The U.S. Supreme Court should refrain from overturning judicial precedent on the firing of independent agency commissioners as “a matter of judicial restraint -- of respect for precedent and continuity in the law,” said TechFreedom in an amicus brief filed Monday in Trump v. Slaughter. The case concerns President Donald Trump’s firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and could bear on whether Trump can fire FCC commissioners. The White House wants SCOTUS to vacate a lower court order that blocked Slaughter’s firing.
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet Sept. 25, as expected (see 2506120070), the agency said Thursday. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. at FCC headquarters. CSRIC members are scheduled to vote on a report about recommended best practices on the ethical and practical use of AI and machine learning, the notice said, as well as hear updates on other reports.
NTIA may require states to conduct an additional round of subgrantee selections for the BEAD program, warned Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's community broadband networks initiative. In a blog Tuesday, Mitchell said NTIA added a "new step in the BEAD process to further reduce new investment in the areas that currently only have access from satellite providers."
The latest comments posted in docket 25-223 show disagreement on what changes the FCC should make to its approach to its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress (see 2509090010). Among them, USTelecom and CTIA urged the commission to refocus the report to look just at deployment. Commissioners approved a notice of inquiry in August on the preparation of the reports, with an eye on more narrowly focusing them based on the statutory language (see 2508050056).
The FCC’s direct final rule process and planned deletion of rules could disproportionately affect rural Alaska, and the agency should consult with tribal nations on any deletions, the Knik Tribe said in comments posted Wednesday in docket 25-133.
SpaceX’s purchase of wireless licenses from EchoStar, announced Monday, wasn’t a surprise (see 2509080052), AT&T CEO John Stankey said Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs conference. “I'd probably argue that that may be the highest and best use of that spectrum for a variety of reasons because it does harmonize very well globally.”
The FCC is proposing to revoke the certification of Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA) to operate the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) in the state, said a letter in Monday's Daily Digest.
FCC regulatory fees are due Sept. 25, but the Commission Registration System is already open to receive them, said a public notice Friday. “While FY 2025 regulatory fees will not become effective until the Order is published in the Federal Register, regulatees, at their own discretion, may submit payments at any time before the FY 2025 regulatory fees due date.”
The FCC appointed Chairman Brendan Carr as the agency’s defense commissioner in July but only released the order Thursday. The agency didn’t comment on the reason for the delay. Defense commissioner is a procedural role historically occupied by the chair. Carr’s predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, was made defense commissioner when she was acting chair in 2021. The defense commissioner “directs the homeland security, national security and emergency preparedness, and defense activities of the Commission,” as well as serving as the principal point of contact for the Department of Homeland Security, the order said.
Verizon wasn’t interested in the spectrum that AT&T is buying from EchoStar, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, said at a Bank of America financial conference Wednesday. Verizon is very happy with its spectrum position, he said. AT&T announced last week an agreement to buy EchoStar spectrum for $23 billion (see 2508260005).