule. If the FCC fails to do so, upon further order the mandate will issue,” the opinion said.
The Senate confirmed Republican Arielle Roth as NTIA administrator Wednesday on a largely party-line 52-42 vote, as expected. Senate Commerce Committee member John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat who joined Republicans in backing Roth, as he was when the panel advanced her in April. The chamber invoked cloture on Roth last week 50-34. President Donald Trump nominated Roth, who has been Senate Commerce Republicans’ telecom policy director, to the NTIA role in February.
The Senate voted 50-34 Thursday to invoke cloture on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, setting the stage for her confirmation next week. The vote divided largely along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to back Roth, as expected. All Senate Commerce Democrats except Fetterman voted against advancing Roth in April amid frustrations about the Trump administration's plan for administering NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. President Donald Trump nominated Roth in February.
The FCC on Friday approved T-Mobile’s purchase of wireless assets from UScellular, a deal valued at about $4.4 billion, including $2 billion in assumed debt, Chairman Brendan Carr announced. The transaction includes about 30% of UScellular's spectrum and all of its wireless customers and stores. The approval came from the Wireless Bureau with no commissioner vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday in Consumers’ Research v. FCC that the USF's contribution scheme doesn’t violate the non-delegation doctrine. The decision overturned an en banc ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissent, which was joined by Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
The U.S. is offering to host the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference. In a letter Monday to ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered to host "here, in the beautiful United States of America." He said with Rwanda withdrawing its bid to host, the U.S. "stands ready and willing to step up to provide a free and open environment to host this critical conference." The Lutnick letter does not specify one host city but says it could be "any number of cities," including Washington. Shanghai has been seen as the most likely host for WRC-27 (see 2506180073).
In a 6-3 ruling Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a key Telephone Consumer Protection Act case that lower courts aren’t bound by FCC and other agency decisions. The Hobbs Act gives the appeals courts general jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend or determine the validity of some agency orders, including most FCC orders, according to the decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson. Major telecom trade groups have urged SCOTUS to reject arguments that a lower court can review an FCC decision, saying industry needs the certainty provided by the Hobbs Act (see 2412260037).
The FCC Media Bureau issued a public notice late Wednesday seeking comment on eliminating or modifying the national broadcast-ownership cap. The item sought comment about changing the cap, modifying the UHF discount and treating ownership of non-top-four affiliate stations differently under the rules. If the FCC “retains a national audience reach cap, should common ownership of stations that are not affiliated with major national broadcast networks (i.e., ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX) be excluded from the cap?” the notice asked.
The Senate voted 53-45 Wednesday to confirm Republican Commissioner-designate Olivia Trusty to a full, five-year term that begins July 1, as expected. The chamber already confirmed her Tuesday to finish the term of former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, which ends June 30. Once sworn in, Trusty will shift the FCC to a 2-1 Republican majority and restore the commission's quorum.
The Senate confirmed Republican Olivia Trusty to the FCC Tuesday on a largely party-line, 53-45 vote, as expected. The vote covered only her nomination to finish the term of former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, which expires June 30. The chamber is likely to confirm Trusty on Wednesday to a full five-year term, which will begin July 1. Once sworn in, Trusty will shift the FCC to a 2-1 Republican majority. The simultaneous resignations earlier this month of Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington and Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks left the agency without a quorum and in a 1-1 tie.