Regulators worldwide are still struggling with how they should treat rich communication services (RCS), speakers said Tuesday during a Mobile World Live webinar. RCS is an advanced communications protocol standard for instant messaging, primarily used on mobile phones and promoted by GSMA as a replacement for SMS and MMS messaging.

Most comments appeared to support proposals in a January NPRM on a voluntary, negotiation-based process to transition 10 MHz in the 900 MHz band to broadband. But some commenters continued to raise concerns about the interference risk for the current band incumbent (see 2505190025). Reply comments were due this week in docket 24-99. In 2020, the FCC approved use of 3/3 MHz channels in the band for broadband while retaining 4 MHz for narrowband operations (see 2005130057).

The Senate confirmed Republican Olivia Trusty to the FCC Tuesday on a largely party-line, 53-45 vote, as expected (see 2506130065). The vote covered only her nomination to finish the term of former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, which expires June 30. The chamber planned to vote Wednesday to confirm Trusty to a full five-year term, which will begin July 1. Lobbyists expect the Senate to approve her for the additional term by a similar margin. Once sworn in, Trusty will shift the FCC to a 2-1 Republican majority. The simultaneous resignations earlier this month of Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington and Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks left the agency without a quorum and in a 1-1 tie (see 2506060051).

The video distribution marketplace is in the midst of rapid and massive upheaval, but video rules experts were divided in a panel talk Monday about what needs to be done in response. At the Congressional Internet Caucus Academy event, former FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly called for eliminating the vast majority of the rules governing video distribution. Localities lawyer Cheryl Leanza of Best Best warned of the tendency of a "knee-jerk reaction" to deregulate without looking at why existing rules were adopted. Some archaic rules need to be done away with, she said, but rules that promote democracy and civic discourse must be maintained.

Public interest groups defended most parts of the FCC’s July order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 (see 2501280053) in a brief filed Monday at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (24-8028). Incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS) providers and the National Sheriffs’ Association argued to the court why the order should be overturned. Last week, the government also defended the order (see 2506120078).

Analysts said the FCC is unlikely to act soon on its twin EchoStar proceedings given that the White House seems to want to avoid an EchoStar bankruptcy. The agency is probing whether the company is using the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service and looking into the deadline extensions EchoStar received for its 5G network buildout (see 2505130003).

The Trump Organization announced Monday that later this year, it will launch Trump Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator, and a gold-colored smartphone, which it said will eventually be made in the U.S. The launch would create ethics concerns regardless, but even more so given the Trump administration's pressure for the FCC to answer directly to the White House, public interest groups said.

Ligado and Viasat's Inmarsat have struck a deal that ends Inmarsat's objections to Ligado's plan to get out of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Inmarsat had fought Ligado's plan to lease its L-band spectrum to AST SpaceMobile (see 2504280047). AST, meanwhile, has asked the FCC to commence commercial supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service.

What the apparent collapse of a previously tight relationship between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump means for Musk's SpaceX is uncertain, space industry and FCC watchers told us. Some believe SpaceX will face a chillier reception from regulatory agencies, including for FCC proceedings that SpaceX is intensely interested in, such as the agency's probes into EchoStar's use of the 2 GHz band and its terrestrial 5G network buildout (see 2505130003). Others don't see the feud meaning much. The FCC and FAA -- which regulates SpaceX's launch operations -- didn't comment.

If Congress authorizes the full-power licensed use of the upper C-band, an FCC auction appears unlikely before 2026 at the earliest, industry experts told us. The conventional wisdom is that it takes about a year between the initial preparation stages and an auction. But FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has promised to move quickly on spectrum and had put a notice of inquiry on the agenda for his first meeting as chairman, they also said (see 2502050057).