Industry Backs FCC’s Push to Eliminate ‘Outdated’ Regulations

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2025 – FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's sweeping deregulatory effort, known as ‘Delete, Delete, Delete’, has elicited varied responses from industry stakeholders since it was announced Wednesday.

One of the first groups to publicly back the initiative was the National Association of Broadcasters, applauding Carr’s deep dive into expelling FCC’s rules and regulations that “no longer serve any meaningful public interest purpose," NAB said.

Among NAB’s top priorities for deregulation: The national TV ownership cap, which currently prevents a single broadcaster from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households; and, local radio and TV station ownership rules, which limit how many stations a single company can own in a given market.

Those “must be reformed as soon as possible,” NAB spokesman Alex Siciliano told Broadband Breakfast.

Wireless industry group CTIA also welcomed the FCC’s move, framing it as a way to accelerate 5G expansion.

CTIA has long pushed for reducing regulatory barriers on small cell deployments and cell tower siting, as well as streamlining spectrum access for commercial wireless services.

ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer also endorsed the initiative, posting on X: “ACAConnects has a list for the FCC! We look forward to engaging with Chairman 

[Carr] on this effort to lift burdens on small, rural providers and give them long-term certainty to invest in their networks.”

ACA Connects previously told Broadband Breakfast the organization was pushing to roll back a suite of FCC regulations, including broadband "nutrition labels" that require ISPs to disclose speed, pricing, and fees in a standardized format; and, the FCC’s All-in pricing rules, requiring cable and satellite TV providers to display a single upfront price that includes all required fees.

While supportive of reducing regulatory burdens, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield emphasized the need for a thoughtful approach in a release.

“It’s important that this effort be undertaken carefully to realize the benefits of such [an] examination without creating unintended consequences for FCC policies and priorities, but the Public Notice provides a useful catalyst for such a thoughtful conversation,” Bloomfield said.

Beyond major industry players, the FCC has received an array of public comments requesting the elimination of various regulations.

So far, commenters have asked the FCC to:

• Ban encryption in over-the-air TV broadcasts (ATSC 3.0), arguing that it undermines public interest obligations.
• Eliminate broadband reporting requirements for small ISPs, with fixed wireless operators arguing that compliance costs are too high.
• Preserve amateur radio frequencies, fearing that deregulation could lead to spectrum auctions that take away critical airwaves from HAM radio operators.
• Scrap TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) rules, which govern robocalls, with one commenter calling them “a complete mess of stitched together nonsense.”
• Low-Power FM station wants the FCC to eliminate underwriting restrictions, which currently prevent them from running traditional commercial advertisements.

The FCC’s comment deadline is April 11.