The FCC seeks the dismissal of the petition for review of Maurine and Matthew Molak to vacate the FCC’s Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing funding for Wi-Fi service and equipment on school buses under the commission’s E-rate program (see 2312200040), according to the commission’s motion Tuesday (docket 23-60641) at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Industry and state broadband officials encouraged engagement with local stakeholders and providers as states prepare to implement their plans for NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program (see 2402060081). NTIA is "looking at 2024 as the year of execution" for the BEAD program, said acting Deputy Administrator Sarah Morris during a USTelecom webinar Wednesday.
An ESPN/Warner Bros. Discovery/Fox partnership creating a sports streaming platform is a further nail in the coffin of the traditional video programming bundle, video industry experts say. GlobalData analyst Tammy Parker said Tuesday it is "a blockbuster deal that will further decimate the traditional US pay-TV sector."
The approach to spectrum allocation on the Hill and in industry is maturing, which may explain in part the problems Congress is having as it considers renewing the FCC’s auction authority, experts said during a Technology Policy Institute webinar Wednesday. That authority largely lapsed in March (see 2312200061),
Allowing the affordable connectivity program to lapse would have “significant downstream effect” on the economy, said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez during a Q&A at ITI’s Intersect event Wednesday.
PlanetiQ hopes to launch GNOMES-5 by June, it said in an FCC Space Bureau application Monday seeking authorization to launch and operate the non-geostationary orbit satellite. The company said the S- and X-band GNOMES-5 is part of a larger plan for a constellation for weather forecasting, with its GNOMES-4 satellite currently orbiting and generating data.
FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin is considering broadening the scope of a hearing involving the fake sale of broadcast stations. The hearing now may include an examination of other companies, said an order Monday (see 2308110063). The initial hearing concerned Antonio Cesar Guel's sale of low-power radio and TV stations to his niece Jennifer Juarez. Guel admitted in filings that he remained in control of the stations and made false statements to the FCC, including hiding that he isn’t a U.S. citizen. He has called for summary judgment against himself in the case. In Monday’s order, Halprin denied that motion because Guel hasn’t properly responded to all the Enforcement Bureau’s allegations against him. Now she is ordering Guel to respond to an EB motion enlarging the case due to “troubling incongruities” and contradictory filings from Antonio Cesar Guel and his daughter Maria Guel before the FCC and the SEC. Other FCC licensees -- Mekaddesh Group Corporation and the Hispanic Family Christian Network -- operate from the same address as Antonio Guel’s Hispanic Christian Community Network. Members of his family run the companies, the EB said. In addition, SEC filings and other documents show a 2023 sale of Mekaddesh to a company called JPX Global that Antonio Guel partially owns and lists him as a part owner of Mekaddesh, the ALJ order said. Attorneys for Antonio Guel have told the FCC that the JPX transaction isn't completed, and that JPX will not control Mekaddesh, but JPX has listed Maria Guel as its CEO, and she has certified to the FCC that she has full control over Mekaddesh. “Mr. Guel has submitted an ownership report into the record of this proceeding as proof that Maria Guel is in control of Mekaddesh, yet that document makes no mention of JPX Global despite being filed with the Commission as recently as December 26, 2023,” wrote Halprin. Enlarging the case would likely delay it, Halprin acknowledged, but “the potential lack of candor demonstrated by Mr. Guel, Maria Guel, and others before the Presiding Judge” is “ripe for immediate consideration,” the order said. The Guels have until Feb. 13 to provide “a full and honest account of the history and status of the acquisition of Mekaddesh by JPX Global,” a description of Antonio Guel’s role in the companies, and explanations for the discrepancies in filings with the FCC and SEC, Monday’s order said. The Enforcement Bureau will get to respond by Feb. 20, and then Halprin will decide whether to enlarge the case, the order said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended service delivery and invoicing deadlines for certain schools and libraries receiving Emergency Connectivity Fund support. Six schools and libraries that sought ECF support for equipment and nonrecurring and recurring services during the first and second application filing windows petitioned the FCC for an extension due to "problems with their service providers, challenges posed by personnel changes and departures, new applicant confusion, and other procedural and administrative issues," said the bureau order in docket 21-93 Tuesday.
The FCC has issued a cease and desist letter and K4 order against Texas-based Lingo Telecom over robocalls to voters before the New Hampshire primary last month. The calls used voice-cloning tech and spoofed phone numbers to seem to be from President Joe Biden, urging recipients not to vote in the primary, said a news release. “What a bunch of malarkey. We know the value of voting Democratic when our votes count,” the calls allegedly said in Biden’s voice, spoofed to appear to come from a number connected with a Democratic super political action committee. “It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” the deepfaked Biden voice said. Lingo “is alleged to have originated robocall traffic using AI-generated voice cloning to spread misinformation to voters,” said an FCC news release Tuesday. The cease and desist letter orders Lingo to stop supporting illegal robocall traffic on its networks and the K4 public notice “strongly encourages other providers to refrain from carrying suspicious traffic from Lingo,” the release said. The FCC is acting alongside the Office of the New Hampshire State Attorney General, which also sent a cease and desist Tuesday to another company involved with the calls, the Life Corporation. The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force also sent a cease and desist letter to the Life Corporation. The New Hampshire letter targets Life over violations of voter suppression laws, the FCC release said. “Each of these parties have been warned about apparent illegal robocall violations in the past,” the FCC release said. “Consumers deserve to know that the person on the other end of the line is exactly who they claim to be,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in the release. “That’s why we’re working closely with State Attorneys General across the country to combat the use of voice cloning technology in robocalls being used to misinform voters and target unwitting victims of fraud.” Law enforcement and regulatory agencies “are working closely together to monitor and investigate any signs of AI being used maliciously to threaten our democratic process,” said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella in the release. The action stems from an investigation launched last month by the New Hampshire AG, the FCC Enforcement Bureau, the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, and USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group, the release said. Lingo didn’t comment, but the FCC’s letter says the company didn’t dispute the calls' illegality.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology is seeking comment by March 7 on a request by Axon Enterprise for a waiver of FCC rules to market three investigation and surveillance devices to law enforcement agencies. Replies are due March 22 in docket 24-40. “Axon states that to meet law enforcement’s need for continuous and reliable video feeds, the devices must use analog signal modulation” but need to operate at power levels higher than allowed for the 5725-5850 MHz band, OET said Tuesday. The devices, a drone, a ground vehicle and a pole-mounted camera, “are intended to provide law enforcement with real-time information in dangerous situations and to reduce safety risks,” OET said.