The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night that it plans an April 9 confirmation hearing for Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty, as expected (see 2504010053). A panel vote on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth will precede the hearing. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, UnidosUS and the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry responded to the announcement Thursday by calling on Senate Commerce leaders to delay Trusty’s consideration until they get assurances from the Trump administration that it won’t subsequently fire the FCC’s Democratic commissioners. FCC observers have questioned whether President Donald Trump might ax the commission's Democrats after his disputed firing last month of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503200057).
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Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New lawsuits are marked with a *.
Lawyers for the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society said Wednesday that groups defending the USF had a good day last week, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the Consumers' Research case (see 2503260061). They spoke during a SHLB webinar.
The FCC should use a still-open 2017 proceeding to eliminate the national ownership cap, NAB said in a letter to the agency Wednesday. The rule bars any single TV broadcaster from owning stations that, as a group, reach more than 39% of the total number of U.S. TV households. “This outmoded rule prevents broadcasters -- but not any other video service providers -- from competing for audiences and vital advertising revenues across the county,” NAB said.
House Oversight Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Republicans tried to keep a Wednesday hearing focused on how to strengthen U.S. telecom networks’ security after the 2024 Chinese government-affiliated Salt Typhoon hacking incident (see 2411190073). But it quickly shifted to a series of partisan barbs over Trump administration officials’ leaked communications about plans for an airstrike in Yemen on messaging app Signal. Republicans have been attempting to pivot from the week-plus fallout over “Signalgate,” with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters Monday that “this case has been closed … as far as we are concerned.”
With the FCC launching a notice of inquiry last week (see 2503270042) on alternatives to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), several options will likely move forward, experts said during an FCBA webinar Wednesday. But the U.S. faces a significant risk of remaining too dependent on GPS, they warned.
In comments posted Tuesday about competitive bidding procedures for the upcoming AWS-3 auction, CTIA opposed a tribal window that could allow tribes to obtain spectrum to serve some of the least connected communities in the U.S. The tribes pushed back firmly in their filings. Other commenters called for rules that would give smaller providers a better chance to succeed in the auction, which will offer licenses returned to the FCC by affiliates of Dish Network in 2023 and unsold licenses from the initial AWS-3 auction 10 years ago (see 2501230041). Comments were due Monday in docket 25-70 (see 2503110061).
T-Mobile and EQT closed a deal to buy stakes in fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos, the companies said Tuesday. The launch of the joint venture follows the FCC’s approval of the underlying transaction last week (see 2503280023). T-Mobile is investing $950 million for a 50% stake in the joint venture, with plans for an additional $500 million investment in 2027-28. T-Mobile said when the deal was announced last April (see 2404250047) that it hoped it could be finalized in late 2024 or early 2025.
Broadcasters attending the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas will be discussing industry competition, rising prospects for ownership deregulation, the potential of the FCC’s “Delete” docket, and their perennial hopes for monetizing ATSC 3.0, broadcasters, brokers and broadcast attorneys told us. The show runs from Saturday until Wednesday, April 9. There are “increasing drumbeats from every direction” pointing to ownership deregulation and the potential for station deals, Tideline Partners media broker Gregory Guy said in an interview. “I fully expect that 2025 will be the most important year this century for broadcast, radio and television.”
Top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us they are considering, but aren't yet committed to, scaling back or ceasing cooperation in advancing Republican nominees to federal entities ahead of a likely imminent panel confirmation hearing for GOP FCC nominee Olivia Trusty. Democrats are eyeing the tactic shift in response to President Donald Trump’s disputed March firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057) and other actions against independent agencies. Any roadblocks Democrats place against GOP picks would be largely symbolic and likely only delay Senate confirmations, given Republicans' 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, observers said.