The FCC Wireline Bureau notified the Universal Service Administrative Co. on Wednesday that it has approved USAC’s FCC Form 471 program integrity assurance review procedures. The procedures are part of the schools and libraries cybersecurity pilot. The approval is subject to further modification and instruction from the bureau, said the notice in docket 23-234.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment Wednesday on a waiver request by Securaplane Technologies for a range-controlled radar system that operates in 5.8 GHz spectrum but could “radiate non-spurious emissions into the 5.35-5.46 GHz restricted frequency band.” Comments are due Sept. 26, replies Oct. 14, in docket 25-260. The system provides intrusion detection sensors installed in aircraft wheel wells “to detect movement within two to eight feet of the device,” OET said. It’s “part of a security system typically armed moments before the aircraft is parked and vacated and is automatically disabled when airborne.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is pushing back against a probe by Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., of the federal government’s review of Skydance's $8 billion purchase of Paramount Global (see 2507290066). Other congressional Democrats have also made corruption claims about the FCC’s July approval of the deal, in part citing Paramount’s settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over its editing of an October 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris (see 2507250029).
Gavin Wax, a former FCC 10th-floor aide who was at one time rumored to be in the running for a commissioner seat, has moved on to the State Department, he posted on LinkedIn Monday. Wax is starting a new position as chief of staff to acting Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Darren Beattie.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Satellite operators are in a tug-of-war with terrestrial interests -- and at times with one another -- over the 12.7 GHz band, according to reply comments this week in docket 25-180. Initial comments in the proceeding also saw satellite industry interest in opening the 12.7 GHz band to satcom (see 2507290045). The FCC adopted a Further NPRM in May asking about opening the 12.7, 42 and 51.4-52.4 GHz bands, as well as parts of the W band, to satellite communications (see 2505280055).
The push by the first Trump administration to create a fourth national wireless carrier -- after Sprint exited the market when T-Mobile bought it -- could be over, industry experts said following the announcement that AT&T was buying much of EchoStar’s spectrum portfolio for $23 billion (see 2508260052).
The ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA) has a “uniform set of policies that applies equally and objectively to all manufacturers of a particular device type,” and it's interested in bringing gateway devices to market, said Pearl TV and A3SA in a meeting with acting Media Bureau Chief Erin Boone and other bureau staff last week, according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday. Recent filings at the agency have accused the A3SA of using encryption requirements (see 2508180062) to block ATSC 3.0 device manufacturers (see 2507220075).
Carriers must continue following the FCC’s 2024 data breach rules after a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision upholding a fine against T-Mobile, lawyers at Akin said Monday (see 2508150044).
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday extended for two years a temporary waiver that allows use of the interim volume control testing method for hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) compliance. The waiver will now expire Sept. 29, 2027. The extension was requested by CTIA and had the support of industry commenters (see 2507210008). Groups representing consumers said any additional waiver must be limited and come with “safeguards and guardrails.” The bureau is requiring CTIA, in coordination with the Telecommunications Industry Association, to file two reports updating the FCC on their progress toward a permanent solution.