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.
Republican FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty agreed Thursday with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that broadcasters lack the same First Amendment protections as others because of how they're regulated. Speaking at a Free State Foundation lunch, Trusty also indicated that she believes President Donald Trump is legally able to fire FCC commissioners, though she noted that issue is before the courts.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s use of agency threats against Disney, ABC and local broadcasters on Wednesday led to Jimmy Kimmel Live! being pulled from the air within hours, and Carr is widely expected to keep repeating the tactic, academics and attorneys said in interviews Thursday.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation promotes Daniel Castro to president, effective May 2026, replacing Robert Atkinson, retiring April 30 … ACA Connects taps Jack Latzer, ex-NCTI, as COO and executive vice president, effective at the end of September, succeeding John Higginbotham, who will retire in March; the two will serve together during the transition ... Network services provider GTT Communications names Andrea Genschaw, ex-Lumen, as CFO, replacing Tim Medina, retiring ... Space technology provider Aegis Aerospace adds Matt Ondler, formerly Axiom Space, as chief strategy officer.
Consumers’ Research and its allies made additional arguments at the FCC for why the agency should zero out the USF contribution factor for Q4 (see 2508110021), despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision that the factor is constitutional (see 2506270054).
A handful of right-leaning groups are pressing strongly for a bipartisan congressional working group to recommend funding USF via the appropriations process as part of a potential legislative revamp of the program, but other stakeholders said they still they favor various expansions of the initiative’s contributions base. Comments to the working group were due late Monday night as part of its recently relaunched bill consultations (see 2508010051). The right-leaning groups also called for the most far-reaching changes to the program’s governance and structure, in some cases seeking to ax the high-cost fund.
The Global Satellite Operators Association appoints Ali Al Hashemi, Space42, as board chair, replacing Dan Goldberg, Telesat; new vice chairs are Adel Al-Saleh, SES, and Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, NigComSat … Sidus Space names Lawrence Hollister, ex-Anduril Industries, chief business officer, a newly created position … Communications technology supplier Ribbon Communications taps Steve McCaffery, formerly Halo, as executive vice president of global sales, effective Oct. 31, replacing Dan Redington, who leaves Sept. 30 to pursue other opportunities.
NTIA's management of BEAD under the agency's revised rules is "no way to run a railroad, and no way to connect Americans to the fast, affordable, reliable internet we need," wrote Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in a blog post Monday. Citing concerns from public interest advocates about another possible round of subgrantee selections, Prasad warned that the agency is going "off track" amid claims that it's requiring several states to revisit "some of the most expensive locations to connect and to do so in 72 hours."
With EchoStar selling spectrum to AT&T and SpaceX that was key to its terrestrial mobile plans, the company's focus will be on a hybrid mobile virtual network operator model for its Boost Mobile business, executives said this morning at World Space Business Week in Paris. Under that hybrid MVNO model, Boost will use SpaceX direct-to-device service and AT&T mobile service, paired with Boost's cloud-based core network, CEO Hamid Akhavan said.