The Wireless ISP Association petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for review of the FCC’s Nov. 20 digital discrimination order on grounds that it’s contrary to law, an abuse of discretion and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, said the petition Wednesday (docket 24-1047). It becomes the 15th such petition consolidated in the 8th Circuit once it’s transferred there under the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's Feb. 9 order (see 2402120077). The order “undermines” congressional intent “by diverting limited human resources and investment from deployment to compliance with burdensome and overbroad regulations,” said the petition. It imposes a novel disparate-impact test that allows the FCC “to micromanage a host of legitimate business practices, including network buildout decisions, pricing, promotions, advertising, contract renewal, and customer service,” it said. If the order is allowed to stand, the FCC could enforce it “with its full range of tools, including civil penalties,” it said. The order “will deter innovation and investment in broadband,” including among WISPA’s small and rural members who may lack adequate resources to “absorb” the order’s compliance and potential enforcement costs, it said.
NTIA asked the FCC to harmonize rules for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019. The FCC approved an NPRM 3-2 in December examining changes to the rules, over dissents by Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington (see 2312260043). Reactions have been mixed (see 2402280037). NTIA filed joint comments, posted Thursday in docket 21-186, with NOAA and NASA. The NPRM proposes “an important step to honor our country’s international commitments,” they said. The NPRM “astutely explains” that passive satellite sensors operated by the federal government on frequencies allocated to the earth exploration satellite service “are particularly vulnerable to harmful interference,” the filing said. These passive sensors “are designed to look downward toward Earth and measure the power level of naturally occurring radio emissions from molecules in the atmosphere that occur at specific frequencies. Very sensitive instrumentation is necessary to measure such weak, natural signals.” NTIA said NOAA wants the FCC to apply the Resolution 750 limits to fixed services in the band and not just to international mobile telecommunications, “noting it is unaware of any technical justification for applying different emission limits to fixed systems.” That latter point was opposed by industry. The limits should apply to only mobile base stations and handsets and not other operations the rules allow, including point-to-point operations, point-to-multipoint operations and transportable devices like fixed wireless access customer premises equipment, Qualcomm said. “The Commission distinguishes these types of operations in its Part 30 rules, particularly when it comes to emissions limits,” Qualcomm said: “NTIA’s request to apply Resolution 750 to fixed operations is outside the scope of and inconsistent with the FCC’s longstanding regulatory framework.” Ericsson supported the WRC-19 limits but urged an exemption for indoor small cells “given the interference protection factors inherent in indoor operations and the unnecessary costs the limits would impose on the development and deployment of those systems.” CTIA said the FCC should adopt the WRC-19 recommendations but go no further. The group noted that companies invested $2 billion to buy licenses in the 24 GHz auction. “Beyond the FCC’s already balanced approach, the emission limits adopted by WRC-19 go above and beyond what is necessary to protect passive satellite operations,” CTIA said. “Any suggestions to expand emission limits beyond the WRC-19 agreement would be unnecessary and cause substantial harm to 24 GHz licensees,” the group said. “To avoid undermining licensees’ investment-backed expectations in acquiring 24 GHz band licenses, the Commission should reject proposals that would go beyond implementing the consensus-based decisions made at WRC-19,” T-Mobile agreed.
Don't grant Wavelength's request for confidentiality regarding its application for review of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I long-form application, TWN Communications urged the FCC in an opposition filing posted Thursday in docket 19-126 (see 2401190055). Wavelength "sought to justify confidential treatment and denial of access to the material designated confidential" in its application for review, TWN said. The information Wavelength sought to keep confidential is based on "a generic statement that information in the AFR is confidential" and "does not mention access to capital at all."
The House voted 320-99 Thursday to approve a continuing resolution (HR-7463) that would extend federal appropriations for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service through March 8, averting a partial government shutdown that would otherwise close RUS late Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other congressional leaders said they reached a deal on appropriations measures covering those agencies, so the short-term extension would allow time for Congress to address individual funding measures. HR-7463 also extends appropriations for the FCC and FTC through March 22. The CR’s enactment prospects remained in doubt Thursday afternoon amid misgivings from some Senate Republicans, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hoped to hold a vote that evening.
Parties to the 14 petitions for review challenging the FCC’s Nov. 20 digital discrimination order now consolidated in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2402120077) should meet, confer and submit a joint proposed briefing schedule within 30 days, clerk of court Michael Gans wrote counsel for the various parties Wednesday. The proposed briefing schedule “should either provide for briefing to be complete, and the cases ready for submission on the merits,” before the end of calendar 2024, or include an explanation “why the parties believe such a schedule is not reasonably attainable,” his letter said. In his initial review of the petitions, Gans “has preliminarily identified two groups of petitioners, with the members of each group appearing to challenge the agency action in one of two different respects,” it said, without specificity. He thus anticipates that the consolidated cases “will be broken into two tracks, with each of the two groups briefing their respective issues separately, before the cases are ultimately argued and submitted together to the same panel of judges on the same day,” it said. He asked that the proposed briefing schedule “indicate whether the parties agree with the clerk’s preliminary assessment that two separate tracks are warranted.” Gans also asked whether the petitioners intend to submit separate opening briefs, a single consolidated opening brief, or two consolidated opening briefs, “one from each preliminarily identified group of petitioners.”
A fresh stab at creating a state net neutrality law met industry opposition this week. Connecticut’s joint General Law Committee held a hearing Thursday on a wide-ranging bill (SB-3) that would also require affordable broadband, ban junk fees, require streaming TV prorating and let consumers repair electronics. The legislature’s consumer protection bill “addresses inequities,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D).
Some foreign space regulators might soon struggle with a lack of space expertise, according to Scott Pace, George Washington University director-Space Policy Institute. During an FCC Space Bureau open house Thursday covering orbital debris, Pace said a lot of space agencies are born from telecom ministries, yet often there is a "thinness" to their capacity for space issues. That makes the U.S.' leadership role in space increasingly important, Pace said.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance, Anterix and electric utilities are urging the FCC to take the next step in the 900 MHz band and launch a rulemaking on authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the band. Utilities are the primary users of the spectrum.
The nascent Republican leadership race to succeed retiring House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) is scrambling expectations as to who will hold the GOP's top seat on the House Communications Subcommittee in the next Congress, lobbyists and observers told us. Environment Subcommittee Chairman Buddy Carter, R-Ga., confirmed to us Thursday he’s interested in House Communications’ lead GOP seat, but other lawmakers are too. There’s even more uncertainty about what Republican will lead the delegation on the Senate Communications Subcommittee in the next Congress as ranking member John Thune (S.D.) is a likely contender to succeed Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as the party's chamber leader.
Jonathan Schwantes announces he has left Consumer Reports to become Microsoft director-congressional affairs … Tegna promotes Tom Cox to chief growth officer, newly created position, and elevates Daniel Spinosa to replace Cox as president of Premion, Tegna’s over-the-top advertising platform ... Nielsen hires Nicolina Marzicola, ex-HP, as chief people officer ... FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces members of Technological Advisory Council, including Dean Brenner, former executive at Qualcomm, as chairman and names Martin Doczkat, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology's Electromagnetic Compatibility Division, as designated federal officer and Sean Yun, that division’s deputy chief, as the alternate designated federal officer.