As the subject of two FCC probes, EchoStar has received backing from various industry groups and others, but it also faces new questions about how well it's complying with the terms of its 5G network buildout. That's according to docket 25-173 and 22-212 comments, which were due Tuesday in a pair of public notices: one on whether EchoStar is using the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service (MSS), consistent with its authorizations, and the other seeking further comment on VTel Wireless' recon petition regarding an extension of EchoStar's 5G network buildout deadlines (see 2505130003).

NPR and three public radio stations filed a lawsuit Tuesday that asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block a White House executive order cutting funding for NPR and PBS (see 2505020044).

The U.S. is in dire need of commercial services to complement or back up GPS, though global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and space industry experts expect commercial services to face a business challenge in competing with GPS' free signals. Some speakers at a George Washington University/Aerospace Corp. seminar Tuesday also said RF diversity could help tackle GPS interference problems but would see a major regulatory fight. In response to an FCC notice of inquiry regarding positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) alternatives, NTIA on Tuesday submitted an "inventory" of possibilities (see 2505270037).

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.

SpaceX's efforts to access the 2 GHz band -- where EchoStar enjoys sole use -- are key to its direct-to-device ambitions, but they're also creating a major spectrum fight between the two companies, spectrum and satellite experts told us. Some see SpaceX eyeing the spectrum to enhance its D2D service and to block EchoStar's and are asking if SpaceX anticipates competing directly with wireless carriers.

A U.S. Supreme Court opinion late Thursday preventing fired independent commissioners from resuming their work is a strong indication that the high court will allow President Donald Trump to remove FCC and FTC commissioners from the minority party, academics and attorneys said in interviews Friday.

Industry attorneys expect USF reform and think BEAD efforts will soon speed up, they said in a webinar Thursday hosted by Incompas CEO Chip Pickering. The panel also discussed convergence between wired and wireless broadband and the movement of power away from the FCC in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings against agency authority. “From Incompas’ perspective ... we think a lot will shift to Congress, to the administration and to the states,” said Pickering.

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).

Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is threatening to block Senate passage of its budget reconciliation package if Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others include spectrum legislative language that doesn’t exempt the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7 GHz bands from potential reallocation for commercial use. Rounds’ declaration Wednesday night created another potential roadblock for spectrum legislation to make it into a negotiated reconciliation deal, even as House GOP leaders celebrated the lower chamber's narrow passage Thursday morning of their One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). That measure's spectrum title would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction authority through Sept. 30, 2034, and exempts the lower 3 GHz and 5.9-7.1 (6) GHz bands from reallocation.