The Competitive Carriers Association challenged parts of the FCC’s 5G Fund order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, seeking changes to the rules the agency adopted under former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2408290041). Current Chairman Brendan Carr voted against the order, arguing that the fund should be launched only after the BEAD program plays out and money is awarded. CCA and the Rural Wireless Association voiced concerns when the order was approved in August.
SpaceX's temporary loss of a $100 million contract with Ontario over a U.S./Canada tariff fight could be a harbinger of satellite communications services increasingly enmeshed in U.S. trade disputes. Some see non-U.S. satellite operators potentially benefiting from the Starlink contract episode.
The loss of funding under the Chips and Science Act of 2022 could mean companies will retreat from investments they’re making in the U.S., experts said Thursday during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation webinar. Advanced chips are critical to smartphones and many other devices made and sold in the U.S., they noted. Few smartphones are made in the U.S., but chips are integral to other wireless gear manufactured here. Experts also said investment in chip research helps drive innovation in the communications sector.
CTA CEO Gary Shapiro warned Wednesday of a potential “brain drain” in the federal government should the Donald Trump administration continue its assault on the bureaucracy. The Joe Biden administration lacked enough officials who understood how business works, and Trump's don’t understand government, Shapiro said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Unions that represent federal employees, including at the FCC, slammed the latest Trump actions.
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.”
U.S. Supreme Court justices peppered both sides with questions on Tuesday as the court heard McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case with broad implications for the FCC and other agencies. Lawyers representing TCPA defendants fear that a decision overruling the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could mean any district court might decide whether a regulatory action is valid, leading to a bonanza for TCPA plaintiffs, who could seek alternative interpretations in different courts (see 2410170015).
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved Liberty Defense's waiver requests that will allow equipment certification for upgrades of its full-body security screening scanners deployed at U.S. airports. NTIA endorsed the waiver in June, saying that members of the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee had reviewed it and didn’t object (see 2406040063). OET sought comment in 2023 (see 2307200030). “Liberty’s new High-Definition Advanced Imaging Technology will be deployed via upgrade kits to Legacy Systems and will permit them to transmit across spectrum bands ranging from 10-40 GHz,” OET said Thursday in docket 23-245: “Liberty states that the new system will improve transportation security by enhancing threat detection capability and speeding up airline passenger screening.” While Liberty’s scanner “sweeps over a larger frequency band than the Legacy System, it employs a higher sweep rate, which reduces the potential for causing harmful interference,” OET said. “We agree that adding the upgrade kit to the Legacy System not only corresponds to a lower duty cycle seen by the victim receiver but also reduces the interference potential of these devices.”
CTA CEO Gary Shapiro used his annual state of the industry address Tuesday to warn against the threat from tariffs expected under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Meanwhile, other speakers highlighted challenges consumers and industry will face as AI is added to smartphones and becomes a part of daily life.
CTA urged President-elect Donald Trump's administration to move with care on proposals for imposing higher tariffs on imports, warning they could result in sharp declines in the purchases of smartphones and other devices. With CES beginning in Las Vegas, CTA also projected retail revenue in the consumer tech industry of $537 billion this year, up 3.2% over 2024.
Federal appellate Judge Robert Luck repeatedly expressed skepticism Wednesday about the one-to-one robotext consent policy the FCC adopted a year ago (see 2312130019). During roughly 33 minutes of oral argument before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (docket 24-10277), Luck and Matthew Dunne from the FCC Office of General Counsel repeatedly circled around the issue of whether the agency went too far in implementation. The Insurance Marketing Coalition (IMC) is challenging the FCC order, arguing that the agency exceeded its Telephone Consumer Protection Act statutory authority (see 2405170005). Some observers had predicted the FCC could face an 11th Circuit having particular misgivings regarding regulatory agency reach (see 2412060029).