Wavelength asked the FCC to reconsider a December Wireline Bureau order denying its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application Friday. The company said in an application for review posted in docket 19-126 that the bureau's denial was "based solely on financial concerns raised at the eleventh hour" after previously determining that Wavelength's technical plans and qualifications "are sound." The bureau "should not be permitted to summarily dismiss Wavelength’s application as part of a last-minute rush to conclude overall RDOF applicant review, while denying Wavelength an opportunity to correct the bureau’s manifest errors," it said. It asked the FCC to reverse the decision and "promptly issue a ready-to-authorize notice."
Consolidated asked the FCC to grant it a six-month waiver of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction rules concerning letters of credit. The company said in a petition posted Friday in docket 19-126 that it needed a waiver so it may continue receiving RDOF support while it seeks a new bank to issue LOCs. Consolidated said the Universal Service Administrative Co. notified it that its current issuer, Wells Fargo, is now below the Weiss bank safety B- rating required under RDOF rules.
The FCC wants comments by Feb. 19, replies by March 5, in docket 19-195 on its broadband data collection challenge process. A public notice posted Friday noted the FCC must submit a report to Congress on the data collection process and whether any tools are needed to improve the data's accuracy.
President Joe Biden signed off Friday on a continuing resolution (HR-2872) that averts a partial government shutdown, as expected (see 2401180057), the White House said. The CR funds the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service through March 1. In addition, it funds the FCC, FTC, NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies and the DOJ Antitrust Division through March 8.
An FCC order establishing rules to prevent digital discrimination takes effect March 22, said a notice for Monday's Federal Register (see 2311150040). Commissioners adopted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-mandated rules in a 3-2 vote during the agency's November meeting.
The FCC seeks to dismiss the petition for review filed Dec. 21 by the Insurance Marketing Coalition (see 2312220059) because it is “premature,” and the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals therefore lacks appellate jurisdiction to consider it, said the commission’s motion Friday (docket 23-14125).
Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) officials made their case Friday for assigning the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet, a proposal that faces objections on numerous fronts. A year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 a long-awaited order and Further NPRM on the band's future, establishing a national band manager governing the leasing process. The FCC also sought comment on rights and responsibilities of the band manager (see 2301180062). The PSSA has asked that a single, national licensee get the spectrum (see 2304240057).
Wiley names partners Megan Brown and Duane Pozza as co-chairs-privacy, cyber and data governance practice … Idaho Public Utilities Commission moves Technical Records Specialist Monica Barrios-Sanchez to secretary … CW Network hires Great American Media’s Erin McIlvain, also former Dish Network, as senior vice president-affiliate distribution and marketing ... Resecurity, cybersecurity solutions provider, names IBM’s Chris Mancuso vice president-global channels and alliances.
Dish Network's call for FCC reconsideration of the limited supplemental coverage from space authorization granted SpaceX is "absurd," SpaceX said Thursday in docket 23-135. In its opposition to Dish's recon petition (see 2401040005), SpaceX said Dish was using "unserious bar-napkin math" to block "a more advanced competitor." It said Dish's worries that the authorization will let SpaceX begin decades of operations under the guise of testing is misguided. For instance, it ignores that SpaceX’s check-out testing "typically is very short in duration, lasting as little as a few minutes per day." In addition, it said there's no reasonable basis to conclude the initial "check-out testing" might cause harmful interference to Dish or other operators.
SpaceX is lobbying the FCC over concerns about the orbital debris draft order, which is on reconsideration on January's agenda (see 2401040064). In a docket 18-313 filing Thursday, SpaceX recapped meetings held with offices of the five commissioners. During those meetings, it said the draft wrongly maintains a case-by-case approach to orbital debris mitigation and preserves the foreign-operator loophole of licensing systems overseas to circumvent U.S. oversight. Moreover, It said the case-by-case approach sets an inconsistent baseline for assessing debris risk. SpaceX said the FCC should clarify that it wants consistent orbital debris mitigation information from all operators regardless of foreign or domestic status or constellation size. The company also renewed its call that conditions put on its second-generation Starlinks be applied equally to all operators in the name of clear expectations and space sustainability promotion (see 2301180049).