Securus and Pay Tel accused the FCC of acting outside the bounds of what was allowed under the Martha Wright-Reed (MWR) Act of 2022 in its July order reducing call rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039). The two providers of incarcerated people’s communication services (IPCS) filed preliminary briefs Thursday, as did state and law enforcement challengers and groups representing prisoners and their families. The case is before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though various parties are still asking that it be moved to the 5th Circuit (see 2501280053).
While a growing number of China's Thousand Sails satellites head to orbit, they and other Chinese low earth orbit (LEO) constellations are unlikely to obtain -- or even seek -- U.S. market access, satellite policy experts told us. Likewise, U.S. mega constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper are unlikely to obtain Chinese market access anytime soon. SpaceX and Amazon didn't comment.
The FCC said Friday that it no longer contends that Maurine and Matthew Molak of Texas are barred from challenging the FCC’s declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) based on their lack of participation in the FCC proceeding that led to the action. The FCC filed a notice at the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court, which heard oral argument on the case Nov. 4 (see 2411040061).
While the White House increasingly wields tariffs as an economic policy tool, parts of the tech, media and telecom universe see a growing risk of getting enmeshed in trade fights. Some communications technology could be particularly exposed, Telecommunications Industry Association Director-Global Policy Patrick Lozada told us. Broadcasters, meanwhile, are bracing for tariffs that could potentially result in lower advertising spends. SpaceX's temporary loss of a $100 million contract over a U.S./Canada tariff fight also could point to satellite communications getting caught in the thicket of U.S. trade disputes (see 2502060004).
The U.K.’s Office of Communications on Thursday announced a consultation that examines opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, while considering licensed use of part of the spectrum. The Ofcom proposal would provide for low-power indoor (LPI) use across the entire band on a license-exempt basis.
Altice USA plans to offer multi-gig speed in 65% of its footprint by the end of 2028, up from about 30% now, the company said Thursday. In a call with analysts announcing Q4 2024 results, CEO Dennis Mathew said the company would rely on increasing its fiber footprint and reallocating spectrum to its hybrid fiber-coaxial network for the improvement. He said the company plans to expand its network by an additional 175,000 passings this year, most of which will be via fiber.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s announcement that the FCC will begin investigating regulatees with diversity, equality and inclusion programs appears to be among the first actions a federal agency has taken to enforce President Donald Trump’s DEI executive order, though the FCC’s authority in this area is unclear, attorneys and academics told us. In his letter Tuesday to Comcast, Carr said the agency plans “broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates.”
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New lawsuits since the last update are marked with an *.
A notice of inquiry about use of the upper C band for 5G may prove controversial given the implications for radio altimeters, industry experts said. The NOI proposes a study of 3.98-4.2 GHz spectrum, just above the spectrum sold in the record-breaking C-band auction, which ended in early 2021 (see 2102180041). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr initiated the NOI last week for a vote at the Feb. 27 open meeting. A radio altimeter is a device that measures the distance between an aircraft and the ground.
The FAA might not be a good home for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), and maybe it should move elsewhere, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Also speaking Wednesday at the FAA and Commercial Space Federation's annual commercial space conference in Washington, House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mike Haridopolos urged aggressive use of low earth orbit (LEO) broadband in BEAD, saying it would be a vastly cheaper approach.