The National Consumer Law Center and others representing the interests of prisoners and their families filed in support of the FCC’s July order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act of 2022 in an amicus brief filed Thursday at the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (24-8028).
In Q1 earnings calls this week, TV broadcast executives emphasized their expectations of ownership deregulation, hinted at station deals and discussed a recent proposal by FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington to cap network affiliation fees (see 2505020066). Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said on his company’s call that Simington’s proposal for a 30% cap on fees would likely find “very little traction” in Washington. On Capitol Hill, “there is very little interest in getting involved in the commerce between stations and networks.”
Supporters and opponents of the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval S.J.Res. 7, which would undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots, told us they are looking ahead to how the House will handle the measure after the Senate passed it Thursday on a 50-38 party-line vote. No senators switched sides on S.J.Res. 7 from how they voted Tuesday on a motion to proceed, as expected (see 2505060065).
Novel space missions like commercial lunar landings, asteroid mining and orbital infrastructure sit outside the traditional regulatory boundaries of the FCC, FAA and Commerce Department, Morgan Lewis blogged Wednesday. Those activities show a gap in authorizations for nontraditional commercial space missions, it said. There have been proposals for either the FAA or Commerce to have broader oversight, and a blended or hybrid approach could gain traction, it said.
The Consumer Technology Association wants House and Senate Commerce committee leadership to oppose NAB’s petition to the FCC on the ATSC 3.0 transition, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said in a letter to legislators Tuesday. The letter was sent to Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and House Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Comments on the NAB petition were due Wednesday in docket 16-142.
Incompas is joining telecom industry voices in raising concerns about the FCC's proposed $4.5 million fine against Telnyx. The proposed penalty (see 2503050026), which stems from robocalls made on Telnyx's network, goes against the FCC's "know your customer" (KYC) guidelines and is essentially regulation by enforcement, Incompas said Tuesday (docket 17-59). Fining Telnyx when it promptly addressed the issue "risks subjecting voice service providers to a strict liability standard, compelling the adoption of KYC measures that may be ineffective for a particular provider, and chilling providers self-reporting for fear of punitive consequences," Incompas said. The Cloud Communications Alliance and Voice on the Net Coalition have also criticized the notice of apparent liability (see 2503110023).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau agreed to give UL Solutions the extra time it asked for to complete its initial work as lead administrator in the agency’s voluntary cyber trust mark program, extending the deadline 41 days to June 13 (see 2505050040). “We find an additional extension of time to be reasonable given the highly technical and complex issues being considered, the significant industry coordination involved, and the public interest benefits of ensuring the Commission receives complete and thorough recommendations,” the bureau said in an order Tuesday (docket 23-239).
SpaceX's measurement of EchoStar's use of the 2 GHz band "speaks for itself," according to a SpaceX filing (docket 22-212) posted Wednesday. SpaceX said that its data shows that EchoStar has left 95% or more of the band vacant and that EchoStar hasn't provided any data to show otherwise. That means it's up to the FCC to determine whether EchoStar has satisfied its band-specific commitments. If the commission says EchoStar is in compliance, the low activity levels in the band warrant reconsideration of using population-based terrestrial buildout requirements, said SpaceX, which has petitioned the FCC for greater access to the 2 GHz band (see 2402230027).
The FCC Wireline Bureau suspended “indefinitely” deadlines to file public comments and reply comments on a Talton petition seeking a waiver of the commission’s rules capping the rates for audio and video for incarcerated people provided to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The suspension came after the United Church of Christ (UCC) Media Justice Ministry protested Talton’s failure to provide data that the ministry needs to comment on the petition (see 2505020024).
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau this week released the telecom relay service (TRS) funding and payment formulas for the program year beginning July 1. The report is based on numbers calculated by TRS administrator Rolka Loube Associates. The rates listed for the next program year are $6.1229 per minute for traditional TRS (TTY), $7.2539 for speech-to-speech service, and $2.7867 for captioned telephone service. All the rates have increased sharply since the 2020-21 program year, led by TTY, which is up 63.2%, the report said.