A proposed Charter Communications/Liberty Broadband combination would fix tax issues stemming from the requirement that Liberty -- the single largest shareholder of Charter -- sell into Charter's share repurchase program, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett noted Wednesday. The note recapped a conversation with Liberty Chairman John Malone. On Monday, Liberty Broadband said Charter had made an offer and that it had counter-offered. Liberty said the proposed deal has a closing date of June 30, 2027. According to Malone, Charter proposed a transaction that would exclude GCI, which Liberty owns, but Liberty's counteroffer includes GCI. A GCI transaction would require FCC approval, according to Malone.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thursday that his objection to granting broadcaster Audacy a temporary exception to the FCC’s foreign-ownership requirements in connection with a bankruptcy restructuring involving a George Soros-affiliated fund (see 2409250051) doesn’t conflict with denunciations he's made in the past against involving partisan politics in FCC decisions. “My position is straightforward in all of those cases, which is that we should apply the law in the books consistent with the First Amendment,” Carr told reporters following the commissioners' open meeting. The Media Bureau granted similar exceptions to Cumulus, iHeart, Alpha and other broadcasters under multiple administrations during Carr's tenure as a commissioner, though he did not raise objections. Carr said Thursday he was unaware of those grants at the time. “This is the first time that this issue has been raised to my attention,” he said, adding that bureau-level decisions aren’t precedent for the commission. “As a commissioner, for better or worse, there are a lot of things that the bureaus do that, as commissioner -- particularly a non-chair commissioner -- that you're not read in on.” Carr also defended his repeated statements that the Audacy matter is unprecedented, pointing out that this is the first time the full commission has voted on such a petition. Initially, the Audacy item was set as a bureau-level decision but was circulated to the full commission after pressure from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2408150047). Carr said that he doesn’t object to Cruz forcing the matter before the full FCC and that the senator's action reflects lawmakers' concerns about big decisions getting made at the bureau level, such as the designation of the Standard General/Tegna deal for hearing. “I think what Senator Cruz was saying, [is that] this is the type of decision that the people that sit on this dais, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate should make,” Carr said. Audacy and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s office didn’t comment on Carr’s remarks.
SpaceX representatives met with aides to FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr on concerns about interference from high-power terrestrial operations in the lower or upper 12 GHz band. “Although SpaceX had hoped to find a way to have its next generation broadband service coexist with such a high-power terrestrial service, its prior filings and its study demonstrate that it cannot,” Space X said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 22-352 on the Carr meeting. The company raised the same concerns with Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff (see 2409190022). EchoStar disputes those arguments (see 2409050040).
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the FCC Wireless Bureau on Thursday approved a waiver for Google of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in Florida in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. The bureau on Wednesday approved a similar waiver for Federated Wireless (see 2409250048).
CTIA representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about the group’s 2019 petition seeking clarity of pole attachment rules under Section 224 of the Communications Act. “The requested clarification will serve the Commission’s goal of speeding broadband deployment,” said a Wednesday filing in docket 17-84: “The record on the Petition is thorough, and many commenters supported CTIA’s request.” CTIA also reported on meetings with aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington. The group previously spoke with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2409180013).
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday scheduled oral argument for Nov. 4 to hear Maurine and Matthew Molak's challenge (docket 23-60641) to last year’s declaratory FCC ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose eligible for E-rate funding (see 2409190030). The court, meanwhile, dismissed on procedural grounds a second Molak case (docket 24-60446), asking the 5th Circuit to reject a July order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2409230024). The court dismissed the case, saying only that it lacked jurisdiction, as well as a motion by the couple to stay further proceedings, which was “denied as moot.” The FCC argued that the Molaks lacked standing to bring the case (see 2409190030) because they didn’t participate in the proceeding and hadn’t demonstrated “an actual or imminent injury-in-fact.” The FCC also argued that the case wasn’t ripe because the agency was still addressing reconsideration petitions, including one filed by the Molaks, whose 16-year-old son David died by suicide after he was cyberbullied. Argument in the school bus case will start at 1 p.m. at the 5th Circuit’s En Banc Courtroom in New Orleans.
President Joe Biden signed off Thursday on a continuing resolution (HR-9747) that maintains funding for the FCC, FTC, Commerce Department agencies and all other federal entities through Dec. 20 after both chambers swiftly cleared the measure. HR-9747’s enactment averts a government shutdown that would have otherwise begun when FY 2024 funding expires Monday night. The Senate voted 78-18 for the CR Wednesday night, mirroring the House’s similarly lopsided approval earlier in the day (see 2409250036). Congress’ approval of HR-9747 gives lawmakers “more time to pass full-year funding bills by the end of this year,” Biden said Wednesday night. The Senate also approved the Rural Broadband Protection Act (S-275) Wednesday night by unanimous consent. The measure, which the Senate Commerce Committee advanced in late July (see 2407310048), would require that the FCC launch a rulemaking to change vetting rules for USF high-cost applicant ISPs. S-275 lead sponsor Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., hailed Senate passage of the measure. “By verifying that providers can actually deliver on the promises made to bring high-speed internet to specific areas, we can maximize the influx of broadband dollars coming to West Virginia and move toward our goal of closing the digital divide in communities of all sizes across our state,” she said: “I encourage my House colleagues to pass this important legislation quickly.”
The FCC's digital discrimination rules "pile overreach on overreach," said attorney Morgan Ratner on behalf of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) and other industry groups challenging the commission's rules Wednesday during oral argument in the 8th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court (see 2407300048). The rules are based on an "unprecedented disparate impact scheme that is in many ways the broadest the federal government has ever seen," the lawyer added. None of the FCC's decisions in its order is based on a "plausible understanding" of Congress' intention.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to approve the FCC’s December changes to pole attachment replacement rules, which clarified transparency requirements for pole owners and established an intra-agency “rapid broadband assessment team” to review pole attachment disputes and recommend solutions (see 2312130044). The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 later in the day to approve state rules implementing volume 2 of its plan for rolling out the $1.86 billion allocation from NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2408260027).
The FCC's 988 wireless call georouting draft order on its Oct. 17 open meeting agenda (see 2409250041) opens the possibility of the agency also requiring georouting of text messages. The georouting draft order and the other October agenda item -- a draft order requiring that all wireless handsets be hearing-aid compatible -- were released Thursday. Also on the agenda is an unspecified restricted adjudicatory Media Bureau matter.