Verizon isn’t stressing about the November election, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, executive vice president and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, said Wednesday at a Bank of America financial conference. Verizon has “a very strong track record of working with both the Democrats and the Republicans,” he said: “We know how to work with them to get better outcomes and connectivity for everyone.” Priorities for Verizon include a program like the expired affordable connectivity program and support for rural broadband, he said. Verizon is also focused on Communications Act Title II “reforms” and tax policy. The company had 1.1 million ACP customers, and 65% are now paying customers, Sampath said. He projected further growth in Verizon’s fixed wireless access offering, and expects the program to hit 4 million this quarter. “Very soon, we have to come back and explain how we grow the next tranche,” he said: “We have a lot more capacity. As they say, they build the church for Easter.” Sampath said the wireless industry will continue to add customers, partly as a result of “strong immigration,” which adds several million potential subscribers each year. Verizon is pleased with its prepaid position. “With our Tracfone acquisition, plus some of our brands that we put into the mix that were legacy Verizon, we have what is, I think, the best prepaid business in the market today.” He projected the carrier will have net positive prepaid adds this quarter, excluding any SafeLink ACP losses, after losing customers in recent quarters. Sampath declined to comment, in general, on media reports that Verizon is considering acquiring Frontier. “We like to own our own fiber assets for the most part,” he noted. New Street said Wednesday it views the reports as “credible.”

Communications Workers of America announced Tuesday it would withdraw from the mediation process between AT&T and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as it entered its third week of strikes (see 2408220053). More than 17,000 workers across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are striking545. CWA said that as a result of the strike, AT&T is using "undertrained managers and contractors," resulting in "widespread outages" and long wait times for repairs or service. CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt said in a statement that the group appreciated the mediator's efforts, but AT&T was "using the mediation process as another delaying tactic" to "stall negotiations." An AT&T spokesperson also thanked the mediator and told us CWA's decision was "unexpected, since withdrawing from mediation seems inconsistent with the union’s allegation of unfair labor practices." The decision "also goes against their stated intention to bargain toward a mutually agreeable resolution," the spokesperson said: "Regardless of whether a neutral third-party is present, progress will not be made without a willingness to compromise." AT&T is "focused on reaching a fair and competitive agreement that benefits our hard-working employees as quickly as possible, and this won’t change. In the meantime, we will remain prepared for all contingencies to ensure our customers receive the excellent service they deserve," the spokesperson added.

The FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday agreed to delay by three weeks the comment deadlines on a Further NPRM on the broadband data collection process as sought by CTIA, USTelecom and the Competitive Carriers Association (see 2408260010). With the delay, comments are now due Oct. 7, replies Nov. 5 in docket 19-195. “Given the importance of receiving both timely and accurate BDC data submissions as well as robust input on the questions raised in the Fourth Further Notice, we find there is good cause to grant Joint Petitioners’ request,” the bureau said.

FCC commissioners released an order Thursday approving initial rules allowing drone use of the 5030-5091 MHz band (see 2303100028). Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated the order in April for a commissioner vote (see 2404080065). The order permits operators of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to obtain direct frequency assignments in a portion of the band for non-networked operations. The band is one of five targeted for further study in the national spectrum strategy (see 2403120056). The rules “rely on dynamic frequency management systems to manage and coordinate access to the spectrum and enable its safe and efficient use,” an FCC news release said: These systems “provide requesting operators with temporary frequency assignments to support UAS control link communications with a level of reliability suitable for operations in controlled airspace and other safety-critical circumstances.” Currently, operators “largely rely on unlicensed airwaves to communicate with and control” drones, Rosenworcel said in statement. “But the use of unlicensed spectrum leaves these aircraft more vulnerable to interference that could disrupt operations,” she said: The order, for the first time, allows UAS operators “to access dedicated spectrum for control operations in circumstances where safety is essential.” The FCC’s job isn’t finished, said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “We still need to address a number of remaining issues, including spectrum for networked UAS operations in the 5030-5091 MHz band to fully realize the promise and public interest benefits of UAS,” he said. The order was approved 5-0. None of the other commissioners released statements. “A revolution in aviation” is starting “and sufficient spectrum availability for UAS will be crucial to unleashing the vast transformational power of Advanced Air Mobility,” emailed AURA Network Systems CEO Bill Tolpegin. “Equally critical is that the spectrum used to support uncrewed flights is not only licensed and fully dedicated for aviation but also managed to guarantee coverage along flight routes.”

