Updating the spectrum sharing framework between geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems now, instead of waiting for pending international proceedings, would get Americans enhanced satellite broadband faster, SpaceX and Telesat said Tuesday (docket 25-157). They suggested changes to the draft NPRM regarding GSO/NGSO sharing in the 10.7-12.7, 17.3-18.6 and 19.7-20.2 GHz bands on the FCC's April meeting agenda (see 2504070054). Those changes included proposing that current GSO protections ultimately sunset so NGSO systems aren't unduly limited. The companies also called for the NPRM to propose backstop short-term and long-term interference protection criteria.
Workers at the Nexstar-owned newspaper The Hill condemned the broadcaster over a Semafor report that Nexstar fired a reporter to appease the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). “The Hill sacrificed one of our members to satisfy" President Donald Trump, said a Monday release from The Hill Guild, a workers organization made up of newsroom staff from the paper. “To say we are disappointed is an understatement.”
The FCC’s foreign-sponsored content rules don’t meet the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act and run “headlong into some of the most critical priorities of the Trump Administration,” said NAB in comments filed Monday with the OMB and FCC. The rules and the related information collection “are at odds with recent administration directives to eliminate, modify and stop adopting/approving unlawful, burdensome regulations,” NAB said. The 2024 order for foreign-sponsored content requires standardized certifications from broadcasters and entities leasing programming time on whether a lessee is a foreign governmental entity. “The diligence requirements associated with the foreign sponsorship identification rules and related information collections are precisely the sorts of requirements that the current Administration expects federal agencies to repeal.” OMB should disapprove the rules, or “at least require the Commission to gather more data and develop more accurate estimates in connection with the proposed information collections,” NAB said. The group has also challenged the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where oral argument in the case took place earlier this month (see 2504070019).
Gray Media wants the full 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to rehear its legal challenge against a $518,283 forfeiture, the company said Monday in a petition for rehearing en banc, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the 5th Circuit’s recent ruling against the FCC over a penalty assessed against AT&T (see 2504180021). Last month, the 11th Circuit upheld the FCC’s forfeiture order against Gray over a violation of ownership rules (see 2503070004) but vacated the penalty because the agency didn’t adequately provide notice that the violation was “egregious.”
Bill Owens, the longtime executive producer of CBS’ 60 Minutes, is resigning over what he said is a loss of journalistic independence, according to a New York Times report Tuesday. CBS faces a $10 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump and an FCC news distortion proceeding (see 2504140044 and 2502050063), both connected to a 60 Minutes interview last fall of former Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, also needs FCC approval to finalize its $8 billion purchase by Skydance (see 2503210049). In a memo to staff, Owens said it had become clear that he would no longer be allowed to run the show independently as he had been, the NYT story said. Owens had previously said he wouldn’t apologize to Trump as part of any settlement of his suit. Facing a similar suit from Trump, ABC issued a public statement of regret and made a $15 million contribution to the foundation responsible for constructing Trump’s presidential library (see 2412160043). CBS didn’t comment.
The American Bankers Association urged FCC commissioners to approve a draft robocall NPRM that seeks to close a gap in the commission’s Stir/Shaken authentication rules. The NPRM, which addresses the caller ID authentication gap resulting from non-IP networks, is set for a vote April 28 (see 2504070054). “Voice calls that impersonate banks and other legitimate businesses harm consumers and undermine those businesses’ ability to communicate with their customers,” the group said in a filing posted Tuesday (docket 17-97). “If a call passes through a non-IP framework, the STIR/SHAKEN attestation is dropped,” it said: “There is evidence that criminals exploit this gap in our caller ID authentication framework to perpetrate fraud on consumers.” The FCC is also seeing lobbying regarding the 37 GHz draft order (see 2504220011) and the geostationary orbit/non-geostationary orbit satellite spectrum sharing NPRM (see 2504220006) on Monday's meeting agenda.
The Society for American Archeology opposed a CTIA petition asking the FCC to launch a rulemaking (see 2503270059) to update its rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). “The goal of the CTIA’s petition is for the FCC to structure its regulations in such a way that wireless geographic licenses would not be considered Major Federal Actions under” NEPA, said a filing posted Tuesday in RM-12003.
Balboa Geolocation urged the FCC to take a close look at its Pointer technology as an alternative to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). FCC commissioners unanimously approved a notice of inquiry last month on alternatives to GPS (see 2503270042). Balboa's technology was developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory with federal funding, said a filing Tuesday in docket 25-110.
SpaceX urged the FCC to tweak a draft order on the 37 GHz band to make clear that the coordination mechanism proposed for sharing the spectrum is based on the Part 101 rules for the 70/80/90 GHz band. Others also weighed in just ahead of the FCC’s sunshine notice Monday, cutting off further lobbying. Commissioners are to vote on the order Monday (see 2504070054).
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez will hold a series of speaking engagements and listening sessions on First Amendment protections and “fighting back against this Administration’s ongoing campaign of censorship and control,” she said in a news release Tuesday. The first event will be a virtual panel discussion at 2 p.m. ET Thursday. It will be hosted by the Center for Democracy & Technology and include speakers from Engine, Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, and the University of Maryland. “These events will provide a forum where Commissioner Gomez can engage with stakeholders and the public on the various ways the FCC is being weaponized to attack freedom of speech in the media and telecommunications sector,” the release said. “Since the founding of our country, the First Amendment has protected our fundamental right to speak freely and hold power to account. Today, the greatest threat to that freedom is coming from our own government,” Gomez said in the release. The FCC didn’t comment.