The FCC overstepped its statutory boundaries in trying to implement the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday, as it vacated part of the agency's 2023 robocall amid robotext order. In a 23-page decision (docket 24-10277), Judges Elizabeth Branch, Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa sided with petitioner Insurance Marketing Coalition and said the 2023 order sets rules that conflict with the ordinary statutory meaning of the TCPA's "prior express consent" language. The 11th Circuit vacated the portion of the order that states that a consumer can't consent to a telemarketing or advertising robocall unless they consent to calls from only one entity at a time and consent only to calls whose subject matter is “logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent.” The 11th Circuit also remanded the order back to the FCC for further proceedings.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr promotes Jacob Lewis to acting general counsel, replacing Michelle Ellison; Patrick Webre to acting chief, Enforcement Bureau, replacing Peter Hyun; Eduard Bartholme to acting chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, replacing Alejandro Roark; Erin Boone to acting chief, Media Bureau, replacing Holly Saurer. Carr moves Joel Taubenblatt to acting chief, Wireless Bureau; Trent Harkrader to acting chief, Wireline Bureau; Debra Jordan to acting chief, Public Safety Bureau.
The FCC Space Bureau can't ignore commission-set requirements "simply ... because SpaceX does not like them," Viasat said as it continues arguing for reconsideration of a portion of the SpaceX/T-Mobile authorization to provide supplemental coverage from space service (see 2412270017). In a docket 23-135 filing posted Wednesday, Viasat said SpaceX's reply to the recon petition ignores some of Viasat's key points, such as the SCS order is contrary to the bureau's determination last year to deny SpaceX access to parts of the 1429-2690 MHz band because they aren't available for mobile satellite service (MSS). Viasat also attacked SpaceX's arguments calling for dismissal of the recon petition since Viasat didn't previously file comments in the dockets where SpaceX requested SCS authority. It's an "inescapable fact" that the SpaceX SCS order includes band segments that weren't part of the agency's previous SCS framework order and thus can't be used for SCS service, Viasat said.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to signal in posts on X Wednesday that the agency could consider stepping up enforcement of the Calm Act, which combats loud advertisements. “I’ve asked my team to look into this,” Carr said in a post. He was replying to a request for FCC intervention on loud ads; his Chief of Staff Greg Watson affirmed the response. The FCC sought comment on the effectiveness of Calm Act enforcement in 2021 under then-Chair Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2105210043), but that proceeding didn’t prompt rules or a visible increase in enforcement. MVPD groups said then that most complaints the FCC receives concerning Calm Act violations either aren’t specific enough to be actionable or concern streaming services.
The FCC gave proper notice that the 2024 foreign-sponsored content rules could apply to noncandidate political advertising and public service announcements, the agency said in a brief Friday filed in docket 24-1296 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. It also said Congress authorized the requirement that stations obtain certifications that their air time isn’t being leased by foreign governments. The law gives the FCC the power to require broadcasters to use “reasonable” diligence to determine the sponsor of an ad or lease, the agency said, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision striking down Chevron deference. “The use of the term ‘reasonable’ means Congress ‘authorized’ the agency ‘to exercise a degree of discretion’ in determining the diligence required,” the FCC said.
Technology companies and others are already working on issues surrounding georouting texts to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and that process should play out before the FCC gets involved with deadlines and requirements, Media Institute Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly wrote Wednesday. He said the idea that only FCC public safety mandates can get the work done "has been disproved time and time again," and there are numerous examples of the agency wrongly imposing mandates before the technology was ready. Given the "reasonable level of uncertainty as to when georouting for 988 texts could be technically operational and deployed," the commission should watch the process for now, he said. "Nothing is to be gained by setting arbitrary requirements and/or deadlines." Some communications industry interests have also argued that the agency should hold off on setting 988 text georouting requirements (see 2501100033).
Semtech said Wednesday that its EM8695 5G RedCap module was tested and certified for use on AT&T’s reduced capacity (RedCap) network. The device also has certifications from the FCC and the PCS Type Certification Review Board. RedCap technology allows more bandwidth and capacity in IoT devices while reducing power use and other costs (see 2303270060). “Recent industry projections emphasize RedCap's critical role in driving IoT growth,” Semtech said. “According to Omdia, global RedCap connections are expected to surge from 27.6 million in 2023 to 963.5 million by 2030.”
Michael Calabrese, representing the Open Technology Institute at New America, spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on some of the group’s priorities at the new FCC. Calabrese urged “a rapid resolution” of remaining issues in the FCC’s 2020 6 GHz Further NPRM. He explained “why the authorization of a somewhat higher maximum power level,” 8 dBm/MHz power spectral density level for indoor-only use, is “important for continued U.S. leadership in next generation Wi-Fi, and to ensure affordable high-capacity Wi-Fi 6/7 connectivity for virtually all consumers, businesses and community anchor institutions,” according to a filing this week in docket 18-295. Calabrese encouraged the FCC to complete work on mobile handset unlocking rules teed up in the last administration (see 2407180037). Moreover, he asked about the status of FCC work on the lower 12 GHz band (see 2411270046). In 12 GHz, “coordinated sharing is clearly feasible between the fixed satellite incumbents and proposed fixed terrestrial point-to-point and point-to-multipoint services” in the band, the filing said.
The Wi-Fi Alliance disputed the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition's arguments against an FCC waiver allowing automated frequency coordination systems in the 6 GHz band to take building entry loss (BEL) into account for “composite” standard-power and low-power devices that are restricted to operating indoors (see 2501060060). FWCC claims that the waiver “conflicts with established Commission policy because [the Office of Engineering and Technology] failed to articulate ‘special circumstances beyond those considered during regular rulemaking,’” the alliance said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-107. FWCC also “claims that this established Commission policy was violated because (i) the circumstances were already considered during a rulemaking proceeding; and (ii) the circumstances were insufficiently different from those considered during the rulemaking proceeding,” the alliance said. “Neither claim is accurate and, therefore, does not support granting FWCC’s requested relief.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Tuesday the FCC should “revisit” its 3-2 September decision that granted radio broadcaster Audacy’s request for a temporary waiver of foreign-ownership requirements to complete a bankruptcy restructuring that included George Soros-affiliated entities purchasing its stock (see 2409300046). The Audacy order drew strong congressional GOP opposition in the lead-up to the November presidential election, including a House Oversight Committee probe (see 2409270053). Kennedy, who previously chaired the Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over FCC funding, framed the Soros-affiliated entities’ purchase of Audacy stock as a “weird” sale that included WWL(AM) New Orleans. The waiver request “went through the FCC like green grass through a goose,” just ahead of the election, Kennedy said on the Senate floor Tuesday. Jessica Rosenworcel's FCC, which included three Democrats at the time, “short-circuited the normal process,” despite objections from current Republican Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington. “These licenses and these airwaves do not belong to me or the FCC or to Audacy or to WWL,” Kennedy said. “They belong to … the American people. And we're supposed to make sure, through our FCC … that these licenses are not just given away.” The FCC didn’t immediately comment.