House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered positive but different interpretations of President Donald Trump’s apparent endorsement Tuesday (see 2505200058) of the spectrum language cleared in the lower chamber's One Big Beautiful Bill Act budget reconciliation package (HR-1). The two leaders were vague about whether Trump’s statement makes it more difficult for Cruz and other senators to press for potential changes to the spectrum proposal (see 2505130059). Meanwhile, the House Rules Committee was still debating Wednesday afternoon plans for bringing HR-1 to the floor.
The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) and AT&T disagreed sharply on the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials’ request that the FCC launch an NPRM on rules for the 4.9 GHz band (see 2502070020), including increasing the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limits to make the band more attractive for 5G. Reply comments were due Thursday in docket 07-100.
The FCC on Friday announced commission approval of Verizon’s $20 billion acquisition of Frontier, in an action by the Wireline Bureau (see 2505160024). The approval came immediately after Verizon filed a letter at the FCC agreeing to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a recurring focus of President Donald Trump. DEI defenders criticized the order. Industry officials told us one reason FCC Chairman Brendan Carr probably didn’t seek a commissioner vote was because of the DEI provisions and concerns about opposition from the two Democratic commissioners.
Verizon told the FCC it’s working with NATE, which represents infrastructure builders, on concerns the group has raised about pricing and other issues as the agency considers the carrier’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of Frontier (see 2409050010). “Verizon agrees to include line items in its pricing matrix that allow for site specific conditions to be added, including explanations as to what they represent,” said a filing Thursday in docket 24-445.
NextNav on Wednesday called on the FCC to move forward with an NPRM looking at its proposal for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) in the 902-928 MHz band as an alternative to GPS. Others urged the FCC to encourage multiple alternatives as a backup to GPS. Reply comments were due Wednesday on a notice of inquiry that commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042). Numerous commenters sharply criticized the NextNav proposal.
States opposing the FCC’s July order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 have shifted gears in part to challenge whether FCC decision-making is legitimate because of the false premise that the regulator is an independent agency. The order, which reduces calling rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039), is under appeal in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (24-8028).
SpaceX could be the biggest beneficiary as the FCC takes a hard look at EchoStar's compliance with milestones attached to its 5G network buildout. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's inquiry into EchoStar's compliance with buildout deadlines (see 2505120074) "clearly originate[s]" from SpaceX, LightShed Partners' Walt Piecyk wrote Tuesday. He said the FCC probe appears to be particularly focused on EchoStar's use of the S band -- spectrum real estate that SpaceX wants.
The actions of independent regulatory commissions, including the FCC, are now being reviewed by the White House via OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and its procedures. Former OIRA leaders and other observers said in interviews that the new procedures may not result in substantial revisions of rulemakings by agencies answering directly to President Donald Trump, but they could slow adoption and implementation. In February, Trump ordered the commissions to submit proposed regulatory actions to OIRA before they appear in the Federal Register (see 2502180069). That took effect April 21, according to interim OMB guidance last month.
What the Trump administration's tariffs will mean for the communications sector remains murky (see 2504030056). On Thursday, the administration announced a deal with the U.K., the first of what it said will be multiple trade agreements.
UScellular executives on Friday projected a mid-2025 closing on the proposed sale of wireless assets to T-Mobile following regulatory approvals. During a call with analysts to release Q1 results, UScellular said it lost 39,000 postpaid subscribers in the period ending March 31.