The FCC wasted no time seeking comment on an NPRM looking at potential changes to the commission’s enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which was released last week (see 2508150050). The FCC is set to publish the notice in Tuesday’s Federal Register. That means comments will be due Sept. 18, replies Oct. 3.

A former top DOJ antitrust official on Monday lambasted other Justice leaders for creating what he said was a "pay-for-play" environment at the agency that allows companies with MAGA connections to get approvals. Speaking Monday at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum (see [Re:2508180023]), Roger Alford, former principal deputy assistant in DOJ's antitrust division, said there's a battle "between genuine MAGA reformers and MAGA in name only lobbyists."

The White House eliminated a Biden-era executive order that contained net neutrality and broadband billing provisions. The 2021 EO on promoting competition urged the FCC to consider adopting net neutrality rules and prohibiting "unjust or unreasonable early termination fees for end-user communications contracts" (see 2107090006). It also urged the agency to undertake a rulemaking to require broadband service providers to regularly report broadband price and subscription rates "for the purpose of disseminating that information to the public in a useful manner, to improve price transparency and market functioning." The EO urged DOJ and FTC to review existing horizontal and vertical merger guidelines "and consider whether to revise those guidelines." DOJ's Antitrust Division on Thursday said with the EO's revocation, it will "continue its work to recalibrate and modernize the Federal approach to competition policy to suit the needs of our dynamic and innovative economy."

FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty said in a speech Thursday that the agency will use its returned auction authority and other initiatives to make the U.S. an international leader in integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), the technology that combines tracking and data transmission. It lets mobile communications networks be used to sense and track non-connected objects, similar to radar. “ISAC is not just a technical evolution; it is a strategic leap,” Trusty said at the ISAC Strategy Summit in Arlington, Virginia, Thursday. “It gives us a chance to fuse our economic and national security goals into a common platform.” The international race for ISAC leadership “is already underway,” Trusty said. “Just as with 5G, those who move first will shape the technical rules, secure the supply chains, and capture the economic benefits. The question is not whether ISAC will be deployed; it is who will deploy it first, at scale, and on their own terms.”

Smartphone and TV prices nosedived in the U.S. between July 2024 and last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index unadjusted data, released Tuesday. Smartphone prices were down 14.7% year over year, while TV prices fell 9%, it said. The bureau also said the cost of wireless phone service was down 0.8%, while residential phone service rose 1.5%. Prices for computers, peripherals and smart-home assistants dropped 1.8%, while the cost of cable, satellite and livestreaming TV service rose 2.2%. Internet service was down 2.4%, and video purchase/subscription/rental costs rose 2%. July prices for all items were up 2.7% year over year before seasonal adjustment.

The FCC should be applauded for using the direct final rule (DFR) as a tool to quickly do away with archaic rules on its books, Free State Foundation President Randolph May wrote Friday. The idea of agencies using the DFR that way has been around for decades, and now the FCC is embracing the approach, May said. Under the DFR process, there's still an opportunity for public comment, he noted, and adjustments can be made to ensure that serious, substantive objections are properly considered. A split FCC in July adopted an order clarifying that its bureaus have authority to delete rules under the DFR process without commission votes (see 2507240055).

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced Thursday he has named Enforcement Bureau Chief Technology Officer Andy Hendrickson as chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology. He replaces acting Chief Ira Keltz, who returns to deputy chief. Hendrickson joined the FCC last year after nearly a decade at Verizon, where he was most recently a senior director of the provider’s cloud platform. Historically, most chief engineers get the job after long service within OET. Keltz had been at the FCC for 30 years before he was tapped as acting chief last year, replacing Ron Repasi (see 2410030057).

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at Dish Network must end, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday. Speaking with reporters at the agency's August meeting, Carr said he has "been very clear to regulated entities that they should be ending their own promotion of invidious forms of DEI discrimination." Advocacy group Consumers' Research has criticized Dish for alleged DEI policies (see 2507240042) and this week urged Carr and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate. Noting FCC investigations regarding DEI activity at Comcast and Verizon (see 2503280038), Carr said such engagement "has proven to be successful in making sure they're complying" with the agency's equal opportunity policies. "So whether it's Dish or anyone else, we would expect them to come to compliance with the FCC's approach." Dish parent EchoStar didn't comment.

A broad group of local governments and associations on Wednesday protested the FCC’s direct final rule (DFR) order that commissioners approved 2-1 last month, with a dissent from Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2507240055). The order clarified that the FCC’s bureaus have delegated authority to delete rules under the process without commission votes.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Wednesday that, despite concerns, she voted for a notice of inquiry to study revisions in how the FCC examines competition in its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress. Commissioners approved the NOI earlier in the week, and it was taken off the agenda for Thursday’s meeting (see 2508050056). While Gomez’s comments on the NOI were predominantly negative, she said she voted yes to give the public a chance to weigh in.