In a statement Tuesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr condemned proposed FCC rules on siting wireless and broadcast towers, small cells and other facilities in flood plains as the previous administration's attempt “to double down on broken environmental laws that benefit nobody but special interests.” The statement doesn't specifically identify its subject as the flood plain rules but an FCC spokesperson confirmed it refers to them. Those rules were stalled on circulation since 2022 (see 2204110047) and were among those recently pulled in a purge of agency items on circulation (see 2501270055). “It is time for America to build. It is time to unleash the growth and opportunity that has been stifled by misguided and outdated infrastructure policies,” Carr said. “Ending the FCC’s consideration of this Biden-era proposal is just an initial step.” He added, “I look forward to working with my colleagues and stakeholders to ensure that the federal government does not stand in the way of America’s broadband builders and the important work they have ahead.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will undoubtedly continue focusing on his core issues of deregulation, competition, infrastructure development and national security, Venable lawyers Craig Gilley and Liz Clark Rinehart wrote Thursday. How quickly he can steer the agency in that direction will depend on Congress' speed in confirming Olivia Trusty as the third Republican commissioner, giving him the majority he needs, they added. A Carr administration means the agency will change course on communications policy issues including net neutrality, broadband regulation, digital equity, spectrum, rationalizing federal infrastructure spending and BEAD, and content moderation online, they said. Carr will likely take a narrower view of the scope of FCC authority and use competition, rather than regulation, to protect consumers. However, he will be a more aggressive regulator on national security matters. GOP control of Capitol Hill and the White House makes net neutrality "a non-issue over the next four years," though whether the FCC can explicitly preempt state net neutrality regulations remains an open question, the lawyers said. If the FCC's digital discrimination rules survive the current challenge before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Carr's FCC would likely revisit and repeal them, they said. The Republican-controlled Congress isn't likely to restore Affordable Connectivity Program funding, "given where Congressional Republicans are on budget issues." They said they expect Carr's FCC to focus on streamlining rules for fiber and infrastructure deployment, such as limiting fees that states and local governments can charge for permit application reviews.

The FCC missed an opportunity by ignoring broader market competition in its most recent biannual Communications Marketplace Report, wrote Seth Cooper, Free State Foundation director-policy studies, on Friday. The report was approved 3-2, over dissents by now-Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington. As he has in the past, Carr objected to the focus on market segments rather than on the converged market (see 2501020033). “The Commission failed to fulfill its statutory duty to consider the effect of competition between services that use different broadband delivery technologies,” and “the 2024 report made zero advancements in analyzing cross-platform competitive effects,” Cooper wrote. “Under new leadership, the FCC should abandon viewing alternative broadband delivery technologies as entirely separate and recognize there is a broader broadband market characterized by competition among fixed and mobile broadband services.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced acting leadership for a number of bureau offices Friday but not for the offices of Workplace Diversity or Communications Business Opportunities. An executive order that President Donald Trump issued Monday that ends federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts could affect those offices and their staff, industry and FCC officials told us. Neither office was mentioned in Carr’s release Monday announcing the shuttering of other FCC diversity efforts (see 2501210070). The FCC didn’t respond to repeated inquiries about those offices' fate. Office of Workplace Diversity staff were present at an all-hands meeting that Carr held Thursday, FCC employees told us.

New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has pulled all items on circulation for a vote by commissioners. “There are no Items on Circulation,” said a single line on the agency’s list, which was dated Friday. Among the items pulled was an NPRM that was seen as a preliminary step to an AWS-3 auction. It was not expected to be controversial (see 2501060044).

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the FCC overstepped its statutory boundaries in part of its implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and vacated part of the agency's 2023 robocall and robotext order. In a 23-page decision (docket 24-10277), Judges Elizabeth Branch, Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa sided with petitioner Insurance Marketing Coalition and said the 2023 order sets rules that conflict with the ordinary statutory meaning of the TCPA's "prior express consent" language. The 11th Circuit judges expressed skepticism in oral argument last month regarding the one-to-one robotext consent policy in the order (see 2412180008). The 11th Circuit vacated the portion of the order that states that a consumer can't consent to a telemarketing or advertising robocall unless they consent to calls from only one entity at a time and consent only to calls whose subject matter is “logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent.” The 11th Circuit also remanded the order back to the FCC for further proceedings. The decision was penned by Branch.

President Donald Trump renewed the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Thursday to “provide advice and evidence-based recommendations to the President to ensure that policies are informed by the latest scientific discoveries and technological advancements,” the White House said. The council will “champion bold investments in innovation, the elimination of bureaucratic barriers, and actions to help the United States remain the world’s premier hub for scientific and technological breakthroughs.” Trump’s executive order reestablishing PCAST would give the advisory council up to 24 members and sets as its co-chairs the White House AI and "cryptocurrency czar," a role previously given to David Sacks, and the assistant to the president for science and technology. Other PCAST members should be “distinguished individuals and representatives from sectors outside of the Federal Government appointed by the President,” the EO said. “These non-Federal members shall have diverse perspectives and expertise in science, technology, education, and innovation.” The White House said Trump’s first administration “accelerated research and collaboration,” including via “spectrum auctions to unlock valuable frequencies for 5G and innovation.”

Ookla on Thursday released its connectivity report for the second half of last year, with T-Mobile and AT&T Fiber emerging as the big winners. “T-Mobile was the fastest mobile provider in the United States during 2H 2024, across all technologies combined, and also specifically for 5G,” Ookla said. The carrier saw a median 5G download speed of 281.52 Mbps and upload speed of 13.39 Mbps. T-Mobile also offered the best gaming experience, the report said. AT&T Fiber was the fastest ISP in the U.S. during the period, with a median download speed of 357.45 Mbps and a median upload speed of 286.93 Mbps, the report said. Among the most populous U.S. cities, it said, "Pittsburgh recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 302.96 Mbps, while Raleigh outpaced the other cities to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 329.82 Mbps.”

The FCC is revising its Freedom of Information Act fees to reflect increases to federal employee pay enacted by Congress and the White House, said a public notice Thursday. The agency made a corresponding increase in 2023 (see 2302060054). “The Commission bases its FOIA Fee Schedule on the grade level of the employee who processes the request,” the PN said. “The Commission’s rules provide that the Fee Schedule will be modified periodically to correspond with modifications in the rate of pay approved by Congress.” The FOIA fee changes are effective as of the PN’s release.

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will hold an off-the-record panel of Black former FCC chairs Feb. 10, in honor of Black History Month, said a public notice Wednesday. Former Chairmen William Kennard and Michael Powell and former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who served as acting chairwoman in 2013, will participate. The event is in-person only.