Part 25 Rule Changes on Dec. 17 Agenda Aimed at Streamlining Satellite Licensing, Wheeler Says

Proposed changes to FCC Part 25 rules are aimed at streamlining the satellite license approval process, "significantly reducing regulatory burdens and costs," Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a blog Wednesday. The changes -- docket 12-267 -- "streamlines, clarifies, eliminates or amends rules to allow for more operational flexibility and better accommodates evolving technology while easing administrative burdens on licensees and Commission staff," Wheeler said. The Part 25 rule changes are on the agenda for the Dec. 17 FCC meeting, as is an order on a petition from USTelecom seeking forbearance from some categories of statutory and FCC requirements that apply to ILECs (see 1511250047). "These rules were adopted to protect or expand competition, but technological and market conditions have changed dramatically, making many of these rules outdated," Wheeler said. "Removing them will promote the ability of local phone companies to build out broadband and invest in modern and efficient networks [while preserving] rules that remain necessary to protect consumers and competition."