Comments are due June 6, replies July 7, on a Further NPRM on wireless location accuracy, said a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. The FNPRM, which commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042), focuses on the importance of dispatchable location, an FCC priority for the last 10 years.
Projected USF demand for Q3 is $2.114 billion, which is $72.4 million less than Q2, a 3.3% drop, said a recent filing by the Universal Service Administrative Co. “The decrease in overall USF demand is caused by decreases in demand for three of the constituent funds of the USF, offset by an increase in the Rural Health Fund,” USAC said.
Mountain Communications will pay a $12,000 civil penalty after reaching a settlement with the FCC Enforcement Bureau over unauthorized transfers of control, said a consent decree released Tuesday. Mountain self-reported four prior transactions that resulted in a minority owner, Larry Sisler, acquiring 100% ownership in the company. Mountain didn’t get FCC approval for the transfers, the consent decree said. Along with the monetary penalty, Mountain has agreed to create a compliance plan and file compliance reports with the FCC for three years.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday “to guard the critical spectrum resources currently assigned to” DOD, which has proposed reallocating some military-controlled bands (see 2504040068). Cantwell said any DOD reallocation in response to congressional Republicans’ push for a spectrum pipeline as part of a coming budget reconciliation package would put “short-term corporate gain ahead of our nation’s long-term security.”
Money, not technology, is the biggest hurdle to satellite providing "fiber in the sky"-like connectivity, said Michael Abad-Santos, Rivada Space Networks' deputy chief commercial officer, at International Telecoms Week on Tuesday. Satellite executives also discussed spectrum needs for satellite-delivered terrestrial connectivity. George Giagtzoglou, Omnispace's vice president-strategy and marketing, said reusing terrestrial spectrum will suffice in some areas. In others, there's already dense use of terrestrial spectrum and likely none to spare for a mobile network operator (MNO) to hand off to a satellite service, he said.
The U.S. has a variety of paths to reach 600 MHz of high-power spectrum for carriers' use, the often-discussed goal of Congress, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters Tuesday following remarks at CTIA’s 5G Summit. The challenges that China presents also dominated discussions.
Supporters of the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services told us they will continue campaigning after the Senate cleared an initial procedural hurdle in considering a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the rule. The Senate approved a motion Tuesday to proceed to the CRA measure on a 53-47 party-line vote, confounding some E-rate supporters’ expectations that a handful of Republicans would cross party lines to oppose it (see 2505060032).
Eutelsat names Jean-Francois Fallacher, formerly Orange France, as CEO, effective June 1, replacing Eva Berneke, who will assist with the transition ... Hannah Lepow, ex-FCC, becomes senior counsel-regulatory affairs at NBCUniversal (see 2504160020) … The American Telemedicine Association elects Nate Lacktman, Foley & Lardner, as chair.
The Media Bureau is seeking comment on HC2’s petition asking the FCC to allow low-power broadcasters to transmit using the 5G broadcast standard, said a public notice Friday. Comments are due in docket 25-168 June 2, replies July 1. HC2 has argued that the standard, which some view as a competitor to ATSC 3.0, provides an opportunity for a flagging LPTV industry to broadcast to mobile devices (see 2504030053).
President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr are undermining the freedom of the press, said the Center for American Progress in a post Monday. In their actions against broadcasting networks, Trump and Carr have taken steps “to threaten, investigate, and continue litigating with media companies that Trump perceives as political adversaries,” CAP said. “Retribution against the media hurts everyday Americans, who depend on an undeterred press to accurately report the news, expose wrongdoing, and help them hold elected leaders accountable.” Using the FCC’s regulatory powers “against news organizations that Trump has long criticized, often for their protected editorial decisions,” is not in the public interest, CAP said. “The practices of Trump and the FCC -- including seemingly ignoring established legal processes and aggregating power -- could transform the press from a vigilant watchdog into a weakened lapdog.”