Former President Donald Trump famously doesn't do policy detail, but this time around his senior advisers and self-described MAGA revolutionaries are doing it for him. Trump himself has repeatedly called for punishment of disfavored media, including FCC-licensed "fake news" outlets. But the specifics of the disruptions planned for policy and governance of telecom (along with many other sectors) are most explicitly framed in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, the massive policy prescription directed in part by Trump's past and presumably future advisers and appointees. Among contributors is FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, author of the chapter on the future of the agency and telecom policy as a whole. In this Comm Daily Special Report, published on the eve of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, our award-winning editorial team looks at the ideas and the people that would transform telecom in America if Donald Trump is returned to office. (Our counterpart examination of Democratic plans -- whether under a reelected President Joe Biden or someone else -- will appear in August.)
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is temporarily staying the FCC's net neutrality order until Aug. 5. In an order Friday (docket 24-7000), the three-judge panel granted an administrative stay "to provide sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion to stay" the order. The judges gave a July 19 deadline for filing supplemental briefs regarding the application of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 Brand X decision. The FCC didn't immediately comment.
Six Texas counties remain in the disaster area of Hurricane Beryl, the FCC said in Wednesday’s disaster information reporting system report (see 2407090047). The alert encompasses Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Matagorda counties. Humble Police Department (Harris County) was down, the report said, and nine public safety answering points are having their calls rerouted. Nearly 20% of cellsites are reported down in the affected counties, an improvement from Tuesday’s 28.7%, and 527,700 cable and wireline subscribers are without service, an improvement from 803,501 on Tuesday. No TV stations were reported down, but five FMs and one AM station were listed as out of service. Tuesday's report listed two FM and two AM stations down.
Electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla sought a waiver of FCC ultra-wideband rules in support of a vehicle positioning system. “Grant of the waiver would help unleash innovation for applications such as EV charging, providing consumers with additional charging options, and would advance United States leadership and interests in the clean energy transition,” an undocketed filing posted Wednesday said. Tesla said the waiver is consistent with the commission’s hand-held UWB rules “because the proposed Tesla operations will not communicate any data other than for the positioning of the vehicle and the transmissions are only for the short duration necessary to align an EV.”
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on a waiver request by Norway's Kontur for ultra-wideband (UWB) devices, a public notice said Wednesday. Kontur requested the commission waive sections 15.503(d), 15.31(c), and 15.521(d), letting Kontur certify and market a UWB device that would operate as a stepped-frequency, continuous-wave-modulated ground penetrating radar (GPR) transmitter. The device “would improve the quality and quantity of information used by a variety of industries,” Kontur said. However, it does not meet the FCC’s definition of a UWB because it's frequency hopping. Comments are due Aug. 9, replies Sept. 10, in docket 24-209.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau removed K20 Wireless and its CEO, Krandon Wenger, from the commission's list of providers participating in the affordable connectivity program. In addition, it barred them from participating in any successor program. On Tuesday, the bureau denied K20 and Wenger's request to stay its removal order following a May order claiming they "engaged in serious, willful misconduct in violation of multiple ACP rules." In an investigation, the bureau found K20 "changed the non-tribal residential addresses associated with subscribers to false addresses on tribal lands when it transferred the subscribers to its ACP service." Providers receive a greater subsidy when tribal households are offered the benefit. A proposed $8 million fine was not imposed in the removal order (see 2405100032).
Representatives of Alaska’s GCI Communication spoke with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about a Brattle Group-developed model that estimates the cost of upgrading the state’s mobile wireless network to 5G. GCI urged the commission “consider this model and move forward to adopt the Alaska Connect Fund to provide a stable basis for planning Alaska’s fixed and mobile telecommunications networks,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-328 said.
NCTA weighed in at the FCC against giving FirstNet and AT&T control of the 4.9 GHz band. As the FCC and others recognize, “spectrum resources are finite, and 'greenfield' opportunities have been exhausted,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100 said. “AT&T already holds vast swaths of licensed spectrum,” NCTA said: “Under these circumstances, AT&T -- like any other commercial provider -- should be required to compete in an open and competitive assignment process rather than being designated a band manager with residual rights to utilize the 4.9 GHz band for commercial purposes.” The Edison Electric Institute also opposed FirstNet control of the band. Allowing commercial communications service providers to use the 4.9 GHz band "will diminish its reliability, which would in turn discourage further investment by public safety and utilities, effectively displacing incumbents from the band,” EEI said.
The Wireless ISP Association questioned whether the FCC has legal authority to adopt a draft order and Further NPRM that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. The issue is set for a July 18 vote (see 2406270068). WISPA said in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (see 2406280043), “the Commission’s authority to adopt the rules proposed in the Draft Order may not withstand judicial scrutiny.” Loper overturned the Chevron doctrine, which gave agencies like the FCC deference in interpreting laws that Congress approved. WISPA said if the FCC moves forward anyway, it should expand the rules to also support fixed wireless connections and citizens broadband radio service deployments. A WISPA representative spoke with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, a filing Wednesday in docket 21-31 said.
Republican ex-FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly marked the death of former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., noting he respected the lawmaker's opposition to the commission approving Ligado’s L-band plan even though it prompted Inhofe placing a July 2020 hold on O'Rielly's reconfirmation (see 2007280039). Then-President Donald Trump withdrew O’Rielly’s renomination less than a week later for unrelated reasons (see 2008040061). “People suspect I was angered by his hold on my nomination years ago,” O’Rielly said. “To the contrary, I respected his engagement and views on a tough issue.” Inhofe, 89, died Tuesday.