FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter today with two thumbs up after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied emergency stays sought by AT&T and others of the the FCC’s decision to open the 6GHz ban for unlicensed WiFi. The FCC passed an order in April to open the band which is primarily used by broadcasters, …
FCC fines Sandwich Isles and its founder $50 million for fraud
The Federal Communications Commission has fined Sandwich Isles Communications, Waimana Enterprises, and Albert S.N. Hee of Hawaii $49,598,488 for violations of Universal Service Fund program rules that resulted in millions of dollars in improper payments. The agency issued the Notice of Apparent Liability in 2016. However, the fine might be more emblematic than enforceable against Hee, 67, who appears to …
President Trump proposes NTIA official Simington as new FCC Commissioner
The White House announced yesterday President Donald Trump’s intent to nominate Nathan A. Simington, of Virginia, to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission to replace current Republican Commissioner Michael O’Rielly. Simington, a Senior Advisor in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) specializing in network and telecommunications policy, played a leading role in drafting a petition required under …
FCC’s full day full-court press to develop O-RAN sported key industry experts
The FCC convened the top experts in the field yesterday in a ground-breaking virtual event to discuss the benefits of an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), the challenges of implementing it, and the lessons learned from recent deployments. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai lead the all-day sessions that included aroster of public- and private-sector experts who discussed the current state of …
Dish gets green light for more time to build out its licenses, but must stay in 5G lane
The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) officially gave the green light to Dish Network to reset the clock to June 14, 2023 to meet build-out requirements for its AWS and lower 700 MHz spectrum holdings. The WTB has also changed the license terms so that Dish has waived its rights to use their licenses under the Commission’s flexible-use policies. Each …
FCC dings a New York ISP with a $164K fine for allegedly popping its subscription numbers
The FCC has proposed a $163,912 fine, the maximum amount allowed by law, against Internet service provider Barrier Communications Corporation (BarrierFree) for apparently reporting inaccurate information that significantly inflated its broadband subscription numbers, failing to file required deployment data, making false statements to Commission investigators, and failing to respond to other inquiries. In a revised March 2018 filing, and in September 2019 and …
FCC axes domestic coverage rule for NGSO satellite networks
Satellite constellation operators no longer need to provide nationwide broadband coverage to be in compliance with FCC regulations after the agency voted to change the rule Wednesday, releasing the report and order on Friday. The FCC eliminated the requirement for non-geostationary-satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems, stating that with advances in NGSO technology and spectrum sharing, the domestic coverage …
Update: 8/31/20: Laura thrashes Louisiana’s broadcasters and mobile networks
UPDATE – August 31, 2020 – Louisiana’s cell sites that were out of service continued to improve since yesterday, with 5.5% of the cell sites out of service in the affected parishes. However, hard-hit Cameron Parish still had 72% of its cell sites out. LOUISIANA AFFECTED PARISHES Date Cell Sites Served Cell Sites Out Percent Out Cell Sites Out Due to …
Elderly Vertical Bridge AM tower goes horizontal after being walloped by 130 mph winds
A 310-foot self-supporting tower owned by Vertical Bridge that broadcast WMT-AM radio’s signal throughout Iowa collapsed last week after tornado-type winds swept through Linn County. According to the National Weather Service, a powerful line of severe thunderstorms known as “Derecho” tracked across Minnesotta, eastern Iowa, and northwest Illinois in the afternoon of August 10. Straight line winds were estimated to …
In Iowa storm’s wake, communications have rebounded but 240K still without power
After a powerful series of thunderstorms with 100 mph winds roared across the Midwest earlier this week, downing trees, damaging structures and knocking out power to more than a million people and disabling communications, the FCC is reporting this afternoon a marked improvement from yesterday’s 12.4% of cell sites down in the affected counties of Iowa. The destructive storms laid …
FCC releases updated speed test app to gather data on cell carrier performance
The Federal Communications Commission announced the release of an updated version of its FCC Speed Test app, continuing its commitment to ensure consumers have the tools and resources to evaluate how well their mobile broadband connections are performing. This app, available from the Apple App Store and Google Play, has been updated to work the with latest versions of the …
Trump kayos O’Rielly’s nomination, possibly because he didn’t support conservative media reform
President Donald Trump has rescinded his renomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to serve another five-year term at the FCC. The reversal issued late Monday came just days after O’Rielly gave a speech in which he indicated his opposition to President Trump’s executive order to try to limit liability protections for social media companies. The president and many other Republicans …
Arrest made following theft of Sprint network routers that took down carrier’s service in Texas
A Texas man, possibly a Cisco certified technician, who appeared to have codes to enter cell tower sites and keys to access Sprint equipment that permitted him to steal routers from dozens of compounds was arrested Monday in Fort Worth and is currently in jail awaiting a detention hearing this morning. Fort Worth Police Detective Stephanie Phillips, assigned to the …
Compound expansion agreement will streamline 5G build and protect historic properties
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr today announced that the Commission, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) have reached an agreement that will support wireless infrastructure builds while continuing to protect historic properties. It does so by amending the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas (Collocation NPA) that …
Tower crews who had the ‘hard part’ in the nation’s successful repack singled out by FCC chief
On yesterday’s 39-month repack deadline date, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai expressed sincere thanks to broadcasters, wireless and tower companies, tower crews, Congress and his staff for making the broadcast spectrum repack a success. During remarks he made during a webinar panel presentation to the American Consumer Institute, Pai lauded individuals responsible for the world’s first incentive spectrum auction and transition starting …
House Ag representatives brace FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over Ligado L-band decision
Today, U.S. Representatives Collin Peterson (D-MN), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), and James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai questioning the Commission’s April 20, 2020 order granting Ligado’s application to deploy a terrestrial nationwide network to provide 5G services. The Commission unanimously approved Ligado’s plan despite strong opposition from the Pentagon and its supporters who say the company will harm global …
Huawei and ZTE officially designated ‘national security threats’ by the FCC
The FCC has formally designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats to the United States, moving to disrupt the Chinese tech firms’ American operations by declaring that federal subsidies from the Universal Service Fund won’t cover their equipment. “Both companies have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus, and both companies are broadly subject to …
FCC Commissioner Carr announces order to upgrade wireless infrastructure, reduce bottlenecks
Yesterday at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s (WIA) free, virtual conference, Connect (X): All Access, Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Brendan Carr announced the FCC’s plans to clarify its rules to promote network upgrades on existing towers and other wireless sites. His comments are available here. The ruling will address state and local approval of wireless equipment modifications and clarify the definition of “substantial change”. …
Lawsuit challenges FCC’s C-band reorganization, broadcasters want COVID-19 costs considered
Video programming provider PSSI Global Services LLC (PSSI) is taking the FCC to court over the agency’s controversial reorganization of the C-band spectrum, arguing that the agency is crippling an entire industry. In February, the FCC adopted new rules to auction and make available 280 Megahertz of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band available for 5G Services while relocating existing satellite operations …
FCC debuts new ‘safer’ seal that is more representative of current technologies
In anticipation of its upcoming move to Washington’s NoMa district, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted a new FCC Seal. The redesigned seal is the product of an agency-wide contest that solicited proposals from Commission employees and contractors. The winning design was submitted by Umasankar Arumugam and selected by a vote of the agency’s employees and contractors. The revised design incorporates the …
