The FCC’s draft notice of inquiry on opening the upper C band for commercial use acknowledges numerous incumbents using the spectrum and seeks “detailed and evidence-based comments” from all affected parties. Also on Thursday, the FCC released a draft NPRM on rules for the AWS-3 auction and other items, teeing them up for the FCC’s Feb. 27 open meeting, including new rules for wireless emergency alerts (see 2502050057).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FCC is investigating Audacy’s KCBS San Francisco over the station’s broadcasting of locations and identifying details of vehicles involved in an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in January, according to a Fox News report that quotes FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, acknowledged Wednesday that newly announced NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth may draw panel Democrats’ ire during her confirmation process over potential changes from the Trump administration and Congress to the $42.5 billion NTIA-administered BEAD program. Senate Commerce advanced commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick to the floor 16-12 Wednesday, as expected (see 2502040056), against near-uniform Democratic opposition aimed in part at his positions on BEAD. The panel also cleared a revised version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (S-315) and three other tech and telecom bills: the Rural Broadband Protection Act (S-98), Insure Cybersecurity Act (S-245) and Kids Off Social Media Act (S-278).
The FCC opened a docket on the news distortion complaint against CBS, and both the FCC and CBS have released the unedited transcript of the 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Editing of the interview is also the subject of a suit that President Donald Trump brought against the network.
CTIA hopes the Donald Trump administration will continue the spectrum studies launched under the national spectrum strategy, though potentially with tweaks to account for earlier studies, said Doug Brake, CTIA assistant vice president-policy communications, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday.
Legal experts expect President Donald Trump will use the Congressional Review Act process to reject regulations approved under President Joe Biden. The legal experts spoke Wednesday during an FCBA continuing legal education event.
New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr laid out an aggressive agenda for his first meeting as chair, with two items on future spectrum auctions, including a look at the upper C band. The FCC will also tackle wireless emergency alerts and robocalls and ways of strengthening the call-blocking capabilities of carriers. In addition, commissioners will consider an NPRM on the volume of broadcast commercials.
Avoid reading too much into the merger policies of the new Donald Trump administration based on the rejection last week of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed $14 billion buy of Juniper Networks, industry experts said. DOJ sued to block the transaction, citing the competitive effects on the wireless local area network (LAN) industry (see 2501300063).
The FCC abruptly declined to defend the inclusion of a nonbinary gender category in its broadcaster workplace diversity data collection shortly before the start of oral argument at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The eleventh-hour shift could lead to the court declining to rule on the case, attorneys told us.