The FCC Wireline Bureau granted in part Broadband VI’s (BBVI) petition for waiver of its 40% deployment milestone deadline under the Connect USVI Fund, but only until June 30. The original deadline was Dec. 31, 2024. The company sought a waiver through the end of this year. “We find that the public interest is served by granting an additional brief waiver to allow BBVI to come into compliance as quickly as possible with commitments it made as a recipient” of USF support “for the benefit of all residents in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said an order in Monday’s Daily Digest.
NTIA's outgoing BEAD director warned of the "significant risk" of program changes that would saddle rural America with subpar broadband access but benefit SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In a 1,100-word letter sent over the weekend to colleagues and friends after his last day on Friday as head of BEAD, Evan Feinman said changes coming down the pike from Commerce include a limit on per-location BEAD spending and some kind of pause, as well as an increase in low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and a reduction in fiber use. States already face BEAD uncertainty in light of Commerce this month dropping the fiber preference and saying it was undertaking a review of other program rules (see 2503060047).
Dish Wireless parent EchoStar is interested in leasing spectrum to smaller carriers and tribes, the Rural Wireless Association told members Thursday. Leases are available “on a first-come, first-serve basis” in the 600 MHz, 700 MHz, citizens broadband radio service, AWS-3, AWS-4 and AWS H-block bands, RWA said. “EchoStar is making its spectrum licenses available for lease pursuant to conditions imposed by the FCC in a granted extension request of its final 5G construction milestones,” the group said.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FCC is seeking suggestions on which of its rules should be eliminated in a docket (25-133) called “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” the agency announced in a news release and public notice Wednesday. “The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public’s participation and feedback throughout this process,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in the release. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.”
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a public interest group petition for en banc review of the court’s decision against the FCC’s 2024 net neutrality order, an order said Tuesday. “The original panel has reviewed the petition for rehearing and concludes that the issues raised in the petition were fully considered upon the original submission and decision of the cases,” it said. After the petition (see 2502180050) was circulated to the full court, no 6th Circuit judge requested a vote on the petition for rehearing, the order said.
Despite the bottleneck of launch availability at the most heavily used U.S. sites, launch operators don't foresee packing up and moving to another, lesser-used spaceport. Launch company executives speaking Monday at the Satellite 2025 show in Washington said the size of rockets, especially heavy launch vehicles, precludes using some spaceports. Regulatory issues can also be an impediment. Brian Rogers, vice president-global launch services for Rocket Lab, added that it's incredibly expensive to set up infrastructure at another site.
SiriusXM is planning to launch its SXM-10 satellite as soon as June 8 and is asking the FCC Space Bureau for permission to use it to replace its FM-6 satellite. In a bureau application posted Friday, it said SXM-10 was originally going to replace the XM-5 satellite, but the company now plans to replace XM-5 in 2026 with SXM-11, which is under construction.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and other GOP leaders are optimistic, but not yet certain, that they have the votes on their side of the aisle to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. Chamber Democrats are vowing to fight S.J.Res. 7 if leaders bring up the measure for a vote, which lobbyists said could happen as soon as next week. Supporters and opponents of the E-rate expansion are eyeing a handful of Republicans they believe are reluctant to rescind the FCC’s order.
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition supports waiving the April 1 funding request filing deadline for the rural Healthcare Connect Fund, it told the FCC Wireline Bureau in an ex parte meeting Monday, according to a filing posted Wednesday in docket 02-60. The waiver request was originally made by the Colorado Hospital Association and intended to allow the Universal Service Administrative Co. time to give the system the ability to handle the filings. “Various factors have delayed the standard application processing time over the course of this funding year,” said SHLB, detailing processing issues and delays caused by the application portal. The proposed 90-day extension is “justified” given the diversity in applicant types “and variations in applicant experience and expertise in filing.”