The wireless startup LightSquared pressed the Federal Communications Commission on Friday to reverse its recent decision to block the company's planned next-generation wireless broadband network, CQ's Ambreen Ali reports. The FCC recently pulled its conditional waiver for LightSquared's proposed network and moved to block the deal over reports of interference from manufacturers of GPS devices. The GPS industry group Coalition to Save Our GPS has rallied significant opposition to the LightSquared deal, including defense, agriculture and transportation stakeholders. The group filed its own response (PDF) at the FCC on Friday, urging the FCC to block LightSquared's network.
LightSquared argues in its filling that the FCC's decision to block the network is arbitrary, capricious and prevents the firm from operating spectrum purchased at auction. The filing argues GPS device makers are responsible any interference and challenges the FCC's legal standing to block the deal. LightSquared also hired two prominent lawyers this week, signalling the firm is preparing for possible litigation if the politically charged debate continues.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has already demanded all FCC documents related to the LightSquared case, while other Republicans have suggested the company received favors from the FCC in return for political support. Grassley has placed a hold on the nominations of two FCC Commissioners and vowed not to lift it until the FCC agrees to his request and turns over the documents.
Supreme Court Maintains Ban on TV Cameras: CQ Healthbeat's Dena Bunis reports the Supreme Court will not televise oral arguments in the upcoming challenge to the health care overhaul, despite repeated requests from C-SPAN. The Court announced Friday that it would post audio recordings and transcripts of the oral arguments on the same day, in a nod to the public interest in the case. But that failed to satisfy C-SPAN or Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., whose committee approved a bill last month (S 1945) that would direct the court to allow TV coverage of its sessions. Quotable: “I welcome today’s announcement from the Supreme Court that they will make available the audio files and transcripts of this month’s arguments regarding the Affordable Care Act ... Nonetheless, I continue to support live audio streaming and permitting cameras in our nation’s courtrooms, including in the Supreme Court, so that Americans can witness these public proceedings as they happen. Decisions made at the Supreme Court impact the lives of millions of Americans." — Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy. Facebook Hires Former Comcast Exec: Facebook announced Monday that Susan Gonzales has been named head of community engagement for the social networking giant. She will be based in the firm's California HQ and responsible for managing outreach to diverse communities, after joining Facebook as a full-time consultant in August. Since then Gonzales has worked with elected officials as well as minority-community leaders to help them leverage Facebook. She previously spent eight years at Comcast as the vice president of the Comcast Foundation and senior director of federal and external affairs. More People on the Move: John Veysey has been named science and engineering policy analyst at the National Science Foundation's science board office. He previously worked as legislative director for Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill. CQ Weekly tells us of two promotions at the Recording Industry Association of America: Michele Ballantyne moves from senior vice president for federal government relations to executive vice president for public policy and industry relations, replacing Mitch Glazier, now the group's second in command. Also, Jonathan Lamy was promoter from senior vice president of communications to executive vice president. Techies Get Paid in D.C.: A new report from recruiting firm CyberCoders shows Washington, D.C., is the fourth highest-paying city for technology jobs, behind only San Jose, San Francisco and New York. The average salary for a tech position in D.C. was just short of $100,000, outpacing cities such as Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas. The results confirm D.C.'s position as a hub of the U.S. technology industry, thanks in part to the $80 billion the federal government spends every year on information technology. FCC Officials Head to the Hill: Federal Communications Committee chairman Julius Genachowski and his Republican colleague Robert McDowell will testify at a House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing this afternoon on the FCC's fiscal 2013 budget request. The president's budget requests roughly $346 million for the agency, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. We'll have the full transcript from the hearing later this week. FCC is one of the independent agencies covered under the annual Financial Services spending bill. Brian Lamb Steps Down: C-SPAN announced CEO Brian Lamb, who helped found the public affairs cable network in 1978 and has led it since, will be replaced as CEO on April 1 by Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain. Lamb will remain as executive chairman of the C-SPAN Board and will continue hosting the weekly interview program "Q and A". Swain and Kennedy have both been with C-SPAN for over 25 years and have served as co-presidents since December 2006.