The government has “no business” forcing companies to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez in a speech Tuesday to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Summit. “The hard-fought lessons of the civil rights movement are being erased -- or worse, distorted -- to claim that fairness for all requires discrimination against some. That could not be further from the truth.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is planning to warn Disney that the FCC will be scrutinizing its diversity programs, he said in an interview Tuesday with Punchbowl News.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson defended President Donald Trump's firing of the commission’s two Democrats during a speech at the Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. Ferguson also espoused a theory on executive power that the president may remove commissioners and install supporters on what Trump has termed “so-called” independent commissions. When Americans choose a president, “we are electing the person who is going to be able to supervise the entire government, not parts of the government,” Ferguson said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Free State Foundation event Tuesday for moving toward what he hopes will be a major overhaul of NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Other panel members told us they plan to grill agency administrator nominee Arielle Roth on the issue during her Thursday confirmation hearing. Lobbyists we spoke with expect Roth will face heat from Senate Commerce Democrats on BEAD because she's the committee Republicans’ telecom policy director, but they don’t believe this means the nominee will face an otherwise contentious reception. Thursday's hearing is set for 2:15 p.m. in 253 Russell.
A broad swath of commenters from all over the political spectrum condemned the FCC’s news distortion proceeding as unconstitutional in comments filed by Monday’s deadline, while the complainant, the Center for American Rights, insisted the proceeding against CBS is justified. The FCC should use the Skydance/Paramount deal to “address the deeper disease” of “relentless bias” by CBS, CAR said.
On the eve of a key U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the USF's future, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said questions remain about the program's survival. How USF is paid for has to change, Carr told a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. He also said he supports President Donald Trump's dismissal of Democratic commissioners at the FTC.
Sinclair Executive Vice President and CFO Lucy Rutishauser will retire after her successor is named and transitions to the role; after retirement, Rutishauser is expected to remain as senior adviser … Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International names Nicole McGinnis, formerly FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, as chief counsel … Austin Bonner, ex-White House and FCC, returns to HWG as a partner in its telecommunications, issues and appeals, and AI and emerging technologies practice groups … Shane Portfolio, Congruex and formerly Comcast, joins Teleste’s advisory board … CoreWeave adds Jean English, ex-Juniper Networks, as chief marketing officer, new post ... Emergency response center data supplier Carbyne appoints Colby Proffitt, formerly Shift5, as chief marketing officer ... Space service company Spire Global names Alison Engel, formerly LeaseAccelerator, as CFO, replacing Thomas Krywe, interim CFO, who remains as executive adviser through April … Morgan Murphy Media promotes Brian Burns to president-CEO, replacing retiring Elizabeth Murphy Burns, who becomes board chair.
Comments are due April 23, replies May 8, in docket 24-626 on an FCC proposal for cleaning up outdated references and processes in broadcast regulations, said a public notice Monday. “Numerous rule sections still reference outdated terms from the Commission’s legacy paper-filing processing procedures and discontinued databases, and are therefore incompatible with current electronic filing procedures,” the December NPRM said. The item was unanimously approved under the previous administration (see 2412100057).
The FCC on Monday notified the Universal Service Administrative Co. that the Wireline Bureau approves the Rural Health Care program funding 2025 review procedures. That decision is “subject to further modifications and/or instruction from the Commission,” the bureau said in docket 02-60.
Zebra representatives discussed the importance of RAIN RFID in the 900 MHz band during meetings with staff of the four FCC commissioners, the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology. RAIN refers to "a specific subset of RFID technology that operates in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) range," said a filing posted Monday in docket 24-240. The company opposed NextNav’s proposal to use part of the band for an alternative to GPS, it said. “Zebra emphasized the explosive growth in RAIN RFID systems in recent years and the continued reliance” on the technology “as the backbone of inventory management, asset tracking, supply chain logistics, access control, animal tracking, and loss prevention.”