An FCC NPRM exploring faster retirement of aging copper telecom facilities had numerous changes from the draft, as did a pole attachment item, based on side-by-side comparisons. The copper retirement NPRM was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest. Commissioners last week approved both items 3-0 (see 2507240048).
FCC retirements: Deborah Kline from the Media Bureau; Dion Butler, Beverly Davis and Rafael Fernandez from the Office of Managing Director ... FCC Chairman Brendan Carr names 2025 winners of the FCC Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility: Victoria Bond, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs; Greg Hlibok, ZVRS and Purple Communications; Nikolas Kelly, Sign-Speak; and Christian Vogler, Gallaudet University.
The FCC Space Bureau has rejected a June 2024 waiver request from Theia Holdings for a retroactive waiver of a bond requirement connected with its nongeostationary satellite orbit license, saying in an order Friday that the full $4.3 million value of the bond is due and must be paid to the U.S. Treasury. “Theia’s license was conditioned upon Theia posting, and thereafter maintaining in the Commission’s files, a surety bond with a specified penal amount sufficient to cover its potential liability in the event of default under the Commission’s escalating bond liability formula,” the order said. Theia’s potential liability under the escalating bond liability formula exceeded the value of its bond on file in May, and Theia requested the waiver in June to allow it to sell its assets to Emtech Global International. “After review of the record, we conclude that Theia has failed to demonstrate good cause for waiver of its bond requirement,” the order said. “Rather, Theia’s license became null and void on May 16, 2024, without further Commission action. Accordingly, the full $4,340,000 value of Theia’s bond must be paid to the U.S. Treasury upon written notice from the Commission’s Office of Managing Director.”
FCC Media Bureau revisions to cable rate regulation become effective Aug. 13, said the bureau in a public notice Friday. The order exempts small cable systems and cable equipment used for anything other than delivery of the basic service tier from rate regulation.
Concerns about ATSC 3.0 encryption of broadcast signals are “overstated," said NAB in an ex parte filing and presentation to FCC Media Bureau Chief Erin Boone, who is also an aide to Chairman Brendan Carr. In the presentation, NAB urged the FCC to act quickly to require a transition to 3.0. “Viewers can still watch/record programming for free. A3SA [the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority] has adopted encoding rules to ensure this remains the case,” said one slide in the presentation. Concerns about encrypting broadcast TV have been raised in docket 16-142, and recently ATSC 3.0 device maker SiliconDust accused the A3SA of seeking to block independent device manufacturers (see 2507220075). “To the extent that discrete implementation questions remain, those issues can be appropriately and effectively addressed through the rulemaking process and should not be treated as a barrier to initiating the process,” NAB said. “Further delay only deepens regulatory uncertainty, slows manufacturer investment, deprives consumers of the full benefits of ATSC 3.0 and undermines the broadcast industry’s ability to compete in a rapidly evolving video marketplace.” An order from the FCC “is needed now, before content owners make decisions on long-term rights contracts and in time for manufacturers to make decisions about their 2027 product lines,” the filing said.
The FCC Media Bureau and Office of Managing Director revoked Pedro Arce’s license for WCND(AM) Shelbyville, Kentucky, over $9,261.41 in unpaid regulatory fees, according to an order Friday. WCND had delinquent fees from FY 2013-16 and FY 2022-23. The order also dismissed pending renewal applications for the stations.
Representatives of the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association met with aides to FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty on the group’s concerns about NextNav’s proposal to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to allow a “terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services (see 2507170036). “NextNav wishes to subsidize a new PNT solution by converting more than 95% of its current … spectrum to a new, far-higher-power commercial wireless network -- reducing the total amount of spectrum available for tolling licensees from 14 megahertz to 11 megahertz and confining tolling operations to the duplex gap,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 25-110.
The FCC’s final order addressing rules for the AWS-3 reauction, approved 3-0 by commissioners Thursday adds several sentences on tribal sovereignty to a section denying a tribal priority window for the auction. Commissioner Anna Gomez said Thursday she had asked for the language (see 2507240055). Gomez voted to approve the order with a partial concurrence. The order was posted Friday.
The FCC released on Friday the pole attachment item approved by commissioners 3-0 on Thursday (see 2507240048). The final item includes written statements by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty.
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., on Friday accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of abusing his power by pushing Verizon and other companies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs to win approval of transactions before the commission (see 2505160050). Verizon’s proposed buy of Frontier was held up as Carr sought assurance on DEI (see 2505160024). Ivey spoke during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) conference.