The Rural Wireless Association is fighting Grain Management's proposed purchase of T-Mobile's 800 MHz spectrum in exchange for cash and Grain's 600 MHz spectrum portfolio (see 2503210033). In a docket 25-178 petition to deny posted Monday, the group said the deal raises red flags about spectrum aggregation, competitive access and spectrum warehousing. A Grain/T-Mobile deal would be in the public interest if the FCC denied the related waiver requests and put conditions on T-Mobile's acquisition of the 600 MHz spectrum, the filing said. It urged the agency to keep the current license renewal timelines and buildout obligations for the to-be-assigned 800 MHz licenses, ensuring that Grain promptly makes the spectrum available to utilities, rural and regional carriers, and enterprise providers. Meanwhile, T-Mobile should be required to partition the 600 MHz licenses and make the spectrum available to small and rural carriers to lease long term or acquire, the association said.
The FCC’s Wireless Bureau and Office of Native Affairs and Policy will hold a videoconference July 15 to allow tribal groups to consult with agency staff about a CTIA petition (see 2503270059) that asked the FCC to streamline its rules involving the National Environmental Protection Act, said a public notice Monday. The consultation opportunity is “in furtherance of the Commission’s express desire to work with Tribal Nations” on proposals involving its environmental review processes, the notice said. “Attendance will be limited to elected and appointed leaders or duly appointed representatives of federally-recognized Tribal Nations and NHOs [Native Hawaiian Organizations], including Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.”
Don't duplicate the U.S. national security review process through a submarine cable rules update, the Submarine Cable Coalition urged FCC staffers. In a docket 24-523 filing posted Monday, the coalition said the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector already comprehensively reviews all cable landing license applications and puts binding mitigation measures on licensees and their customers. It also argued against the FCC's proposed licensing regime for submarine line terminal equipment, saying it would increase regulatory uncertainty and affect deployment timelines. The International Connectivity Coalition has previously lobbied against the FCC's subsea cable proposals (see 2505300038).
Comments are due July 23, replies Aug. 22, regarding the FCC's proposal to codify some long-standing processes regarding foreign-ownership rules for broadcasters, common carriers and aeronautical radio licensees, the Media Bureau said Monday. Commissioners unanimously adopted the foreign-ownership NPRM at their April meeting (see 2504280038). The docket is 25-149.
Republican Olivia Trusty took office Monday as an FCC commissioner, as expected (see 2506200052). Cooley’s Robert McDowell, a former Republican commissioner, confirmed Trusty’s swearing-in on X. “Great to be at the [FCC] to see Olivia Trusty be sworn in as America’s newest Commissioner,” McDowell said. Republicans now have a majority at the agency, a shift that some see as portending quick action on items that Chairman Brendan Carr couldn’t advance with a tie. The Senate confirmed Trusty last week to two consecutive terms (see 2506180076). The FCC didn’t immediately comment.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act and marketing lawyers see Friday's U.S. Supreme Court decision on the deference that lower courts are to give the FCC over telemarketing issues (see 2506200053) as potentially resetting decades of TCPA precedence by the agency.
Comments are due July 21, replies Aug. 5, regarding AST SpaceMobile's request to operate an additional 243 satellites atop the five already authorized, said an FCC Space Bureau public notice Friday (docket 25-201). However, the bureau said it isn't taking comments on AST being allowed to conduct operations other than telemetry, tracking and control. The company earlier this month asked for approval to start offering supplemental coverage from space service in the U.S. using AT&T’s 800 MHz and lower 700 MHz spectrum and Verizon’s 800 MHz spectrum (see 2506130002).
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is reviewing a proposed FCC rule titled “Modernization of the Nation's Alerting Systems,” which could be related to NAB’s proposal to allow software-based emergency alerting equipment, according to the OIRA website and industry officials. Since April 21, all agency regulations have been required to undergo OIRA review, but it has been unclear how that process would interact with the FCC’s procedures (see 2505090004). The alerting item posted by OIRA doesn’t appear to correspond to any item listed as having been circulated to the FCC’s 10th floor as of Friday. The OIRA website listing contains almost no details about the item, only that it was submitted for review May 30, a few days after the final reply comment date on NAB’s proposal (see 2505230056). The FCC didn’t respond to queries about the OIRA listing. OIRA’s webpage shows that a number of FCC and NAB officials met about the item via teleconference June 13.
T-Mobile representatives met with aides to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Anna Gomez to urge the agency to approve an NPRM proposing changes to telecom relay service (TRS) rules, eliminating a requirement from 1991 that providers support the ASCII format (see 2506050056). T-Mobile has been operating under a waiver since last year (see 2411250037). The NPRM is set for a vote on Thursday.
Mapping EchoStar's supposed coverage in the San Francisco area raises more questions about whether the company reached roughly 80% of the U.S. population as of the end of 2024, as it claimed, said Kristian Stout, innovation policy director for the International Center for Law & Economics. In a docket 22-212 filing posted Friday, Stout said it appeared that EchoStar attested that it covers adjacent markets using spectrum for which it doesn't hold a license.