- Thus far, Brendan Carr’s FCC agenda has been largely ‘down with DEI’
- He’s already axed some Rosenworcel FCC initiatives, like the proposal to ban bulk billing and efforts to combat digital discrimination
- The FCC has also opened the doors for more spectrum allocation, where Elon Musk is poised to influence policy
President Donald Trump’s second term so far has been nothing short of eventful. Brendan Carr, newly minted chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has been plenty busy making his mark in the telecom regulatory landscape.
Suffice to say, the communications industry has undergone a boatload of twists and turns. We looked at the most notable events that have transpired during Carr’s first 30 days – and what we can expect in the months to come.
Dismantling DEI
The U.S. government has launched a campaign to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from both the public and private sectors. And Carr has been more than happy to carry out that directive, notably going after Comcast and its subsidiary NBCUniversal for “invidious” forms of civil rights violations.
This marked Carr’s first investigation of a telecommunications company for DEI. Not all of the FCC was on board, as Commissioner Geoffrey Starks later said, “this enforcement action is out of our lane and out of our reach.”
The Carr FCC has also taken aim at media outlets, such as ABC, CBS, NPR and PBS, on the grounds of “news distortion.”
Tom Wheeler, who was the FCC chair under President Barack Obama, wrote in a Brookings blog that Carr’s actions go against the deregulatory stance outlined in Project 2025. In his chapter, Carr said the FCC should focus on creating a “market-friendly regulatory environment” and “eliminating many of the heavy-handed FCC regulations.”
“The actions to date may, indeed, represent a new trajectory, but are far from the promised elimination of heavy-handed regulatory micromanagement of corporate activity,” Wheeler said.
Carr’s FCC authority could actually increase in light of a new executive order, which asserted federal agencies don’t need a formal voting process to stop the enforcement of any regulations the White House doesn’t favor, according to New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin.
Although the FCC is still awaiting confirmation of its newest commissioner Olivia Trusty, Levin has noted much of Carr’s agenda doesn’t require an FCC majority. But Trump’s latest EO “raises the possibility that even in the one place we thought Carr would need a vote of the other Commissioners — changing the media ownership rules — he may be able to act without a vote,” Levin said in a note to investors Thursday.
Wiping the slate
By the time Carr took the FCC reins, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled against the FCC’s attempt to reinstate net neutrality — a decision celebrated by Carr and telecom trade groups.
He’s wasted no time in gutting other Rosenworcel FCC initiatives. One was a proposal to ban bulk billing arrangements in multi-tenant properties. Bulk-billing is quite the contentious industry topic, because it requires apartment tenants to pay for broadband, cable or satellite services from the provider offering the bulk agreement — even if they prefer to use another ISP.
Carr claimed a move to prohibit bulk billing would have raised internet costs for apartment dwellers by as much as 50% and “hit families right in their pocketbooks at a time when they were already hurting from the last Administration’s inflationary policies.”
He also axed the Commission’s Digital Discrimination Task Force (what he dubbed the “DEI Task Force”), which aimed to combat digital redlining. Predictably, service providers were not thrilled about having to follow the FCC’s digital discrimination rules.
Further, Carr ended an FCC proposal that would have required broadband providers to follow stricter environmental guidelines to build new cell towers.
Carr has said he intends to cut the regulatory red tape surrounding broadband infrastructure projects. Levin expects Carr to “advance permitting rules preempting state and local fees and application processes,” but nothing’s been teed up yet on that front.
Spectrum showdown
Carr today oversaw the first FCC meeting under his watch, where the topic du jour involved opening the floodgates for more wireless spectrum usage.
Notably, the FCC voted to advance an auction of the AWS-3 band. The FCC still doesn’t have its full spectrum auction authority (which it lost in March 2023), but the AWS-3 auction was included as a provision in a Senate bill passed in December that authorized over $3 billion in rip and replace funds.
The agency has until June 2026 to auction these licenses.
The FCC also voted to open a notice of inquiry (NOI) on the best way to use the upper C-Band spectrum — whether it’s for 5G or other services. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is understandably eyeing that spectrum for shared satellite use.
And despite Carr’s FCC authority, Levin said it’s still Musk who “remains the most powerful force” in the Trump administration.
“We have not yet seen him have a material impact on telecom issues, though that is certain to come,” Levin added.
