President Joe Biden on Thursday denounced Republican plans to eliminate protections for civil servants and limit the power of independent agencies like the FCC, as well as Donald Trump's threat that Comcast's "Treason" will be "thoroughly scrutinized" if he's re-elected president. “What do they intend to do once they erode the constitutional order of checks and balances and separation of powers? Limit the independence of federal agencies and put them under the thumb of a president?” Biden said in Tempe, Arizona, at the dedication ceremony of a library named in memory of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Biden condemned former President Donald Trump’s Schedule F order, which would have made it easier to fire staffers while increasing the number of political appointees in civil service jobs. “These civil servants had to pledge loyalty to the President, not the Constitution. [Trump's order] did not require that they had any protections, and the President would be able to wholesale fire them if he wanted,” Biden said. Biden rescinded Schedule F before it took effect, and the Office of Personnel Management is considering a draft rule that would protect federal worker due process rights against future versions of Schedule F. Trump has pledged to bring independent agencies such as the FCC under direct presidential authority if reelected (see 2304280002). Biden also highlighted a recent social media post by Trump saying Comcast should be investigated for “Country Threatening Treason.” “When I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage,” Trump posted Sept. 24. “Why should NBC, or any other of the corrupt & dishonest media companies, be entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA, FREE?” Accusing a major news network of treason because of unfavorable coverage shows that “the MAGA movement,” which Biden called “the controlling element of the House Republican Party,” hasn’t given up, Biden said. “I don’t know what the hell I’d say about Fox if that becomes the rule,” Biden said. “I’m joking, but think about it.” As president, Trump repeatedly invoked the FCC and tagged then-Chairman Ajit Pai in tweets against media companies, and several times said NBC should lose its “license” (see 1809040051). Pai said then the FCC doesn’t have authority to revoke the license of a broadcast station over its content. The Media and Democracy Project’s petition asking the FCC to revoke the license of WTXF-TV Philadelphia (see 2307060065) shouldn’t be compared to Trump’s posts, said MAP supporter Preston Padden. “Trump’s partisan rant against MSNBC easily is distinguishable from the bi-partisan factual case against Fox’s knowing/repeated presentation of false news,” Padden emailed.

The FCC has 90 days to either complete the 2018 quadrennial review or show cause why the NAB’s petition for mandamus shouldn’t be granted, said an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday evening. The order doesn’t grant NAB’s petition for mandamus but defers it until the 90-day period. Broadcast industry officials told us the court’s urging the agency to soon complete the 2018 QR is the result they wanted. The FCC didn’t immediately comment, but the agency had argued that its delay in completing the QR was justified.

DOD submitted its study of the 3.1 GHz band to the Commerce Department, both said Thursday. The deadline was Saturday for the study that looks at one of the top mid-bands targeted by the wireless industry for reallocation for 5G (see 2308150066). “Spectrum is foundational to our economic prosperity and global technological leadership, from high-speed wireless internet access, to connected vehicles and smart manufacturing, to the next generation of space-based innovation,” said DOD Chief Information Officer John Sherman and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson in a joint statement: “Spectrum is also vital to our most sensitive and important Federal missions, including military radar operations for homeland security, the training of our war fighters before they deploy overseas, and our ability to develop new and advanced military capabilities.” The White House is "actively coordinating interagency discussion on spectrum policy to ensure all options are considered to achieve the nation’s economic and national security needs," the statement said. Congress required the Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing Feasibility Assessment, or EMBRSS study, as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., led a letter with Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and 25 other Senate Democratic caucus members Monday urging the FCC to "expeditiously reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under" Communications Act Title II to undergird a potential rewrite of net neutrality rules. Lawmakers in both parties are eyeing the FCC's regulatory trajectory on net neutrality and other matters as Commissioner-designate Anna Gomez takes office, which would bring the commission to a 3-2 Democratic majority (see 2309200001). A renewed push for Title II reclassification, a Democratic priority since the FCC undid its 2015 net neutrality rules, would allow the commission to "effectively protect consumers from harmful practices online, promote affordable access to the internet, enhance public safety, increase marketplace competition, and take other important steps to benefit our nation’s digital future," Markey and the other senators wrote Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC's rescission of the 2015 Title II reclassification "threw out most of the Commission’s ability to enforce the consumer protection, competition, public safety, and universal service principles at the heart of the" Communications Act. "Repeated court rulings have made clear that reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service is the only way the FCC can use its legal authority to reinstate net neutrality," the senators said: Reclassification "is a requisite step in the FCC’s efforts to serve the American people and conduct proper oversight of broadband." Title II opponents, including Commissioner Brendan Carr, have recently amplified their warnings that the Supreme Court's establishment of the major questions doctrine in its 2022 West Virginia v. EPA ruling (see 2206300066) would render reclassification unconstitutional absent congressional action.

