The Senate has overridden President Trump's veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)  81 to 13, which also means Congress has put brackets around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G. That is according to satellite interests opposed to the FCC's Ligado approval.

Also Read: House Armed Services Committee Members Take Aim at FCC's Ligado Decision

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC voted unanimously April 20 to approve Ligado's (formerly LightSquared) application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum, one of a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G. But DOD, with the backing of Armed Services Committee members in both houses of Congress, campaigned hard against Ligado and the FCC decision and continue to try to mitigate what they see as the potential interference to critical navigation and positioning systems.

But language was added to the NDAA to make sure that Ligado does not interfere with satellite communications before proceeding with its plans. 

Also Read: FCC Says Senate Ligado Attacks are Fear Mongering 

"This action taken by both chambers of Congress provides a clear signal from a bipartisan majority of our nation’s lawmakers that they are concerned about Ligado’s potential to interfere with vital SATCOM and GPS services across the country," said the Satellite Safety Alliance. "As was made clear via provisions included in the NDAA, Ligado will now be subject to an independent investigation that will ensure a clear look at how Ligado’s service would interfere with vital SATCOM and GPS services. Also included in the bill is a provision that prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from contracting with any company, like Ligado, whose operations may cause harmful interference to a DOD GPS device."

"With the NDAA veto override, Congress has loudly expressed its concerns regarding the FCC’s flawed Ligado order and the resulting interference it is likely to cause to SATCOM services," said the alliance. "Should the independent studies reveal interference as we expect, Ligado will not be able to move forward as it had planned. For years, Ligado (and formerly LightSquared) has been attempting to repurpose and flip satellite spectrum under the guise of advancing 5G technology in America. After over 10 years and millions of dollars wasted on lobbyists and lawyers, this “Ligado is 5G” argument has simply been proven to be a myth.

Also Read: Ligado Defends FCC Decision 

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the Ligado application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.  

Airline interests including plane builders, pilots, air transport companies and airlines including Jet Blue, Delta, and Southwest petitioned the FCC to dismiss the Ligado application.  

But Pai cited the bipartisan support for the item of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr on the one hand and Democrats Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Doris Matsui of California on the other. 

Ligado has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for most of a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network.  

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has passed the Senate and without the Sec. 230 amendments that would have taken aim at social media's immunity from civil liability over third party content moderation, according to various tech groups tracking the bill.

But it does have a bill that would use at least $750 million in spectrum auction proceeds over a five-year period in grants to support supply chain innovation and multilateral security.

President Trump has threatened to veto the must-pass bill without the Sec. 230-targeted elements as he continues an effort to regulate sites like Twitter and Facebook that have raised red flags about his election fraud claims and more.

Also Read: States, FTC Sue Facebook, Charging Unlawful Monopoly

The bill does have plenty in it that the tech industry was applauding, including "bolstering U.S. cybersecurity defenses, modernizing its technology, and enhancing U.S. leadership in innovation," said Gordon Bitko, senior VP at tech trade association ITI.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, seconded that assessment. “Our nation’s investments in research, development, and innovation have made the U.S. a global leader in science and technology,” said Wicker. “This year’s NDAA would support the advancement of next-generation technologies and generate cutting-edge breakthroughs in cybersecurity," said Wicker.

Among the bills that came out of the committee and went onto the NDAA were:

1. The CYBER LEAP Act, which directs the Secretary of Commerce "to establish challenges to achieve high-priority breakthroughs in cybersecurity."

2. S. 3717, Sec. 1084, the Spectrum IT Modernization Act, which "will require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and other federal agencies to outline a plan for modernizing the information technology infrastructure used for the management of federal spectrum;" and

3. S. 3189, USA Telecommunications (ORAN) Act, which would allocate either 5% of proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions over five years, or $750,000,000 (whichever is greater) into a Public Wireless Supply, "a new grant program through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to promote technology that enhances supply chain security and market competitiveness in wireless communications networks."

On the news late Thursday that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would not contain an amendment eliminating social media's immunity from civil liability for third party content moderation, President Trump tweeted that he would, indeed, veto the must-pass bill over the issue.

"Very sadly for our Nation, it looks like Senator @JimInhofe will not be putting the Section 230 termination clause into the Defense Bill," the President tweeted. "So bad for our National Security and Election Integrity. Last chance to ever get it done. I will VETO!"

Related: SIIA Warns Against 'Dangerous' Sec. 230 Changes

The President had tweeted earlier in the week that "if the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated" he planned to veto.

The President has long argued that social media censors conservative speech. Back in May, he issued an executive order that included petitioning the FCC to find a way to use Sec. 230 to regulate social media content. The issue took on new urgency for the President after Twitter flagged his tweets equating mail-in ballots and others. Twitter has continued to flag his tweets alleging massive election fraud, including a number of new tweets Thursday.

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have issues with the breadth of that shield as employed by companies whose wealth and power rival many countries. Republicans argue it is used to censor conservative speech with impugnity, while Democrats argue it is used for the dissemination of fake news and the making of political mischief with impunity. But the most likely scenario is that Congress clarifies its limits, as some are trying to do with amendments to the must-pass defense appropriations act.

Related: Senate Judiciary Teells Big Tech That Change Is Coming

Even social media sites, notably Facebook, have called for some kind of regulation, including tweaking the section, but that is partly to avoid the greater threat of elimination.

President-elect Joe Biden has even called for deep-sixing the immunity, though that is unlikely given the section's importance to the social media model. 

Senate Democrats are attempting to add their distance learning E-Rate funding bill to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have proposed their Emergency Educational Connections Act as an amendment on the bill. 

The bill would ensure that all K-12 students have access to "adequate" home broadband connectivity and devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dems signaled last month they would be introducing the bill, the Senate version of a bill introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), but would double Chen's $2 billion allocation for the FCC's E-Rate schools and libraries broadband subsidy program to $4 billion because the pandemic could extend far longer than the current academic year, they said.

“We cannot allow the ‘homework gap’ to become a larger ‘learning gap’ during the coronavirus pandemic,” the Senators said in a joint statement. “Without immediate action by Congress and $4 billion in E-Rate funding, millions of students – especially those of low-income families, immigrants, communities of color and rural areas – are at risk of being left behind. We plan to seek any legislative vehicle available to us to make our proposal the law, which will take important strides towards ensuring that all students in America have the connectivity they need to continue their education online during the current crisis.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been calling on Congress to fund distance learning as they did with telehealth. He has said the FCC's hands are tied in terms of using E-rate broadband subsidies for learning-from-home broadband because the subsidy program is statutorily tied to "classrooms."

He has also pointed out that there is about $16 billion in CARES Act funding for states and localities that could be used for distance learning from home. 

The E-Rate is a Universal Service Fund subsidy for advanced telecommunications for schools and libraries.

The bill would clarify that the broadband billions could be used for equipment and service at "locations other than the school."