The FCC must follow the same designated entity (DE) rules in the reauction of AWS-3 as it followed in the original 2014 auction, Dish Network parent EchoStar told the agency in comments this week on an auction procedures NPRM (see 2504010055). EchoStar hinted at a legal challenge if the FCC changes the rules. Two Dish-controlled DEs, Northstar and SNR, defaulted on winning bids in the auction, and EchoStar and the DEs “reasonably could be subject to a deficiency payment” if the auction underperforms, said a filing Tuesday in docket 25-70.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New lawsuits are marked with a *.
Top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us they are considering, but aren't yet committed to, scaling back or ceasing cooperation in advancing Republican nominees to federal entities ahead of a likely imminent panel confirmation hearing for GOP FCC nominee Olivia Trusty. Democrats are eyeing the tactic shift in response to President Donald Trump’s disputed March firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057) and other actions against independent agencies. Any roadblocks Democrats place against GOP picks would be largely symbolic and likely only delay Senate confirmations, given Republicans' 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, observers said.
Telecom carriers are under pressure from the FCC to end their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, with Chairman Brendan Carr saying last week that the FCC won’t bless mergers by companies that have DEI policies in place. Carr sent a warning letter Friday to Disney on its DEI programs. Industry officials say companies have no choice to comply, though the FCC moves have created regulatory uncertainty. T-Mobile explained in a letter to the FCC how it’s getting rid of DEI.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau on Thursday asked voice service providers and USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group to file information by May 1 on “private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls necessary for the Commission’s annual report.” The reporting period for the request is all of 2024. “Unlawful prerecorded or artificial voice message calls -- robocalls -- plague the American public,” the bureau said in a notice in docket 20-195. “Spoofed caller ID makes it more difficult to identify the source of the call.”
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Leaders of the National Association of State 911 Administrators and National Emergency Number Association are urging Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to preserve “a strong role” for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National 911 Program amid the Trump administration’s government-wide workforce cuts. The program “has been crucial in coordinating state and local 9-1-1 systems -- an area that no other federal entity addresses,” said NASNA Executive Director Harriet Rennie-Brown and NENA CEO Brian Fontes in a letter to Duffy. “This coordination is more essential than ever as over 5,000 local 9-1-1 centers transition to” next-generation 911 technology. “Without support from the National 9-1-1 Program Office, local jurisdictions will struggle with interoperability between and among agencies and jurisdictions -- a key public safety component,” they said. “This is particularly true on our nation’s highways, where an estimated one-third of all 9-1-1 calls originate and where effective coordination and interoperability can save lives.”
Some of the launch spectrum streamlining that Congress seeks can be achieved by consolidating in one place post-license site and station registration, per-launch coordination, and final launch registration, said SpaceX, Blue Origin and Firefly Aerospace. In a docket 13-115 filing Friday, the launch providers said information today is scattered across the universal licensing system and the frequency coordination system. Consolidating coordination data "would provide a one-stop-shop for launch coordination." They also urged a five- to 10-day window before launch for launch service providers to be required to submit per-launch coordination details, rather than a longer requirement of submitting 60 or even 30 days before launch. They said the shorter window would align with current coordination practices among launch service providers.
A February FCC order expanding the reach of the do-not-originate lists and strengthening call-blocking capabilities will take effect March 24, 2026, said a notice for Monday’s Federal Register. Commissioners approved the order 4-0 (see 2502270058).
Viya filed at the FCC a revised version of its annual report on its Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 fixed phase-down support for 2024. “In gathering information in response to a request by Commission staff for clarification of certain information in the Original 2024 Report, Viya discovered it had misstated the amount spent on and the percentage completion of one of the approved projects in its spending plan,” the company said in a filing last week in docket 18-143. The error came in information on a subsea cable project, but the revised details were redacted from the report.