A plan for cutting regulations and federal institutions such as the FCC could target broadband access programs and media regulations, but it's likely that a wave of litigation will stymie it, administrative law professors and attorneys told us. Future Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) heads Vivek Ramasawamy and Space X CEO Elon Musk laid out their plans in a Wall Street Journal opinion column. “It's not to say that maybe some of these changes shouldn't be happening, but, you know, they're taking a wrecking ball to fix something that requires a little bit more finesse than that,” said University of Idaho law professor Linda Jellum. Asked about possible DOGE cuts at the FCC, incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr last week told reporters, “There's no question, there's tons of room for driving more efficiency at the FCC." He didn't elaborate.
John Windhausen, executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, said Wednesday his organization is willing to work with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and other Republicans to save a program that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. On tap to lead the FCC next year under President-elect Donald Trump, Carr voted against the E-rate program's creation, as did fellow Republican Nathan Simington (see 2410070028).
The FCC released on Wednesday text of three items scheduled for a vote at the commissioners’ Dec. 11 open meeting, including rules that would allow new very-low-power (VLP) devices to operate without coordination across the 6 GHz band (see 2411190068). The FCC will also consider changing USF letter of credit (LOC) rules and updating several broadcast radio and TV rules.
House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., said during a Wednesday USTelecom event he wants renewed pushes to restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority and enact a broadband permitting revamp legislative package to be among the subpanel’s top priorities in the next Congress. Broadband executives likewise named Capitol Hill action on broadband permitting legislation as their top congressional priority once Republicans have control of both chambers in January. The officials also noted interest in lawmakers’ work on a potential USF revamp.
If the incoming presidential administration enacts the broadband regulatory suggestions in Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, it will bring "a new era of wild West-style deregulation for broadband," Penn State doctoral student Abby Simmerman blogged Tuesday at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Project 2025's urges deregulation and public spending cuts. Simmerman said deregulation could benefit satellite broadband operators, such as SpaceX and Amazon's Kuiper and incumbent internet service providers, easing the path to potential acquisitions. Project 2025 also criticizes inefficiency in U.S. broadband programs, arguing that a lack of a national strategy has created redundancies and waste, Simmerman wrote. The comprehensive program review it recommends would attempt to eliminate programs deemed duplicative. The USF undoubtedly would see a reduction in spending, given how Project 2025 urges “right-sizing the federal government’s existing broadband initiatives," she added. The next FCC is also unlikely to initiate affordability programs, Simmerman predicted.
Congressional GOP leaders are doubtful about lawmakers' chances of reaching a year-end deal on an additional $3.08 billion for the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program even as some Democrats are softening their insistence that the funding move in tandem with stopgap money for the FCC's lapsed affordable connectivity program. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas and nine other Republicans wrote congressional leaders Monday to press for rip-and-replace funding in a bid to highlight the issue amid the lame-duck frenzy.
In what could be its last full meeting under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC on Dec. 11 will consider rules that would expand parts of the 6 GHz band where new very-low-power (VLP) devices can operate without coordination, beyond the initial 850 MHz commissioners approved last year (see 2310190054). Commissioners at the open meeting will also consider changing rules that govern letters of credit for USF programs and an item updating several broadcast radio and TV rules. Also on the agenda are various enforcement items, which will be released after the commission's approval.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NARUC Telecom Committee on Monday cleared draft resolutions on phone number conservation, the Universal Service Fund and utility coordination on broadband deployment. A USF panel that day described how reform could happen with Republicans controlling the FCC and Congress next year. Also, the affordable connectivity program (ACP) could return in 2025 despite Washington’s partisan climate, said Sanford Williams, deputy chief of staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, during a collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) meeting. State utility regulators are holding their annual meeting here this week.
The FCC received 2,734 applications from schools, libraries and consortia seeking $3.7 billion from its $200 million cybersecurity pilot program, the FCC said Friday. It is reviewing the applications, but the program may not survive the start of the second Trump administration, industry officials warned.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could be a big beneficiary of Donald Trump's election, with some seeing his SpaceX reaping rewards from changes to NTIA's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and the next FCC offering a warmer reception to SpaceX requests. Yet government ethics experts believe Musk and his businesses could face a particularly big challenge if he becomes leader of a government efficiency effort, as Trump promised during the campaign. "He's like a walking potential conflict of interest," said Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).