The FCC will formally and finally delete mention of the Fairness Doctrine from its code of federal regulations, under an order by the Media Bureau, the FCC said Monday. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski had told House Republicans such a rule change was imminent. The change, which has no practical effect because the rule had not been enforced in 20 years, is part of a broader effort at the agency to clean up its rule books by eliminating redundant and obsolete rules. References to the FCC’s “Broadcast Flag” copy protection rules, already overturned by a court, are also set to be removed.

The FCC stopped accepting and processing applications involving TV service on channel 51, a public notice released Monday said. Those with pending Channel 51 applications for TV, low-power TV, TV Translator and Class A service will have 60 days to amend their applications and request a different channel assignment, the notice said. The FCC also said it will begin accepting petitions for rulemaking filed by full-power TV stations that want to move from Channel 51 to another frequency.

The Rural Utilities Service continues to hand out grants and loans even after the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) has run its course, Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said Monday during a call with reporters. Adelstein spoke as the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $103 million in funding for 23 projects to provide broadband service to unserved and underserved rural communities.

Dish Network asked the FCC to waive integrated service rules in its purchase of S-band mobile satellite service/ancillary terrestrial component licensees TerreStar and DBSD. The request made Monday was part of Dish’s application to transfer TerreStar’s FCC licenses to Dish. Dish asked the FCC to combine its Monday filing with a previously filed application for DBSD’s licenses (CD April 12 p7). Dish is in the process of buying the MSS companies out of bankruptcy, which would give Dish 40 MHz of spectrum currently allocated for MSS/ATC use. The spectrum is also part of the 300 MHz identified in the National Broadband Plan as spectrum that could be available for broadband use within the next five years.

LightSquared presents a key early test of the Obama administration’s proposal to reallocate 500 MHz of spectrum to wireless broadband in 10 years. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski stressed in a recent briefing for reporters that any decision will be based on engineering analysis and won’t be political (CD Aug 10 p2). LightSquared demonstrates the kinds of difficulties presented by many of the bands regulators hope to convert to broadband use, said industry officials in interviews last week.

The FCC should take “swift and decisive” action to “promote universal broadband connectivity and advanced Internet protocol (IP) networks” as it moves forward on Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier compensation reform, Google, Skype, Vonage, the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee and Sprint Nextel said in a filing to the commission (http://xrl.us/bmasxm). The filing proposes its own principles for reform, starting with an argument that the legacy USF should eventually be eliminated, in favor of a new fund that pays for broadband.

Building a national wireless broadband network for public safety is the top telecom priority this fall for the Senate Commerce Committee, committee aides said. House Democratic and Republican staff, meanwhile, have continued discussions on spectrum legislation through the August recess, House officials said. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., also is closely watching the FCC as it attempts to overhaul the Universal Service Fund and the committee may have a hearing on the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, his spokeswoman said. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are poised to move their Congressional Review Act rebuke of the FCC’s net neutrality order.

Gig.U: The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project, will issue a request for information (RFI) in the next 45 days to identify companies interested in providing next-generation networks and services, it said in an open letter Thursday. The idea is for Gig.U member research universities to become potential “testbeds” and customers of the most innovative ultra high speed network technologies. The initiative may attract interest from incumbent local exchange carriers like Windstream and CenturyLink, company officials told us.

USTelecom and Sprint Nextel separately asked the FCC Wireline Bureau to clarify that carriers shouldn’t have to reimburse the Universal Service Administrative Co. when Rural Health Care (RHC) applicants don’t comply with USAC audit procedures. AT&T asked the commission to reverse a decision by USAC that the service provider must foot the bill when one of its customers violates a USAC rule. The amount of money in question in the case appealed by AT&T is small: $1,860. The industry commenters said the issue presented is much larger.

Upcoming rules on video descriptions likely will upset either industry or advocates for the blind. Agency officials said some FCC members are eying changes to a draft order, which hasn’t yet been modified. The order brings back a requirement that TV stations and multichannel video programming providers pass through at least 50 hours a quarter of audio descriptions of scenes lacking dialog (CD Aug 12 p4). Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps are among those considering moving to earlier in 2012 the proposed October 2012 date for compliance, agency officials said. That goes against what cable programmers and operators and broadcasters want. Advocates for those who can’t see well, meanwhile, said they're upset with the current version of the Media Bureau order.