Major providers discussed what they saw as the key technical rules for the upcoming AWS-3 auction in comments on a March public notice on its bidding procedures. Initial comments are already in on a separate NPRM looking more generally at changes to auction rules (see 2504010055). Replies on the NPRM are due next week. The auction will offer licenses that affiliates of Dish Network returned to the FCC in 2023, as well as unsold licenses from the initial AWS-3 auction 10 years ago.

Comments in Chairman Brendan Carr's “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket (25-133) continue to roll in to the FCC. As of late Friday, the due date, nearly 600 comments have been filed. Also on Friday, USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter compared the docket to “spring cleaning.”

The FCC and FTC are moving toward trying to rein in what they see as overly broad applications of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and to reverse what their agency leaders call censorship by social media platforms. Agency watchers said they expect the FCC to issue an advisory opinion soon, though some see such an opinion as more performative than practical. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has repeatedly said that addressing "the censorship cartel" is one of the agency's priorities (see 2411210028). His office and the FTC didn't comment. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has been critical of the possibility of a Section 230 advisory opinion (see 2502240062).

Letting ISPs retire copper lines and move to next-generation technologies is critical to broadband deployment, industry experts said during a USTelecom forum Thursday. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said repeatedly that the agency wants to make it easier for ISPs to modernize their networks (see 2504030011). Other executives warned that uncertainty in the BEAD program could be slowing broadband deployment.

A White House executive order that says agencies can dispense with notice-and-comment requirements when repealing some rules is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the FCC because Chairman Brendan Carr has at his disposal many traditional ways of deleting rules, academics, industry lobbyists and attorneys said in interviews. Along with the order on notice and comment, the White House also released an order requiring agencies to scuttle “anti-competitive” regulations and another repealing showerhead measures that could affect how agencies justify decisions.

Spectrum sharing is taking off as a concept in nations around the world, speakers said during the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Spectrum Management Conference, which streamed from Bahrain on Thursday. Sharing technologies is becoming more dynamic as the need for access to spectrum grows, speakers said.

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

Internet connections, even if they’re slow, are critical to agriculture, said Joy Sterling, CEO of California’s Iron Horse Vineyards, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Other speakers called on the FCC to continue the work of its Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force following its final meeting last year (see 2412050050). Sterling served on the task force.

Some Senate Commerce Committee Democrats gave Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty a more positive reception during her Wednesday confirmation hearing than observers were expecting, though they used questions to hammer Chairman Brendan Carr’s actions since taking the gavel Jan. 20 and voice concerns about the agency's loss of independence during the Trump administration (see 2504080066). Panel Democrats delivered a harsher verdict to NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, who advanced Wednesday on a nearly party-line vote of 16-12, as expected (see 2504080059). Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to buck his party's opposition (see 2504090037).

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth on a nearly party-line vote of 16-12 Wednesday, as expected (see 2504080059). Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to buck his party by supporting her move forward. Panel Democrats gave Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty a more positive reception during her Wednesday confirmation hearing, even as they used some of their questions to hammer commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s actions since he took the gavel Jan. 20 and renew their concerns about the loss of agency independence during the Trump administration (see 2504090060).