Telecom and broadband regulatory lawyer Kristopher Twomey was suspended from practicing in the District of Columbia for two years, the D.C. Court of Appeals ordered Thursday. Accepting the recommendation of its Board of Professional Responsibility, the court said Twomey gave two clients false assurances about the status of their eligible telecommunication carrier applications. In addition, Twomey, the board said, created a false docket number for a California application so he could cover up that he had not filed it in a timely manner. That caused another lawyer working on the application to repeat a false statement to the FCC, it said. The board said Twomey also told a client to repeat false claims to the FCC that the Tennessee authority had declined jurisdiction by returning an application. In fact, Twomey never filed it, according to the board. Twomey, the board noted, should have kept his clients better informed about significant deadlines that might not be met. It said he received an interim suspension on July 17. Deciding were Judges Corinne Beckwith, Roy McLeese and Vanessa Ruiz. Twomey -- seemingly the sole practitioner of his California firm, with no other lawyers listed on its website -- didn't comment.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument on an industry coalition's challenge of the FCC's net neutrality order Oct. 31 at 8:30 a.m. ET (see 2408140043). The court will list the assigned judges sitting on the panel two weeks prior to argument, a letter filed Monday said (docket 24-7000).

AT&T will pay $950,000 and implement a three-year compliance plan to resolve an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation of an Aug. 22, 2023, 911 outage affecting parts of Illinois, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin, the FCC said Monday. The outage lasted an hour and 14 minutes and resulted in more than 400 failed 911 calls, the agency said. AT&T “violated FCC rules by failing to deliver 911 calls to, and failing to timely notify, 911 call centers in connection” to the outage, the FCC found. The FCC said the outage occurred during testing parts of the carrier’s 911 network. A contractor technician “inadvertently disabled a portion of the network, and AT&T’s system did not automatically adjust to accommodate the disabled portion of the network, resulting in the outage.” The testing wasn’t associated with planned maintenance and “did not undergo the stringent technical review that would have otherwise been conducted.” Service providers “have an obligation to transmit 911 calls and notify 911 call centers of outages in a timely manner,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “Our rules are designed to protect the public and ensure that public safety officials can inform consumers of alternate ways to reach emergency services in the event of an outage.” AT&T understands “the importance of having critical access to 911,” a spokesperson said in an email: “We’ve resolved this matter and are committed to keeping our customers connected in times they need it most.”

Oral argument in the Minnesota Telecom Alliance's challenge of the FCC's digital discrimination rules in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2408220015) will take place on Sept. 25, said an order Friday (docket 24-1179). Judges James Loken, Duane Benton and Steven Grasz will hear the case.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, didn’t mention broadband or other telecom issues in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening. However, she promised global leadership on “space and artificial intelligence.” Harris said she would ensure “that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st Century.” She also called out her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, over “his explicit intent to jail journalists” and political opponents. Trump has repeatedly called for FCC action against media companies for their "fake" reporting (see 2401170050). Harris also mentioned the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan: “We know what a second Trump term would look like. It’s all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is identified as the principal author of the FCC chapter in Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, the book laying out Project 2025’s plan for a second Trump administration. Commissioner Nathan Simington is credited as a contributor. Trump has repeatedly disavowed connection to Project 2025, though he has also publicly embraced Heritage's effort. In a Truth Social post during Harris’ speech he wrote: “LYING AGAIN ABOUT PROJECT 2025, WHICH SHE KNOWS, AND SO DO ALL DEMOCRATS, THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH!”

FCC staffers give the agency and their jobs generally high marks, according to the Office of Personnel Management's 2023 federal employee viewpoint survey data released Wednesday by the FCC. Among employees surveyed, 92% said people in their work unit contribute positively to the agency's performance, 75% said they recommend the agency as a good place to work, and 68% said senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Areas where results were more lukewarm include questions about whether information is openly shared in the organization (56% of respondents agreed), the approval process in the organization allows timely delivery of my work (54%), and senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce (55%). The OPM data came from anonymous surveying of 519 agency employees for a month in 2023.