The Internet Innovation Alliance will be "shutting its digital doors," after launching 19 years ago, the group said Friday. IIA said its "work is done, and our mission will soon be (just about) complete" because of NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment program. "We are so thankful for having had the chance to help shape the policies that have guided the growth and development of our dynamic internet ecosystem," the group said. A spokesperson said the group will officially shut down operations this weekend. "The last steps toward closing the digital divide are extending the affordable connectivity program and continuing efforts to increase broadband adoption," the spokesperson said, and "policymakers on both sides of the aisle now realize that broadband is a necessity. … IIA accomplished its mission, and its work is done."

Two years after AT&T filed it at the FCC, the commission sought comment Friday on a petition asking for a rulemaking on mid-band spectrum screen covering 2.5-6 GHz (see 2109010069). Comments are due Oct. 23, replies Nov. 8, in docket 23-319. The Wireless Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics “first seek comment on AT&T’s request that the Commission initiate a rulemaking proceeding,” the notice said: “We then seek comment more broadly on whether we should recommend that the Commission, in the context of initiating a rulemaking, propose other changes to its mobile spectrum holdings rules and policies.” Among other questions asked is whether the spectrum range highlighted by AT&T is broad enough and whether the commission should undertake a “case-by-case review of long-form license applications rather than adopt ex ante limits.” The notice asks “whether and how we should recommend to the Commission that it propose additional amendments to its mobile spectrum holdings rules and policies, in light of evolutions in technology and market dynamics.” It asks about changes to FCC rules or policies to promote competition and ensure “there is sufficient spectrum available for multiple existing mobile service providers as well as potential entrants.” Should the FCC update the spectrum included in that screen, “or adjust the approximate one-third trigger for the spectrum screen that the Commission currently applies?” the notice asks: “How should the Commission address spectrum aggregation as new bands become available? ... We seek comment on whether the Commission should consider spectrum weighting and, if so, what specific weighted factors should be considered.” AT&T urged the FCC to consider a screen similar to those already established for high- and low-band spectrum. “We believe that such a tool would assist the Commission in identifying spectrum aggregations that may cause competitive harm by allowing a licensee to hold so much mid-band spectrum in a given market that it becomes impossible for others to compete effectively,” AT&T said then. Last year, AT&T asked the FCC not to award T-Mobile 2.5 GHz licenses it won in an auction based on its rival’s mid-band holdings (see 2211210085).

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., plans to register concerns Monday with the State Department over the Biden administration naming Steve Lang, deputy assistant secretary of state-international information and communications policy, to replace FCC Commissioner-designate Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai, as expected (see 2309120074). "On multiple occasions during" Gomez's confirmation process, "I emphasized the importance of thoughtfully proceeding ... to ensure the U.S. remains well positioned for the WRC," which begins Nov. 20, Blackburn said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken we obtained ahead of its release. "Ideally, the Senate would have delayed Gomez's confirmation vote until after" the conference's conclusion and State "would have been more transparent in its contingency planning and execution." That transition "was handled irresponsibly," Blackburn said: The administration "has shown little regard for the ramifications of its actions on global spectrum policy or the need to protect U.S. leadership in telecommunications." Blackburn pressed for Lang to "brief me and my staff" before Oct. 13 "on his priorities for the WRC and the continued role -- if any" that Gomez will play in the conference. "It is important for members of Congress to be informed about this transition and how it will affect our representation before" the ITU, Blackburn said. State didn't comment.

SpaceX and T-Mobile urged the FCC to approve their joint proposal for mobile supplemental coverage from space (see 2305190057). “By swiftly processing pending supplemental coverage applications while it considers long-term rules, the Commission will not only benefit millions of Americans, but through U.S. leadership in authorizing SCS, also will help enable this transformative technology to quickly bring connectivity to potentially billions of people in areas where terrestrial mobile networks are absent or have been impacted by natural disasters,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-135. The companies said they met with staff from the Wireless and Space bureaus and provided “an update on the extensive work already being completed.”

The upper 12 GHz band "is an integral part" of the global Ku-band satellite ecosystem, and repurposing it for terrestrial use would undermine critical services, Intelsat representatives told staffers of the FCC Space and Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology, said a docket 22-352 filing Wednesday. Intelsat urged removing restrictions on use of the Ku band by geostationary and non-geostationary orbit satellite services. It said thousands of satellites share 500 MHz of Ku uplink spectrum adjacent to the upper 12 GHz band and there's a need for more.

AST SpaceMobile and AT&T made the first 5G call using a standard, unmodified smartphone and a satellite, AST said Tuesday. The call was placed in Maui, Hawaii, to a Vodafone engineer in Madrid using AT&T spectrum, a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone and AST's BlueWalker 3 test satellite, it said. It said a separate test achieved a download rate of about 14 Mbps. "Making the first successful 5G cellular broadband connections from space directly to mobile phones is yet another significant advancement in telecommunications AST SpaceMobile has pioneered," said AST CEO Abel Avellan. "We are more confident than ever that space-based cellular broadband can help transform internet connectivity across the globe by filling in gaps and connecting the unconnected.”