Fox Corp.'s Fox One streaming service will launch by early September, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Monday. In a call with analysts as Fox announced its quarterly financial results, Murdoch avoided specifics on price but said Fox One wouldn't be discounted, and the cost would be in line with what Fox charges for its content wholesale. He said the aim is to avoid cannibalizing its cable audience for Fox One. Asked about the cap on fees that broadcast affiliates pay networks proposed by FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington (see 2505020066), Murdoch said the affiliate/network relationship was "healthy" and negotiations should be left to the marketplace.
The FCC Media Bureau gave broadcasters a one-year extension on the audible crawl waiver in an order Monday. The audible crawl rule requires broadcasters to provide an audio version of on-screen graphically displayed emergency information, but the FCC has repeatedly waived it since 2015 (see 2412300029). The current waiver was set to expire May 27, but the new order extends it to May 27, 2026. NAB had requested an 18-month waiver extension and has also petitioned the FCC to make it easier for broadcasters to satisfy the audible crawl requirement. Last year, the FCC allowed the waiver to briefly lapse, which caused some TV broadcasters to cease showing weather radar maps in case it was seen as a rule violation (see 2411290007).
The North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet at 2 p.m. June 24 at FCC headquarters, the Wireline Bureau said Monday. The agenda includes votes on reports and recommendations by the numbering administration oversight working group, including performance reviews for the North American numbering plan administrator, reassigned numbers database administrator and North American numbering plan billing and collection agent.
The Voice on the Net Coalition told the FCC that it backs the use of Stir/Shaken to counter robocalls and robotexts but has concerns about know-your-customer (KYC) obligations “and the potential for significant fines for violations of what is obviously a vague standard.” These obligations shouldn't be “defined through enforcement actions,” VON said in a filing posted Monday (docket 17-59).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reportedly opened an investigation into EchoStar's compliance with 5G buildout obligations connected to its spectrum licenses and directed FCC staff to seek comment on reconsidering a 2019 extension of buildout deadlines. In a letter published Monday by The Wall Street Journal, Carr said EchoStar has repeatedly failed to meet the buildout requirements associated with its spectrum licenses in the lower 700 MHz E block, the H block and the 600 MHz band. "That history is relevant today. Currently before the FCC are filings from EchoStar that claim to satisfy the bureau’s new December 2024 buildout obligation. But questions remain regarding these submissions," Carr wrote. Failure by EchoStar to meet its new buildout requirements "could result in the loss of its spectrum licenses and significant financial payments." Carr also condemned the 2019 extension as the result of negotiations behind closed doors, saying the extension allowed EchoStar to "kick the can down the road." The letter also said the FCC would issue a public notice "seeking comment on the scope and scale of [mobile satellite service] utilization in the 2 GHz band that is currently licensed to EchoStar or its affiliates."
Tarana Wireless CEO Basil Alwan and other company officials met with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington about the importance of the citizens broadband radio service band. “Tarana emphasized the critical role that CBRS plays in expanding broadband access -- particularly in underserved and rural communities -- by enabling flexible, affordable, and spectrum-efficient fixed wireless deployments,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-258. “Tarana’s technology, when paired with CBRS spectrum, provides fiber-class performance without the need for trenching or costly infrastructure, significantly accelerating deployment timelines.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce appeared to oppose NextNav’s proposal to use the lower 900 MHz band to provide positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) as a GPS alternative. The commission “should focus on solutions that have been established [to] not adversely impact existing spectrum users,” the chamber said in comments posted Monday in docket 25-110. It cited concerns raised by the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association (see 2504290042).
USTelecom urged OMB to ease permitting for broadband deployment on federal lands and loosen requirements for the BEAD program, in comments filed Monday in response to OMB’s April request for information on deregulation opportunities. Permitting processes “are the single most time-consuming aspect of a broadband build and create unnecessary delays,” USTelecom said. OMB should work with other federal agencies to create uniform categories, so such permits would be deemed granted if they satisfy consistent conditions, such as when permits are sought for previously disturbed land. “Requiring further review for previously disturbed or analyzed areas simply squanders the resources of government and businesses, while needlessly driving up costs and delaying broadband deployment."
Keep the 25-year licensing term for submarine cable systems, and don't extend licensing requirements to non-owners such as cable capacity lessees, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the FCC Monday in docket 24-523. It said subsea cable licensees need a clearly established process for license revocation, and the agency should make clear that new cable landing license regulations won't retroactively apply to existing licenses.
NCTA representatives downplayed USTelecom's objections to new rules on pole attachments in a meeting with FCC Wireline Bureau staff (see 2504220015). USTelecom's claims are “either factually inaccurate and/or incorrect,” cablers said. Representatives of NCTA, Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Enterprises attended the meeting.