On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order stating that all executive departments and agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission and other independent agencies, must “submit for review all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President before publication in the Federal Register,” and directing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish performance standards and management objectives for independent agency heads. Other provisions of the EO require regulatory agency heads to establish a new “White House Liaison” position, submit agency strategic plans to OMB for clearance prior to finalization, and direct OMB to adjust independent agencies' apportionments to ensure tax dollars are spent consistent with Presidential policies. In addition, the EO states that “the President and the Attorney General, subject to the President's supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch. The President and the Attorney General's opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties. No employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General's opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General.”
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion, AT&T v. FCC, that will likely have broad implications for the ability of the FCC to assess forfeitures for violations of its regulations. The FCC had issued a forfeiture order of $57 million against AT&T for vio...
On November 22, 2024, the FCC released an Eighth Report and Order (Eighth R&O) addressing telecom carriers' ability to use the STIR/SHAKEN capabilities of a third party provider as a means of compliance with FCC regulations intended to prevent illegally spoofed robocalls. By the Eighth R&O, the ...
On August 8, 2024, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry (NPRM and NOI) regarding the positive and negative implications of artificial intelligence technologies to place and receive phone calls and text messages. In the NPRM, the FCC proposes changes to its roboc...
On July 12, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an Order that administratively stays implementation of the FCC's May 7, 2024 Order reclassifying broadband Internet access services as a telecommunications service subject to the agency's authority under Title II of the Comm...
On March 4, 2024, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing that the last full month of reimbursements for low-income households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will be April 2024. Providers are required to send three written wind-down notices to all ACP subscribers. The ...
The FCC is seeking public comment on ways to facilitate access to spectrum in light of the lapse, effective March 9, 2023, of its authority to utilize auctions to issue spectrum licenses. Comments are due April 8, 2024, and reply comments are due April 22, 2024. Specifically, in a March 7, 2024 ...
The FCC recently revised its rules governing operations in the 70/80/90 GHz band to allow for more intensive use of these bands, including allowing services to endpoints in motion. With certain exceptions, the rules adopted in the Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket No. 20-133 will become effecti...
The FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau has announced a deadline of February 26, 2024 for all voice service, intermediate, and gateway providers to implement robocall mitigation compliance measures adopted last year in the FCC's Sixth Caller ID Authentication Report and Order. In particular, all p...
Pursuant to an Order adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in April 2023, all holders of FCC international Section 214 authorizations must submit certain information regarding their foreign ownership by no later than January 22, 2024. The FCC has established a website regarding the on...
On November 9, 2023 the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) released an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) clarifying the use of Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum and the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Under the NTIA'...
On November 1, 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) released a Programmatic Waiver loosening several aspects of the subgrantee letter of credit requirements to participate in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The waiver is w...
At its next monthly meeting, scheduled for October 19, 2023, the FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (WC Docket No. 23-320) to reestablish its authority over broadband Internet access service (BIAS) by classifying it as a telecommunications service subject to regulation under Title ...
On August 3, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Sixth Report and Order reforming the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) rules to provide for an enhanced benefit of up to $75 per month for broadband services to eligible households located in high-cost areas. To receive the b...
The Federal Communications Commission recently released a Notice of Inquiry (WT Docket No. 23-232) seeking comment on whether and how the FCC should improve its understanding of spectrum usage by FCC licensees and others subject to FCC jurisdiction. Comments on the NOI are due October 3, 2023, and reply comments are due November 2, 2023.
On June 26, 2023, the U.S. National Telecommunications Information Agency (NTIA) announced the allocation of $42.45 billion among the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories, for infrastructure projects to deliver broadband to unserved and underserved communities under t...
Federal Communications Commission rules required all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile mass-market retail 25/3 Mbps broadband Internet access service to file by September 1, 2022 data in the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) system of locations that are or could have been served by the...
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile mass-market retail broadband Internet access with at least one end user service connection to file broadband availability data in the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) system by September 1, 202...
The FCC adopted rules prohibiting providers from entering into enforcing two types of revenue sharing agreements -- graduated revenue sharing agreements and exclusive marketing arrangements -- with MTE owners that amount to de facto exclusive access agreements and require providers to disclose the existence of exclusive marketing arrangements. The FCC also clarified that existing cable inside wiring rules prohibit “sale-and-leaseback” arrangements.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that applications will be accepted starting on November 24, 2021 for over $1 billion of grants and loans under its Rural Development Broadband ReConnect program. The application window will close February 22, 2022. Reconnect funding is availabl...
President Biden on Tuesday signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), a historic bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress earlier this month. The Act will provide unprecedented funds to support broadband deployment and middle-mile funding. In particular, the Act mak...
The FCC released a Public Notice asking interested parties to update the record on practices in MTEs that could limit competition or deployment, including (1) revenue sharing agreements; (2) exclusive wiring arrangements, including sale-and-leaseback arrangements; and (3) exclusive marketing arrangements.
Many state governments are rolling out aggressive broadband grant programs designed to incent ISPs to build out networks in rural, unserved, and underserved areas. These programs will complement existing federal funding programs. State broadband grant programs include: Ohio Residential Broadb...
On July 14, 2021, the FCC released a Third Report and Order (“Third R&O”) adopting revised rules for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, aka “rip and replace” (“Program”). The Third R&O implements part of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which appropriat...
President Biden on July 9, 2021 issued an Executive Order establishing a “whole-of-government” framework to coordinate Federal government efforts to address overconcentration, monopolization, and unfair competition affecting the U.S. economy. Policies. The Order finds that industry consolidation...
The Federal Communications Commission last week adopted a Report and Order updating its equipment rules to allow more radiofrequency devices to be imported prior to equipment authorization for pre-sale activities, and to expand the scope of conditional sales contracts prior to equipment authoriza...
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