The Department of Commerce's Office of Inspector General (OIG) released summaries of two reports Thursday that were sharply critical of actions by the FirstNet Authority. One found that some FirstNet officials worked to block an OIG investigation, while the second found incidents of retaliation against a FirstNet employee who cooperated with OIG.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses on Tuesday recommended dismissal of claims brought by LiveVideo.AI against National Amusements and its president, Shari Redstone, related to Skydance Media's purchase of Paramount Global. In a report and recommendation (docket 24-CV-6290) to the U.S. District Court for Southern New York, Moses said LiveVideo.AI's complaint that National Amusements, Paramount's majority holder, ignored its rival bid for Paramount was frivolous. Moore said that following its complaint, LiveVideo.AI has "flooded the docket with meritless, repetitive, and frequently incoherent filings."
T-Mobile closed its purchase of spectrum, customers and other assets from UScellular, it announced Friday. The closing of the $4.3 billion deal was expected, though opponents filed an application for review just days before, asking the FCC to rescind the approval, which was done on delegated authority by the Wireless Bureau (see 2507310041). UScellular's brand "will transition in phases," T-Mobile said.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Tuesday it plans to release an unclassified 2022 report it commissioned on U.S. telecom networks’ security vulnerabilities amid a renewed pressure campaign from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The Senate on Monday night passed by unanimous consent Wyden’s Telecom Cybersecurity Transparency Act (S-2480) to force the CISA report’s release, but the measure still requires approval from the House, which is on recess until Sept. 2. Wyden has also placed a hold on CISA director nominee Sean Plankey, which would prevent a swift confirmation process if the Homeland Security Committee advances him Wednesday.
Verizon and UScellular urged the FCC to approve their proposed spectrum deal, as the regional carrier seeks to sell off most of its spectrum holdings. In a filing posted Wednesday in docket 25-192, they jointly responded to opponents of the transaction. Verizon agreed in October to buy UScellular’s 850 MHz, AWS and PCS licenses for $1 billion (see 2410180004), a deal various groups have opposed (see 2507080053).
Various groups opposed Verizon’s proposed purchase of UScellular spectrum licenses, as the regional carrier seeks to sell off most of its spectrum holdings. The Verizon deal is contingent on a larger transaction with T-Mobile, in which it's buying “substantially all” of UScellular’s wireless operations for about $4.4 billion (see 2405280047). Verizon agreed in October to buy UScellular’s 850 MHz, AWS and PCS licenses for $1 billion (see 2410180004). Petitions to deny were due at the FCC on Monday in docket 25-192.
The Rural Wireless Association urged the FCC in comments posted Friday to look at AT&T’s proposed buy of 700 MHz and 3.45 GHz licenses from UScellular in the broader context of the U.S. wireless market. The sale of the licenses is tied to a larger deal with T-Mobile that's also still before the FCC (see 2504150046). Replies to oppositions were due at the FCC on Thursday in docket 25-150.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya is recommending granting the federal government's request to drop its suit against Dish Network and designated entities (DEs) Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless (see 2403040052). In a 38-page report and recommendation submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 15-cv-728), Upadhyaya said that even if Vermont National Telephone arguments against dismissal are credible, they don't outweigh the reasonable arguments the government put forward about why the litigation should be dropped. The U.S. and relator VTel sued, alleging fraud by Dish and the DEs in the FCC's 2015 AWS-3 auction. The U.S. now argues that there's not enough evidence to support VTel's claims, it's unclear VTel can provide damages since Dish and the DEs never received any bidding credits in the auction, and continuing the 10-year-old suit would be a drain on government resources.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous but narrow opinion Friday that reimbursement requests submitted to the E-rate program, administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co., can be considered “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). The decision in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S. reaffirmed the ruling of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Elena Kagan, one of three justices appointed by a Democratic president, wrote the opinion.
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that reimbursement requests submitted to the E-rate program, administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co., can be considered “claims” under the False Claims Act, said an opinion Friday authored by Justice Elena Kagan. The ruling in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S. allows a lawsuit by Todd Heath against provider Wisconsin Bell to go forward. “If the Government, by making direct payments, has provided even a small fraction of the money used to fund E-Rate reimbursements, the question presented here is resolved,” Kagan wrote. Both the FCC and DOJ provide portions of the funds used for E-rate reimbursements from enforcement actions against carriers, she said. “The Government was not a passive throughway for the transmission of E-rate moneys from one private party (the carrier) to another (the Administrative Company),” she wrote. “Nor were the Government’s activities confined to ‘facilitating’ such transfers, as Wisconsin Bell would have it.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority but also wrote concurring opinions. Thomas said the court’s ruling Friday is narrow, but the arguments made by the government would give the False Claims Act broader scope than previously understood and potentially mean that the Universal Service Administrative Co. is an agent of the government, rather than independent. That could mean it's unconstitutional, he said. “In a future case, however, we may need to confront the Government’s other arguments -- namely, that the FCA applies to funds that private parties pay to other private parties, and that the Administrative Company is an agent of the United States,” Thomas wrote. “If these issues return to us, I hope we will carefully consider their consequences.” Kavanaugh similarly said that Friday’s ruling could raise constitutional questions about the False Claims Act.