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.
House Oversight Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., pressed NPR and PBS executives Monday to testify at a March hearing on “federally funded radio and television, including its systemically biased content.” Greene’s request followed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s call last week for the Enforcement and Media bureaus to investigate PBS and NPR member stations over possible underwriting violations (see 2501300065). President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency advisory group has eyed NPR and PBS funder CPB as a potential target (see 2411220042).
Law professor Adam Candeub, who was an attorney in the FCC's Media and Common Carrier bureaus as well as acting NTIA head, is returning to the commission as general counsel. Candeub brings with him strong criticisms of Big Tech. In response to a post on X about Candeub not being the GC that Big Tech executives would have preferred, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr replied that the agency "will work to dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights to everyday Americans." He added: "I look forward to Adam Candeub serving as the FCC's General Counsel. He is going to do great things!"
As previewed during a recent financial call, it appears AT&T in recent days has been moving more aggressively to shut additional parts of its legacy copper network (see 2501270047). In December, in what AT&T executives saw as a model for future retirements, the FCC took no action, allowing AT&T to initially halt sales and then discontinue residential local service in nine Oklahoma wire centers (see 2412230066). AT&T CEO John Stankey said on the call that the carrier plans to file applications at the FCC to stop selling legacy products in about 1,300 wire centers, or about a quarter of the AT&T footprint. On Friday alone, the FCC posted retirement proposals for AT&T wire centers in Alliance, Ohio; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Easley, South Carolina; and Milwaukee.
Former House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said Friday that he and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., refiled the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (Routers) Act. The measure would require the Commerce Department to “specify what transactions involving routers, modems, or devices that combine a modem and a router are prohibited” under President Donald Trump’s 2019 executive order (see 1905150066), which bars transactions involving information and communications technologies that pose an “undue risk of sabotage to or subversion of” U.S.-based communications services. The House approved the measure last year, and it was part of a package of telecom measures in a scuttled December version of the continuing resolution that extended appropriations through March 14 (see 2412170081). Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and likely Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., recently filed a Senate companion version of the bill (S-244). “We are going to continue our efforts to make sure communist China cannot surveil, manipulate, and undermine the American people,” Latta said. The Routers Act “is a good step toward that worthwhile goal.”
On his first trip as FCC chairman, Brendan Carr said Friday he was in western North Carolina to visit “several of Hurricane Helene’s hardest-hit areas where recovery and restoration are underway.” President Donald Trump visited the area ahead of Carr, before continuing on to California, which has been hit by massive wildfires. “Everybody is talking about California, and that’s a mess,” Trump said after he arrived in North Carolina on Jan. 24. “But I said, ‘I’m not going to California until I stop in North Carolina.’” Trump also signed an executive order on rebuilding roads in the region, eliminating the need for permitting. Carr said he will make several stops in the state, spending "time with emergency management and public safety officials, telecom crews, broadcasters, and other government representatives that are now working to rebuild these communities.” He added: “I am grateful for the surge in support that President Trump and his Administration have been providing to communities across Western North Carolina, including an Executive Order that will speed restoration efforts here.” Carr hasn’t made other travel plans, FCC officials said Friday. He went to California for a visit tied to the Dixie Fire in 2021.
Five days before a scheduled oral argument on the FCC’s Form 395-B collection of diversity data from broadcasters, DOJ told the court Thursday that it no longer supports aspects of the equal employment opportunity (EEO) rule, citing the recent White House executive orders on diversity and gender terminology in a letter filed with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in docket 24-60219.
Charter Communications sees broadband subscriber competition from fixed wireless access (FWA) having peaked and predicts that fiber overbuilding will slow down. In a call with analysts Friday as Charter reported its Q4 2024 results, CEO Chris Winfrey said the broadband environment is "still competitive in terms of fiber and cellphone internet overlap." But, he said, "we better be better this year than we were ... last year" -- especially with the loss of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) no longer dragging down results, as it did in the second half of 2024. Charter executives used the term "cellphone internet" five times in Friday's call.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez staff changes: Hayley Steffen joins Office of International Affairs; Jessica Greffenius returns to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; Jonathan Uriarte joins as strategic communications and policy adviser from former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s staff ... Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) appoints Brian Rybarik, ex-Microsoft, chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for six-year term starting March 3; he replaces David Danner, retiring … Commercial Space Foundation names Alicia Brown, ex-NASA, executive director … Privacy professionals group IAPP elects to board through 2025: Oliver Draf, Volkswagen; Kristie Chon Flynn, Google; Lara Liss, GE HealthCare; Susan Hintze, Hintze Law and Hintze Data Advisors; elected to the executive committee are: Caroline Louveaux, Mastercard (chair); Barbara Cosgrove, Workday (vice chair); Christina Montgomery, IBM (treasurer), Travis LeBlanc, Cooley (secretary); and Faith Myers, McKesson (past chair).
Plummeting prices are a challenge for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite operators, but they ultimately could be a boon by opening markets and otherwise increasing demand, Eutelsat Vice President-Pricing and Analytics Mark Kirley said. During a Global Satellite Operators Association event Thursday, he and other GSO executives said price competition from SpaceX's non-geostationary orbit Starlink system is hitting some markets and applications harder than others. "It's a tough time for [GSO] satellite operators," said Glenn Katz, Telesat chief commercial officer.