Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the agenda for its February Open Meeting, which is scheduled for February 27, 2025. This is the first agenda released by the FCC under new Chairman Brendan Carr. The agenda items on which the commissioners will vote at the meeting will include the following:
- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input on proposed updates to 10-year-old service specific AWS-3 bidding rules to fulfill the agency’s “statutory obligation to initiate an auction of licenses for the AWS-3 spectrum in the Commission’s inventory by June 23, 2026.” Proceeds from the auction will support the program that reimburses advanced communications service providers for the cost of removing and replacing Huawei Technologies or ZTE Corporation equipment and services in their networks.
- A Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on the potential for freeing up additional mid-band spectrum in the Upper C-band for new services, including whether authorization and transition mechanisms similar to those used in the successful 3.7 GHz Service transition could be applied. The NOI will solicit comments on the parameters for new opportunities in the Upper C-band, the potential need for amending the U.S. Table, and the current and future needs of existing operators while considering the impact on aviation radio altimeters. It also will invite detailed proposals on transition mechanics and structure, and requests technical and economic data on the costs and benefits of authorizing new services in the Upper C-band.
- A Seventh Report and Order and an Eleventh Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on reducing alert fatigue by giving consumers and emergency managers increased ability to customize Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs).
- A Report and Order to expand the FCC’s call blocking requirements based on a reasonable do-not-originate list to all voice service providers in a call path, and to modify the existing requirement for voice service providers to immediately notify callers when blocking calls to ensure more timely resolution of erroneously blocked calls.
- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on whether the rules implementing the Commission’s Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act of 2010 are effectively serving their purpose, and whether and how they should be updated.
The meeting will be webcast live at https://www.fcc.gov/live.