Given White House efforts to bring independent agencies under its control, it may be time to reconsider the FCC's structure, Free State Foundation President Randolph May wrote Monday. President Donald Trump's firing of two Democratic FTC commissioners and a Democratic National Labor Relations Board member is being challenged in court and likely will be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, he said. If SCOTUS sides with the White House, Congress might want to change the FCC's structure and functions "to better comport with what may be the new constitutional reality" of previously independent agencies now under substantial executive branch control, May said. One potential option he cited would be to split FCC functions, with policymaking done by a single official in the executive branch, potentially in NTIA, and a multi-member commission retaining responsibility for holding adjudications and enforcement proceedings. That quasi-judicial function should help keep the commissioners insulated from executive branch interference, he said.
The FCC circulated an item on its FY 2025 regulatory fees to 10th floor offices last week, according to the agency's circulation webpage. Regulatory fees are typically due in September. In February, the FCC released a Further NPRM on the process of determining space regulatory fees, and Chairman Brendan Carr has said he wants changes made to the agency's regulatory fee assessment process. In 2024, broadcasters and satellite operators were vocal about hikes in regulatory fees connected with the creation of the Space Bureau (see 2407160049). Also last week, Commissioner Nathan Simington proposed shifting some Media Bureau staff to the Space Bureau, which could affect the regulatory fees paid by the companies those bureaus oversee (see 2505090068).
The actions of independent regulatory commissions, including the FCC, are now being reviewed by the White House via OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and its procedures. Former OIRA leaders and other observers said in interviews that the new procedures may not result in substantial revisions of rulemakings by agencies answering directly to President Donald Trump, but they could slow adoption and implementation. In February, Trump ordered the commissions to submit proposed regulatory actions to OIRA before they appear in the Federal Register (see 2502180069). That took effect April 21, according to interim OMB guidance last month.
EchoStar has met or exceeded all the commitments it made with the FCC on its 5G network, "and our work is not yet finished," Chairman Charlie Ergen said Tuesday in response to the FCC opening an inquiry into the company's compliance with its 5G buildout obligations (see 2505120074). In a letter filed with the SEC, Ergen said EchoStar continues to deploy and invest in its 5G network. He touted the network as creating U.S. jobs and competition for incumbent wireless carriers, as well as furthering "another critical Trump Administration priority: deploying Open RAN to ensure the United States is at the forefront of wireless leadership." He said the company's buildout deadlines are consistent with FCC practice and carry with them "substantial pro-competitive commitments that EchoStar has fulfilled."
House Commerce Committee Republicans found some success Monday in selling their Sunday night budget reconciliation proposal -- which would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction authority through FY 2034 and tee up 600 MHz of bandwidth -- as effectively balancing the interests of major communications sector and military stakeholders. But lobbyists cautioned that the measure still faces an uncertain path unless House GOP leaders can win support from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others in the upper chamber. House Commerce set a Tuesday reconciliation markup session, which will begin at 2 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Citing lasting effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, Theia is requesting more time to meet the deadlines for its non-geostationary orbit earth observation constellation launch and operation. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Friday, Theia said the pandemic -- which struck soon after the agency authorized the company's 112-satellite constellation in May 2019 (see 1905090031) -- resulted in supply chain and financial market shocks that had "a devastating effect" on its ability to build and deploy the constellation. Theia asked to extend the milestone deadline to have 50% of its constellation launched and operational, which was Friday, and its final milestone deadline of May 9, 2028, by which time the rest is to be in orbit, to Dec. 31, 2026, and Dec. 31, 2028, respectively.
UScellular filed additional data at the FCC in its proposed deal with T-Mobile, but all the information was redacted. T-Mobile hopes to buy wireless assets, including spectrum, from the smaller carrier in a $4.3 billion deal announced a year ago (see 2405280047). The filing was posted Friday in docket 24-286.
EchoStar has met its next FCC deadlines for its 5G network buildout ahead of schedule, Chief Operating Officer John Swieringa said. Speaking to analysts Thursday after the market's close as EchoStar announced quarterly earnings, Swieringa said the company's final construction deadline next year would likely be pushed to 2028 due to meeting the 2025 deadlines. The company had a June 14 deadline for its network to be compliant with 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17 standards. It had also committed to having at least 24,000 towers deployed by then. That deadline was set in exchange for additional time the FCC granted EchoStar last year to meet construction milestones attached to some of its wireless licenses (see 2409200049). The company didn't say how many towers were deployed.
Talton made its case at the FCC for why its petition seeking a waiver of the agency's rules capping the rates for audio and video for incarcerated people should get confidential treatment. Talton serves U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and “compelling disclosure of sensitive material on such a flimsy basis as seen here risks chilling petitioners from confidently disclosing their protected information to the FCC,” the company said in a filing posted Friday (docket 23-62).
Reply comments are now due May 19 on proposed changes to submarine cable rules (docket 24-523), the FCC Office of International Affairs ordered Friday. The seven-day extension will allow parties more time to gather information needed for replies, it said. The subsea cable NPRM was adopted unanimously by the FCC commissioners in November (see 2411210006).