The 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court asked both sides to file briefs about the implications of Wednesday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas on the school bus Wi-Fi case before the circuit. Judges heard oral argument in November (see 2411040061) on overturning the FCC’s declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040). The court asked for briefs of no more than five pages.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The implications of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring judicial deference to agency environmental reviews of infrastructure projects remain unclear, experts said Wednesday, weeks after the ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado. While the decision was unanimous, it had many twists and turns that make it difficult to know what its effect will be, panelists said during a Washington Legal Foundation webinar.
In a 6-3 ruling Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a key Telephone Consumer Protection Act case that lower courts aren’t bound by FCC and other agency decisions. The Hobbs Act gives the appeals courts general jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend or determine the validity of some agency orders, including most FCC orders, according to the decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson. Major telecom trade groups have urged SCOTUS to reject arguments that a lower court can review an FCC decision, saying industry needs the certainty provided by the Hobbs Act (see 2412260037).
Republican Olivia Trusty’s confirmation Wednesday to a full five-year FCC term cements an incoming GOP majority at the commission, but there's still substantial uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump will pick nominees to succeed ex-Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks, former officials and other observers told us. The Senate voted 53-45 Wednesday to confirm Trusty, as expected (see 2506170072). Senators also cleared her Tuesday to finish former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's term, which ends June 30.
In order to avoid orbital congestion from SpaceX's Starlink constellation, earth exploration satellite service operator PlanetiQ is seeking FCC approval to operate its GNOMES-5 satellite at a slightly higher orbital altitude. In a Space Bureau application posted Tuesday, it said operating at an altitude of up to 575 km -- instead of its currently authorized 560 km -- would let it avoid SpaceX's orbital shells and thus reduce the frequency of conjunction alerts.
Common Frequency CEO Todd Urick told Commissioner Anna Gomez that the FCC could help address concerns about declining local broadcast news by allowing low-power FM broadcasters to increase their power levels and creating an alternate funding source for local nonprofit journalism, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 24-14. Urick proposed that the agency create a nonprofit foundation to which commercial broadcasters could donate funds in exchange for exemptions from some public interest obligations, such as public file requirements. “These funds could go towards FCC grants for local nonprofit journalism initiatives and local nonprofit media,” the filing said. Previous FCC efforts to help local journalism, such as former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s stalled proposal to prioritize applications from broadcasters that create local programming, have “faded,” the filing said. The lack of local news and programming is leading to a market failure soon to extend to local television and public radio.”
Luminys responded Tuesday to a “show cause” order related to the FCC's finding that the company was selling equipment from Dahua, which is on the agency's “covered list” of providers of unsecure gear (see 2502140040). The order came from the Public Safety Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday approved an order it proposed in December granting a request from GeoLinks that it surrender some local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) licenses in return for others from the commission’s inventory (see 2412120057). GeoLinks proposed using federal funding to serve some 47,000 locations across Arizona, California and Nevada that now lack high-speed broadband access. The bureau sought comment on the request last year (see 2405170028).
SpaceX is pushing back on concerns from GE Healthcare Technologies and the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) regarding space launch use of the 2360-2395 MHz band. In a docket 13-115 opposition Tuesday to reconsideration petitions, SpaceX said launch operators need "robust and rapid access" to that upper S-band spectrum. There can be efficient coordination with wireless medical device facilities without reconsideration of the FCC's upper S-band rules, it said, and AFTRCC is proposing "unnecessary restrictions and complexity" on launch operations. The FCC in late December reallocated the 2360-2395 MHz band on a secondary basis for space launch operations (see 2412310029).