It is critical that more licensed spectrum becomes available for the wireless industry, Rhonda Johnson, AT&T executive vice president-federal regulatory relations, said Wednesday. “The U.S. has no supply of the licensed spectrum that fuels wireless services, and the FCC has no authority to auction the essential resource,” Johnson wrote in a blog post: “This spectrum drought has allowed other countries, including China, to surpass the U.S. in allocating key portions of spectrum.” Expanding AT&T’s network “requires expanding access to the licensed spectrum that powers it,” she said. AT&T arguably has been the most outspoken national wireless carrier in projecting positive things to come from Donald Trump's incoming administration (see 2412100069). Johnson also stressed the importance of regulators clearing a path for the provider to shutter inefficient copper networks (see 2405210059). “Outdated regulations force U.S. telecom companies to maintain inefficient copper networks, diverting investment from the resilient high-speed internet technologies of the future.”
WTA and a group of healthcare entities filed amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to overturn the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating part of the USF program. The briefs supported arguments of the FCC (see 2501090045), the telecom industry and public interest groups (see 2501100057). Consumer group Public Citizen warned of negative effects beyond the FCC if SCOTUS upholds the 5th Circuit decision. Consumers' Research challenged the contribution factor in the 5th Circuit and other courts.
Tencent's investment in Skydance Media should give the FCC pause, considering Tencent is a member of DOD's list of Chinese military companies operating in the U.S., the Center for American Rights said Tuesday. CAR petitioned the agency to put conditions related to Chinese control on any approval of Skydance's proposed purchase of Paramount Global (see 2412170038). CAR said the fact DOD considers a Skydance founding investor to be a “Chinese military company” should refute the FCC presumption that foreign-ownership interests of 5% or less aren't generally contrary to the public interest. It said the FCC could condition approval on New Paramount having board diversity through board members coming from different geographies, industries, backgrounds and political persuasions; its locating of executive and editorial staff in cities besides New York and Los Angeles; creation of an "independent, empowered, balanced ombudsman"; or committing to "an ideologically diverse hiring pipeline." Chicago-based CAR last fall filed news distortion complaints against CBS over the network's interview with Vice President/Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris (see 2410170051) and an equal-time complaint against NBC and its WNBC New York over Harris' appearance on Saturday Night Live just prior to Election Day (see 2411050049).
President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency may struggle to make the deep cuts in the federal workforce it seeks, experts said during a discussion at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs late Monday. Moreover, Trump would face legal challenges implementing Schedule F, which would strip federal employees of civil service protections and facilitate replacing them with Trump loyalists, they said (see 2407110054).
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at fast-tracking the buildout of large-scale AI infrastructure in the U.S. Meanwhile, during an Analysys Mason webinar, industry officials said the telecom industry remains in the very early stages of figuring out how it will use AI.
A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Friday it will likely uphold Congress’ TikTok divestment law because the company’s Beijing ties raise legitimate security concerns.
The office of Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to become chairman, said Thursday night he doesn’t oppose Senate Commerce Committee GOP Telecom Policy Director Arielle Roth as a potential nominee to fill the commission seat Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will vacate Jan. 20. Carr Chief of Staff Greg Watson pushed back against reports framing Carr as opposing a Roth nomination, a position that would put him in conflict with Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz is strongly backing Roth behind the scenes, leading some to see her as the front-runner for Rosenworcel's seat, communications sector lobbyists told us (see 2412110046).
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced Tuesday the formation of a Digital Infrastructure Group within the state's Department of Information Technology. Effective immediately, it will "coordinate the efficient deployment of wired and wireless communications and digital information technology infrastructure," said an executive order. “We will transform from a reactive and uncoordinated system to one that optimizes taxpayer dollars and even gives the state opportunities to boost revenue from major ISPs and cellular carriers,” said Department of Information Technology Secretary Katie Savage.
At the SEC's insistence, tech media and telecom (TMT) companies are increasingly warning investors and the public about cyberattack risks, as well as steps they're taking when incidents are discovered. The SEC began requiring that companies report on cybersecurity practices and incidents in 2023. And TMT companies’ cybersecurity disclosures in their 2024 10-K annual reports varied widely in depth and detail: TDS' totaled a little more than 300 words; Lumen's was more than 1,400.
The FCC in a U.S. Supreme Court filing defended the USF in general, and the contribution factor more specifically, as the justices prepared to hear what could be the most consequential FCC case in years (see 2412100060). SCOTUS agreed in November to review the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision, which sided with Consumers' Research and found that the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.”