Tim Warren

FCC commissioners on Thursday approved by 4-0 votes a notice of inquiry on alternatives to GPS, a Further NPRM on 911 wireless location accuracy and an FNPRM on next-generation 911. FCC officials said that while the GPS item saw some tweaks that reflect outreach to the commission (see 2503240043), there were no significant changes to the 911-related items.

A wave of retirements has hit the FCC, likely owing to a combination of early retirement offers, the transition in administrations, return-to-office requirements and increased pressure on federal workers, according to interviews with FCC employees and union officials.

Regulatory fees assessed on all authorized satellites and earth stations, not just operational ones, help better distribute the fee burden to everyone benefiting from FCC Space Bureau employee resources, the Satellite Industry Association said. In docket 24-85 comments posted Wednesday, SIA said this would also mean lower per-station and per-satellite fees. The group backs assessing satellite regulatory fees based on how much a particular type of operator likely benefits from "full-time employee resources" and constellation size. But it opposes alternative approaches that use a subjective analysis of a system's design and operations, it said. If the FCC takes a fee approach that looks at the number of authorized satellites in a fleet, it must use consistent methodology across satellite operators for what constitutes an authorized satellite, SIA added.

SpaceX's opposition to Globalstar's C-3 constellation plans (see 2503070006) is baseless, Globalstar told the FCC in a letter Tuesday. The agency's March 2024 denial of SpaceX operating in Globalstar's licensed big low earth orbit mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum didn't set a new big LEO rulemaking as a precondition to FCC consideration and grant of C-3, Globalstar said. Instead, it said, the 2024 denial sets up a rulemaking precondition for applications for additional non-geostationary orbit MSS systems from other parties. C-3 doesn't represent an additional NGSO MSS system, but a next-generation deployment request from the longtime operator and exclusive MSS licensee in this spectrum, Globalstar said.

The FCC Media Bureau will give more consideration in the future to waivers for stations that constructed permitted facilities on time but failed to meet license application deadlines, said a unanimous order from the full FCC Tuesday. The item had been listed on Thursday’s open meeting agenda as an adjudicatory matter, but the agency released a deletion notice Tuesday.

North Carolina lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would establish a broadband assistance program similar to the FCC's affordable connectivity program. S-551 was filed by Democratic state Sens. Natalie Murdock and Joyce Waddell and proposes a minimum monthly credit of $15 for broadband for low-income families. It would allow the state's Department of Commerce to adjust the benefit "according to family size." The department could also remove recipients from the program if an ISP informs it that the recipient's account is more than 45 days past due. The bill notes that $250,000 was appropriated for the program from the department's general fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Wednesday on AT&T’s proposed buy of 3.45 GHz licenses from UScellular. Because the acquisition would give AT&T more than 40 MHz of 3.45 GHz spectrum holdings in some markets, the company must seek a waiver under FCC rules, said a bureau notice. Petitions to deny are due April 25, oppositions May 12 and replies May 22, in docket 25-150.

The FCC Wireless Bureau has established the application process for parties seeking certification as a space launch frequency coordinator for the space launch service under the agency's Part 26 rules. In a public notice Tuesday in docket 24-687, the bureau said applicants will need to show they meet minimum qualifying criteria, including an ability to complete coordination using machine-to-machine interface with any NTIA automated coordination process. Separately, the bureau issued licensing and coordination procedures for the commercial space launch service (docket 13-115).

The FCC asked for comment Wednesday on a petition for rulemaking that the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) filed asking the agency to modify the power maximum effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) limits for the 4.9 GHz band. The changes are aimed at allowing the band to be used more effectively for 5G. In October, a unanimous FCC changed the rules for the public-safety spectrum, giving FirstNet access to the band (see 2410220027). Comments are due April 25, replies May 12, in docket 07-100.

The FCC should require that before space launches, the space launch frequency coordinator work with the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA), the FCC-designated coordinator for medical body area networks (MBAN), said GE HealthCare Technologies. In a docket 13-115 filing posted Wednesday recapping a meeting with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office, GE reiterated its argument that the MBAN rules aren't intended to protect commercial space launch operations in the 2360-2395 MHz band (see 2503240039). GE said EWA coordination would determine whether the proposed launch operations in the 2360-2395 MHz band would occur within 200 miles of a registered MBAN deployment and let the MBAN and space launch operations coexist through such steps as isolating spectrum use or lowering the transmit power of the space launch operations.