President Trump withdraws FCC renomination after 5G controversy – By Russell Brandom (The Verge) / Aug 3 2020
Michael O’Rielly served as FCC commissioner for a full six-year term
President Trump has withdrawn the nomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, a six-year FCC veteran who was expected by many to be renewed for a third term, as first reported by Reuters. The withdrawal comes less than a week after Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) placed a hold on the nomination over concerns about O’Rielly’s position on a recently approved terrestrial 5G network.
The conflict centers over a controversial 5G network recently approved by the commission. The proposed network would operate on the L-band spectrum traditionally utilized by radar and GPS, operated by Ligado Networks as a low-power terrestrial system. In its proposal, Ligado pledged to report its base stations and operating parameters to avoid any interference with existing L-band users, but critics of the order have remained concerned that the network may interfere with GPS systems.
Sen. Inhofe is one of those critics, saying, “This isn’t just about our military, but all users of GPS are united in opposition.” As a result, Inhofe sought to block O’Rielly’s nomination “until he publically states that he will vote to overturn the current Ligado Order.”
Continue to article: https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/3/21353233/orielly-fcc-nomination-withdrawn-trump-ligado-5g-230
