FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington

The federal courts have spoken, and the message is clear: the days of unaccountable bureaucratic enforcement are numbered. On April 17, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Federal Communications Commission’s forfeiture order against a broadcaster, signaling urgent need for internal reform.

President Trump’s vision for restoring constitutional government is finally taking shape, and nowhere is that more urgently needed than at the Federal Communications Commission. With the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, the federal bureaucracy has been put on notice: bloat, redundancy, and mission creep are no longer acceptable. Agencies must operate within clear constitutional boundaries and serve the public interest, not their own expansion. The FCC is a prime candidate for DOGE-style reform.

President Trump has once again thrown down the gauntlet against the corporate media—this time by taking CBS to court. But we must go beyond the courtroom to move from outrage to reform. It’s time to hit fake news where it hurts most: financially.

In our national discourse, it’s easy to retreat into comfortable tropes: “China bad,” “free markets good,” and “the next G is just around the corner.” But none of that is a plan. We need more than another slogan; America needs a real, tangible, industrial strategy. And it starts with a hard-nosed look at how China’s approach to 5G and smart manufacturing is reshaping the global balance of power. Let’s be clear: China’s rise is no longer just a story of cheap labor. That era is over.

 The U.S is at a critical juncture for regaining leadership in driving future international spectrum allocation decisions.  The U.S is in serious risk of marooning itself and becoming a mid-band spectrum and technology island, given U.S. allocations in the 3 and 6 GHz bands that increasingly diverge from the harmonization in the rest of the world.  To stave off such an outcome, the U.S.

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington replied to letters from Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling on all Commissioners to act objectively, in accordance with the Communications Act and the First Amendment, in license grants, renewals, and transfers. Commissioner Simington replied: “I am pleased to commit to making license determinations objectively and fairly, in compliance with the Communications Act and in a manner that upholds the First Amendment.

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington released a statement regarding the ongoing negotiation between Disney and DirecTV. He touched on three concerns about the media marketplace. "One: about a third of linear network content distributed in the United States is now delivered by over the top, streaming platforms. Two: there is zero harmonization, whether in our rules or in industry practice, between network video content distribution over traditional linear MVPDs versus over the top, streaming MVPDs.

I focus my remarks on the satellite service sector—both what I see for its future and what the Federal Communications Commission can do today to ensure its success. Starting with direct-to-cell—I am pleased to see that the FCC is crafting a flexible framework that allows the US to take the lead on policymaking for this new service, while also ensuring that we do not constrict innovation and fledgling business models. A strong but flexible regulatory framework is the best approach for bolstering both America’s leadership and industry’s success.

What I won’t do is reflexively say that no regulation of artificial intelligence is a sine qua non for innovation. Instead, the throughline I think you can trace is that, where the United States has succeeded in technological development, it has done so through a mindful attempt to cultivate and potentiate innovation.

On April 18, 2023, Federal Communications Commission leadership wrote to Congressional leadership to restore the Commission's spectrum action authority. The FCC's auction authority expired for the first time in the program’s 30-year history on March 9, 2023.