T-Mobile made its final written arguments this week at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against a $80 million fine imposed by the FCC for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time locations. T-Mobile was also fined $12.2 million for violations by Sprint, which it later acquired. The FCC and the government defended the fines in January during the last weeks of President Joe Biden's administration (see 2501130061). Oral argument is scheduled for March 24.
The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center joined Consumers’ Research in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject how the FCC handles USF. FCC v. Consumers' Research, which SCOTUS will hear March 26, challenges the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045).
Wireless carriers must add spectrum and deepen their fiber commitment, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said Wednesday. “Carriers should buy every piece of spectrum they can get their hands on … because we’re going to run out at some point relatively soon,” he told a Broadband Breakfast webinar. “There’s a scramble for both categories of assets, and they’re both imperative.”
President Donald Trump’s latest norm-busting executive order (see 2502180069) directing the FCC, among other "so-called independent" agencies and executive branch bodies, to submit regulatory actions to the White House before they're published in the Federal Register could complicate Brendan Carr’s push to be an active chairman at the FCC, industry experts said Wednesday.
Consumers’ Research is getting support from other right-of-center groups as it pushes a legal theory at the U.S. Supreme Court that poses a challenge to the USF's future. SCOTUS will hear FCC v. Consumers' Research on March 26, challenging the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045).
As federal policymakers continue studying the lower 3 GHz band for possible reallocation for full-power, licensed use, the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) remains a critical focus, said Doug Brake, CTIA assistant vice president-policy communications, during a Technology Policy Institute webinar Tuesday. Advocates of licensed, unlicensed and satellite use said all need more spectrum as the Senate Commerce Committee prepares for Wednesday’s hearing on the topic (see 2502180058).
Securus and Pay Tel accused the FCC of acting outside the bounds of what was allowed under the Martha Wright-Reed (MWR) Act of 2022 in its July order reducing call rates for people in prisons while establishing interim rate caps for video calls (see 2407180039). The two providers of incarcerated people’s communication services (IPCS) filed preliminary briefs Thursday, as did state and law enforcement challengers and groups representing prisoners and their families. The case is before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though various parties are still asking that it be moved to the 5th Circuit (see 2501280053).
The FCC said Friday that it no longer contends that Maurine and Matthew Molak of Texas are barred from challenging the FCC’s declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) based on their lack of participation in the FCC proceeding that led to the action. The FCC filed a notice at the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court, which heard oral argument on the case Nov. 4 (see 2411040061).
The U.K.’s Office of Communications on Thursday announced a consultation that examines opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, while considering licensed use of part of the spectrum. The Ofcom proposal would provide for low-power indoor (LPI) use across the entire band on a license-exempt basis.
A notice of inquiry about use of the upper C band for 5G may prove controversial given the implications for radio altimeters, industry experts said. The NOI proposes a study of 3.98-4.2 GHz spectrum, just above the spectrum sold in the record-breaking C-band auction, which ended in early 2021 (see 2102180041). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr initiated the NOI last week for a vote at the Feb. 27 open meeting. A radio altimeter is a device that measures the distance between an aircraft and the ground.