Senate Commerce Committee Democrats appeared set Tuesday afternoon to pillory Republican FCC candidate Olivia Trusty during her confirmation hearing Wednesday over concerns about the commission's independence from the Trump administration and Chairman Brendan Carr’s actions since he took the gavel Jan. 20. Congressional Democrats have amplified concerns about the FCC’s future independence since President Donald Trump’s disputed firing of both party-affiliated FTC commissioners (see 2504010053). Trusty’s hearing will immediately follow a scheduled 10 a.m. Senate Commerce meeting to vote on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, which is likely to see her advance with strong GOP support and little to no Democratic backing (see 2504080059). Both events will occur in 253 Russell.

LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters are optimistic about ownership deregulation and concerned about tariffs, while NAB is looking to broaden the NAB Show’s appeal, according to speeches and interviews at NAB Show 2025, which kicked off Saturday and runs until Wednesday. The show is set to feature almost no FCC presence compared with previous years, as only Commissioner Anna Gomez planned to attend.

LAS VEGAS -- A proposal to use ATSC 3.0 stations to create a U.S. backup to GPS is more about justifying a speedy transition to the new standard than directly monetizing it, broadcasters and broadcast engineers told us at the NAB Show 2025. The U.S. is the only major power without a backup solution for GPS, and the Broadcast Positioning System proposed by NAB and Sinclair is the most promising candidate in two decades, said Patrick Diamond, a member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board. For the proposed BPS system to work optimally, “the more towers, the better,” said Tariq Mondal, NAB's vice president-advanced technology.

The FCC's 2024 foreign-sponsored content rules are potentially "problematic" in how they put most advertising into the category of "leases," U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas said at oral argument Monday. NAB is challenging the rules (docket 24-1296) (see 2501220078). During oral argument, the group repeatedly emphasized that there's a difference between leases and ad time. Meanwhile, Judge Karen Henderson seemed skeptical of NAB arguments that the order caught it unaware.

The FCC posted Monday draft items for the commission’s April 28 open meeting (see 2504040070), including rules for the lower 37 GHz band that would require nonfederal users to obtain a nationwide nonexclusive license before registering sites in the band. The decades-old geostationary orbit (GSO)/non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) spectrum-sharing regime in the 10.7-12.7, 17.3-18.6 and 19.7-20.2 GHz bands is “the single most constraining regulatory requirement on NGSO satellite systems currently deploying at breakneck speed,” the FCC said in a notice proposing to revisit those sharing rules.

With West Virginia's announced pause of its BEAD process as it revamps its state program to be more in line with what the White House wants, some other states are expected to follow its lead, observers told us. There have been numerous indications that big changes are ahead for BEAD rules (see 2503200003).

T-Mobile is urging the FCC to hold off on instituting a text-to-988 georouting requirement, saying it could disrupt collaborations between wireless providers and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline administrator. That view was expressed in docket 18-336 comments posted Friday, as the FCC is seeking input on 988 text georouting privacy issues (see 2503030002). The 988 call georouting order, which FCC commissioners approved in October, included an NPRM about text georouting (see 2410170026).

5G broadcast supporters say HC2’s petition to allow low-power TV stations to transmit in that standard and reach mobile devices could represent a lifeline for an LPTV industry in distress, while some critics say it appears to be aimed at allowing low-power TV owners to get out of the broadcast business.

DOD has floated a compromise to the wireless industry that vacates military-controlled bands to 420 MHz available for FCC auction while maintaining its grip on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, the main battleground in Capitol Hill’s protracted talks on a compromise airwaves legislative package. DOD’s proposal, first reported by Punchbowl News, circulated as the Senate prepared to move on an amended version of the House-passed budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 14), which will provide a blueprint for a coming reconciliation package that Republicans hope to use to move spectrum legislation (see 2501290057).

FCC commissioners will consider a long-anticipated order on sharing in the 37 GHz band at their meeting April 28, Chairman Brendan Carr announced Friday. In addition, the commission will vote on satellite spectrum sharing and an item designed to crack down further on robocalls. Foreign ownership rules round out the agenda.