Industry attorneys expect USF reform and think BEAD efforts will soon speed up, they said in a webinar Thursday hosted by Incompas CEO Chip Pickering. The panel also discussed convergence between wired and wireless broadband and the movement of power away from the FCC in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings against agency authority. “From Incompas’ perspective ... we think a lot will shift to Congress, to the administration and to the states,” said Pickering.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ announcement Thursday that he was attending his last commission meeting (see 2505220013) sparked renewed concerns from his supporters on and off Capitol Hill that President Donald Trump will leave his seat vacant instead of naming a party-affiliated successor. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights led another push just before Starks’ announcement for Senate leaders to delay Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty’s confirmation process until the Trump administration commits to keeping the commission staffed with two members not affiliated with the party of the sitting president.

Since any FCC action on EchoStar's use of the 2 GHz band could affect the future of open radio access network deployments, more time to comment on the relevant public notices is warranted, a collection of interest groups said Tuesday (docket 25-173). Public Knowledge, the Open Technology Institute at New America, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance backed Incompas' call to add 30 days to the comment deadline for the FCC's EchoStar public notices (see 2505190056). The groups said the extra time is also justified because the FCC must consider the effect on EchoStar's Dish Network subscribers if the commission makes it impossible for Dish to expand its 5G network to the point of viability.

NTIA joined the submarine cable industry in voicing concerns about parts of the FCC's proposed rewrite of its subsea cable rules. In docket 24-523 reply comments this week, NTIA, the subsea cable industry and allies called instead for using the proceeding to streamline existing rules. FCC Commissioners adopted the subsea cable NPRM unanimously in November (see 2411210006). Initial comments on the NPRM saw pushback from industry (see 2504150002).

A few tweaks are likely for the “bad labs” order and Further NPRM set for a vote at Thursday's FCC meeting, industry officials active in the proceeding told us. The item is expected to receive unanimous approval. It would prohibit FCC recognition of a telecommunications certification body, lab or lab accreditation body owned by a company on the agency’s covered list and other government rosters of unsecure companies (see 2505010037).

Incompas is asking to add 30 days to what it called an "extremely short comment deadline" for public notices related to EchoStar's 5G network buildout and spectrum use. The notices raise "important and complex policy questions ... pertaining to the rights of licensees to their spectrum and the Commission’s authority to impinge upon those rights," it said in a time-extension motion posted Monday (docket 25-173). Both public notices -- about whether EchoStar is using the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service consistent with its authorizations and about a proposed reconsideration of EchoStar's extended 5G network buildout deadlines -- have an initial comment deadline of May 27 (see 2505130003).

Incompas names Staci Pies, formerly Crown Castle, as senior vice president-government affairs and policy, effective June 2 ... Telus elects to board: Raymond Chan, ex-Baytex Energy; Hazel Claxton, formerly Morneau Shepell; Lisa de Wilde, York University; Victor Dodig, CIBC; Darren Entwistle, Telus; Thomas Flynn, ex-BMO Financial Group; Mary Jo Haddad, MJH & Associates; Martha Hall Findlay, University of Calgary; Christine Magee, Sleep Country Canada; John Manley, Bennett Jones and Jefferies Securities (chair); David Mowat, formerly ATB Financial; Marc Parent, CAE; Denise Pickett, American Express; and Sean Willy, Des Nedhe Development … Commerce Department adds Christy Lewis, ex-Senate Commerce Committee, to its Office of the General Counsel.

Incompas is joining telecom industry voices in raising concerns about the FCC's proposed $4.5 million fine against Telnyx. The proposed penalty (see 2503050026), which stems from robocalls made on Telnyx's network, goes against the FCC's "know your customer" (KYC) guidelines and is essentially regulation by enforcement, Incompas said Tuesday (docket 17-59). Fining Telnyx when it promptly addressed the issue "risks subjecting voice service providers to a strict liability standard, compelling the adoption of KYC measures that may be ineffective for a particular provider, and chilling providers self-reporting for fear of punitive consequences," Incompas said. The Cloud Communications Alliance and Voice on the Net Coalition have also criticized the notice of apparent liability (see 2503110023).

What will come out of the FCC’s “Delete” proceeding is hard to say at this point, since it builds on other FCC efforts to cut regulations, experts said during a webinar Wednesday by the Center for Business and Public Policy at Georgetown University. The FCC has logged more than 1,100 comments so far in docket 25-133, with replies due this week (see 2504290054 and 2504290038).

SpaceX urged the FCC to tweak a draft order on the 37 GHz band to make clear that the coordination mechanism proposed for sharing the spectrum is based on the Part 101 rules for the 70/80/90 GHz band. Others also weighed in just ahead of the FCC’s sunshine notice Monday, cutting off further lobbying. Commissioners are to vote on the order Monday (see 2504070054).