NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield warned that changes in the BEAD program could mean that many of the group’s members will sit it out though a good number are well positioned to participate. Departing next year after 25 years at NTCA's helm (see 2509170060), Bloomfield spoke with former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly during a Free State Foundation webcast. “This is a tougher business than people think it is,” she said.
The FCC, which previously shot down SpaceX's plans to operate in the 2 GHz band, will likely think differently now, satellite spectrum experts said. The company applied Friday to launch and operate as many as 15,000 satellites to provide direct-to-device (D2D) service globally. The constellation would use spectrum that SpaceX is buying from EchoStar, including the 2 GHz band.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s comments pressuring ABC and broadcast companies to cease airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! were condemned by lawmakers and some conservative publications and groups over the weekend, including the Cato Institute, the National Review and the Free State Foundation. In a Concordia Summit Q&A on Monday, Carr said Kimmel’s show being taken off the air -- just hours after he publicly warned of possible FCC action against ABC and urged broadcasters to preempt it -- was “a business decision” and “not because of anything that’s happening at the federal level.”
While operators of some low earth orbit (LEO) mega constellations are taking steps to reduce their visual clutter of the night sky, astronomers said trends such as more and bigger LEO satellites overshadow those efforts. The astronomers told us they don't expect to see U.S. regulation anytime soon focusing on those satellites' reflectivity and interference with astronomical observations.
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and industry disagreed on whether there are any steps that the FCC should take now to spur adoption of next-generation 911. All agreed that regulators should move cautiously, echoing initial comments (see 2508050042). Reply comments were due last week in docket 21-479 on the Further NPRM that commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042).
If the FCC moves forward with sweeping changes to how it enforces National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) rules, it will have to do so over the objections of the tribes, some states and historic preservation interests, based on comments that were due Thursday in docket 25-217. Other comments raised questions about how the regulations apply to satellite projects (see 2509190007).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chastised FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday for comments earlier in the week against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as bringing about the network’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air indefinitely (see 2509180066). Carr threatened ABC in a podcast interview, saying the network should discipline Kimmel for comments about the Make America Great Again movement's reaction to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (see 2509170064) or face FCC action.
Charter Communications and Cox Communications defended their proposed $34.5 billion deal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in a joint filing posted Wednesday in docket 25-07-016 (see 2505160060). The CPUC Public Advocates Office (Cal Advocates), The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) filed various protests against the deal earlier this month seeking more information about the companies' proposed transaction.
As non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems become more established, the FCC will face more pressure to revisit the rules, frameworks and spectrum-sharing approaches they operate under, space regulatory consultant Patricia Cooper said Thursday at a New America/International Center for Law & Economics webinar.
House Communications Subcommittee members traded partisan barbs during a Thursday hearing over a largely GOP-initiated set of broadband permitting bills (see 2509120072) that Democrats claim won’t be effective in speeding up connectivity buildout. Republicans filed many of the 29 bills in past Congresses, including several they previously combined into the controversial American Broadband Deployment Act (see 2305240069). Subpanel Democrats also punctuated the hearing with criticism of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for threats against ABC and parent company Disney that resulted in the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (see 2509180055).