Wide Voice meeting with FCC Wireline Bureau staff raised "grave concern" about "imminent" time division multiplexed (TDM) voice service discontinuance. The company said Verizon discontinued live service-affecting TDM services after the meeting, per an ex parte filing Monday in docket 21-17 (see 2010200052). Wide Voice said no alternative options are available from any other provider and local end user calls from incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) to Wide Voice can be delivered. "All of the major ILECs have made it clear that these circuits are coming down ... with no substitute service in the foreseeable future," the company said. Wide Voice noted that "a solution exists right now to route this traffic to Wide Voice over existing arrangements" and it's "unreasonable" for a provider to "use outdated local/non-local traffic distinctions to allow this traffic to fail."
Former President Donald Trump appeared again to threaten ABC's “license.” In an interview on Fox News after a campaign rally on Saturday, the Republican presidential nominee was asked about his ABC News debate earlier in the month with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats' presidential nominee. Trump said the moderators were unfairly biased against him and that ABC should be investigated. “And, you know, they have to get a license from the federal government,” Trump added. Programming networks aren’t licensed by the FCC; individual broadcast stations are. Previously, Trump called for ABC to lose its “license” immediately after the debate with Harris and issued similar threats against NBC, CNN and other outlets earlier in his campaign and as a sitting president. In letters to Congress last week (see 2409190063), FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency “does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.” ABC didn't comment.
Lawyers for Maurine and Matthew Molak slammed an FCC pleading asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court to reject the couple’s challenge seeking review of a commission order from July that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2408300027). The FCC said the challenge wasn’t ripe because the commission had yet to address a petition by the Molaks seeking reconsideration of the order (see 2409130063).
5G is a success story for the U.S. and is changing how people communicate, even though they may not always recognize it, Umair Javed, CTIA general counsel, said during the 6G Symposium Monday. Javed emphasized that the U.S. should make spectrum available at the same level as it is in other countries. Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks warned the next 18-24 months are “an absolutely critical period for 6G.”
NTIA urged the FCC to defer action for now on NextNav's proposal that would reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band, "enabl[ing] a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2404160043). NextNav, meanwhile, defended the proposal but agreed testing is needed. Other commenters objected to the proposal, reflecting concerns raised in initial comments (see 2409060046). Replies were due Friday in docket 24-240; many were posted Monday.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s office pulled a draft order on robotexts and robocalls from the agenda for the commissioners' open meeting Thursday and returned it to circulation. The FCC issued a notice late Tuesday that the item was deleted from the agenda. Some observers warned last week of potential opposition from Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington over First Amendment concerns, though they noted commissioners have traditionally embraced additional robocall rules as one of the FCC's top consumer items.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will visit the University of California, Berkeley Law School Sept. 27 to address the Berkeley Law AI Institute, the agency said. The FCC has made AI a top focus under Rosenworcel (see 2404040040). The event starts at noon.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment said most-favored nation and alternative distribution method contractual terms are adversely affecting its ability to function as an independent video programmer. In a docket 24-115 filing posted Friday in which it recapped meetings with FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez, Monumental said ADM provisions can be a big hurdle to distribution through online platforms, some of which would otherwise make Monumental's content available to all subscribers. In addition, it said MFNs can impede providing direct-to-consumer offerings, even making it impossible to offer those at competitive prices. Such contractual terms often don't account for large differences in the technology and economics of different distribution methods and ultimately leave fans with fewer ways of following their local teams, it said. MFN consequences are particularly significant for consumers lacking access to premium subscription plans offered by multichannel video programming distributors, as regional sports networks like Monumental often aren't part of MVPDs' base plans, it said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has granted a motion for a time extension for Standard General to respond to a flurry of motions to dismiss (see 2409100008) in the company’s discrimination case against the FCC, Allen Media, Dish Network and several unions and public interest groups. Standard’s oppositions to the motions are now due Nov. 8, replies Dec. 10, the order said.
Oral argument in Radio Communications Corporation’s challenge of the FCC’s implementation of the Low Power Protection Act (see 2407050020) will take place Nov. 18, said an order Thursday from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.