FCC delay to rollout of internet in rural communities slammed as worst abuse by commissioner

The Federal Communication Commission quietly decided Friday to delay a buildout that would bring internet to rural communities.That decision has been slammed by Commissioner Brendan Carr as “the worst abuse of agency process I have seen in my twelve years of working at the FCC.” Dish Chairperson and longtime democrat donor Charlie Ergen was given up to three more years to bring service to the most remote communities in the US by the FCC last week — without giving the public or internal FCC officials any input.“I have never heard of the FCC granting relief like this with no process, no public input, and no heads up,” Carr told The Post.

“The Democrats in FCC leadership cut a secret, backroom deal—one that kept the Republican FCC Commissioners and perhaps others completely in the dark—and then hustled it out the door on a Friday afternoon.”The move comes just two days after the FCC approved a controversial deal that fast-tracked left-leaning billionaire George Soros’ acquisition of radio stations that reach more than 165 million Americans, The Post has learned — a move that insiders have also slammed as political.On Wednesday, The FCC adopted an order to approve Soros’ purchase of more than 200 radio stations in 40 markets just weeks before the presidential election, sources told The Post. The FCC decision came after a partisan vote with the commission’s three democrats voting for the move while the two republicans voted against it, sources added.Under existing FCC rules, foreign company ownership of US radio stations is not supposed to exceed 25%.Soros took foreign investment to make his bid and then made a filing asking the commission to make an exception to the usual review process, according to public documents.The FCC decision to fast-track his deal is the first time in modern history such a deal has been approved by the full Commission without first running the national security review process—a process that could take up to a year...