NAB touted a broadcaster alternative to GPS in meetings at the FCC on the draft notice of inquiry scheduled for a vote March 27 (see 2503060061). Deployment of a broadcast positioning system (BPS) as an alternative to GPS is mentioned in the NOI. NAB representatives met with aides to Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Anna Gomez. “NAB described its progress since it began developing BPS in 2020, following President [Donald] Trump’s Executive Order on Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services,” said a filing Thursday in docket 25-110. Since, “NAB has conducted a number of tests and has launched BPS signals on-air in four television markets. NAB described these deployments and our work with various government agencies to test and refine the system.”
The FCC has created an internal, multi-bureau national security taskforce “to promote America’s national security and counter foreign adversaries, particularly the threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in a news release Thursday. Called the Council for National Security, the group will include members from eight bureaus and FCC offices. Carr’s national security counsel, Adam Chan, will lead the group, the release said. It didn't specify which bureaus and offices will be involved, and the agency didn’t immediately respond to questions about the group's makeup or whether it will hold public meetings.
The FCC Office of Managing Director announced Thursday a proposed Q2 USF contribution factor of 36.6%, as calculated by the Universal Service Administrative Co. That’s up from 36.3% the previous quarter and the highest quarterly contribution factor in the program's history. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear FCC v. Consumers’ Research March 26, a case about the contribution factor's legality.
CTIA names Ajit Pai, ex-Searchlight Capital Partners and former FCC chairman, president and CEO, effective April 1... Benton Institute for Broadband & Society promotes Revati Prasad to executive director, effective May 1, succeeding Adrianne Furniss, moving to senior fellow, Illinois program manager and adviser to Prasad.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association on Wednesday praised the CTIA's choice of former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as the group’s president and CEO, effective April 1 (see 2503120036). He was picked following an executive search by Korn Ferry International. Pai is “an effective leader with the right mix of government and industry experience to help propel the wireless industry forward,” said Patrick Halley, WIA president and CEO. “WIA looks forward to working with him and the CTIA team to ensure every consumer and enterprise in America benefits from the power of wireless connectivity.” Pai “brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective from his years of public and private sector experience,” said Rhonda Johnson, AT&T executive vice president-regulatory relations.
The FCC’s notice of apparent liability against Telnyx is an abuse of power and should be rescinded, said Free State Foundation’s Seth Cooper in a blog post Wednesday. The Feb. 4 Telnyx NAL (see 2503050026) amounts to “regulation by enforcement,” where an agency imposes new requirements on regulatees in enforcement proceedings instead of through a rulemaking, Cooper wrote. Regulation by enforcement “deprives regulated entities of the ability to know and follow the law, so it is contrary to the requirement of fair notice and the prohibition of unfair surprise that are recognized in Supreme Court's Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause jurisprudence.”
Law firm Perkins Coie sued the U.S. government over a White House executive order aimed at the firm, and the lawsuit names the FCC and Chairman Brendan Carr as defendants, along with a host of agencies and agency leaders. A federal judge reportedly temporarily blocked the executive order in a ruling Wednesday. No order was yet visible in the docket Wednesday evening. The order, which accuses Perkins Coie of “undermining democratic elections” and committing racial discrimination through its diversity policies, limits the firm’s attorneys from accessing federal buildings and requires federal contractors to disclose relationships with it, among other things. It targets the firm over its past representation of former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and its work with George Soros. “The Order is an affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice,” said the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his Administration.”
The FCC is seeking suggestions on which of its rules should be eliminated in a docket (25-133) called “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” the agency announced in a news release and public notice Wednesday. “The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public’s participation and feedback throughout this process,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in the release. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.”
Satellite operators are “essentially flying blind” without an international protocol for sharing data about the location and position of objects in space and for planning maneuvers, said Kim Baum, Eutelsat/OneWeb vice president-spectrum engineering and strategy. Speaking at the Satellite 2025 show, she said there's a need for a universal directory of every satellite operator, including contact information, to deal with spectrum, as well as coordination of satellites possibly on collision courses. Multiple speakers mentioned the need for additional international coordination and agreement.
The FCC is "moving at breakneck speed" and "really swinging for the fences" since the start of the Trump administration, Chairman Brendan Carr said Tuesday at Incompas' Policy Summit. Carr reiterated his "pretty aggressive agenda," which includes addressing media issues, reining in Big Tech, pushing initiatives that will "spur economic growth," and supporting national security and public safety.