Interconnected TMT

On July 17, the FCC released a tentative agenda for its August Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 7 at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Commission released public drafts of the eight items expected to be considered at the Open Meeting, which are detailed below:

Chairman Carr delivered a speech in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 2 titled “A Build Agenda for America” in which he laid out the FCC’s priorities for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. In citing to what he refers to as President Trump’s “new Golden Age for America,” Chairman Carr indicated he believes the telecommunications sector needs reform through his Build America Agenda. This agenda aims to create new growth and opportunity in telecommunications, helping the United States surpass global competitors.

On Monday, June 23, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice announcing comment and reply comment deadlines for the Identifying Foreign Adversary Ownership Stakes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Foreign Ownership NPRM). Comments will be due on July 23, and replies will be due on August 22.

President Donald J. Trump has taken action to bolster the American drone industry and safeguard U.S. airspace with the signing of two critical executive orders. Entitled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” and “Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty,” these orders underscore the administration’s commitment to harmonizing national security and technological progress.

On June 5, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 26 at 10:30 AM ET. This release occurred a day before Commissioners Simington and Starks stepped down from their roles at the FCC, leaving the Commission with only two sitting commissioners—Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez. A quorum of three commissioners is required in order for the FCC to conduct Commission-level business. While the Commission will be able to continue with bureau-level proceedings, the lack of quorum raises legal and practical questions about the Commission’s ability to adopt new rules, such as the rules contained in the two draft Report and Orders below. Quorum, however, can be regained if Congress can confirm President Trump’s nominee, Olivia Trusty, as a new Republican Commissioner prior to the June Open Meeting. Recognizing this, on June 12, Senate Majority Leader Thune filed a “notice of cloture” that will allow the Senate to debate, and then vote, on Trusty’s nomination by the end of next week. Trusty’s appointment would allow the Commission to act on three items that are expected to be considered at the Open Meeting, which are detailed below:

Olivia Trusty, nominee for the open Republican Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) Commissioner position, appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Trusty has significant telecommunications experience on Capitol Hill and is a longtime protégé of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS). She is the Republican staff lead for the Senate Armed Services Committee, working with the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, where she has worked on issues related to spectrum allocated to military and national security uses. She was also a policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee, and specifically worked with the Communications, Media, and Broadband Subcommittee. Additionally, she was previously a legislative assistant to Sen. Wicker, focusing on matters related to communications, technology, innovation and the internet.

On April 7, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 28 at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Commission released public drafts of four items that are expected to be considered at the Open Meeting, which are detailed below:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its March Open Meeting last Thursday, March 27, during which it voted to adopt the three items discussed in our last blog post and recent client alert: (1) a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) exploring alternatives to Global Positioning Technology (GPS), (2) a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) containing proposals to ensure the reliability and interoperability of Next Generation 911 (NG911) networks, and (3) an FNPRM seeking comment on proposals to strengthen caller location accuracy requirements for wireless calls to 911. The final versions of these documents reflected several changes from the drafts that were circulated in early March, as detailed below:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr at the helm, will be holding the agency’s first Open Meeting on Thursday, February 27 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET amidst uncertainties related to independent agencies and presidential power as reflected in a recent Executive Order. The FCC has released an agenda for the meeting, which is available here, along with public drafts of the five new items that will be up for consideration by the FCC: