AT&T said Monday the FCC approved its proposal to to initially stop new sales and then discontinue residential local service in nine Oklahoma wire centers. The proposal was deemed granted Saturday after the agency didn’t take further action. The Communications Workers of America slammed the development.

Pointing to its work with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on evaluating technological approaches to georouting text messages, the wireless industry is advising that the FCC wait to implement georouting rules. That view was contained in docket 18-36 comments Monday and last week. Meanwhile, mental health and related interests strongly supported a text georouting requirement. The commission's 988 georouting order approved unanimously at its October meeting included an NPRM about text georouting (see 2410170026).

The Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association (GWTCA) and state groups asked the FCC to delay a requirement that current 4.9 GHz licensees provide it with granular licensing data not later than June 9, or face cancellation of their licenses. Proponents of the delay were optimistic on Monday that the FCC would approve the stay.

Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said Friday he selected Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., as Communications Subcommittee chairman for the next Congress, as expected (see 2412170053). Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., will be the subcommittee’s vice chairman, Guthrie said. Hudson was a House Communications member during the last Congress but moved off in 2023. He is a Next-Generation 911 Caucus co-chair and last year championed allocating $14.8 billion in future FCC auction proceeds to pay for NG-911 tech upgrades (see 2305240069) as part of House Commerce’s Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565). Hudson's “expertise will help propel our country into the next generation economy,” Guthrie said. Hudson “will close the digital divide for rural America, affirm U.S. leadership in next generation telecommunication networks, and protect our critical communications infrastructure from adversarial attacks.” Hudson said he plans to work with Guthrie, President-elect Donald Trump and other House Commerce members “to advance strong, commonsense policies that promote innovation, streamline federal regulations, and bridge the digital divide.” He will replace current Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who was term-limited from seeking the gavel again and will instead lead the Energy Subcommittee. Guthrie said House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., will continue leading what will be renamed next Congress the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. Several communications industry groups released brief statements congratulating Hudson on his selection as the Communications chairman. Hudson and Allen “understand the importance of ubiquitous connectivity, especially in service of rural, un-served and under-resourced communities; and the need for balanced spectrum and light touch regulatory policies which boost broad-based innovation while also being small-business friendly,” said Wireless ISP Association Vice President-Government Affairs Matt Mandel. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said the broadband industry is “excited to work with [Hudson], his team and his subcommittee to turbocharge the next phase of American connectivity, innovation and technology leadership.” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said the group “and its members, including those who live in and serve communities in Rep. Hudson’s district, look forward to working with him to ensure that rural Americans have access to high-quality, affordable and sustainable broadband networks.”

The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council’s working groups are making progress toward providing the agency with reports on AI security concerns, ensuring access to 911 as networks evolve and offering recommendations for 6G security, said the group leads during Wednesday’s CSRIC meeting. The groups are on pace to deliver several reports in 2025 and 2026, with the first -- on AI, machine learning and the specific security concerns they bring to communications networks -- due in March. “We believe this is a complex task,” said working group co-Chair Vijay Gurbani, Vail Systems' chief data scientist.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., clarified that he hasn’t yet been selected as Senate Communications Subcommittee chairman for the next Congress despite filling in during a subpanel hearing last week (see 2412110067) for current ranking member John Thune, R-S.D. Current Communications Chairman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico is hopeful but not certain that he will remain the subpanel’s lead Democrat next year. Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, who will be House Commerce Committee chairman in the next Congress, said he’s adding 10 current and incoming Republican lawmakers to the panel.

The Communications Workers of America was among the commenters urging the FCC to take a hard look at Verizon’s proposed buy of Frontier, a $20 billion all-cash deal announced in September (see 2409050010). More than half that figure will pay off Frontier’s debt. The transaction would affect wireline communications “for tens of millions of voice and broadband customers in states served by Frontier and Verizon,” CWA said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-445. The union said Verizon’s goal of upgrading and expanding Frontier’s fiber network is encouraging. But the companies “provide no specific details on their turnaround plans for Frontier, such as the amount of funds Verizon intends to allocate for additional fiber upgrades, the geographic areas that will benefit from such funds, specifics on how Verizon plans to maintain and improve quality of service for customers that will not get fiber upgrades, whether Verizon wants to continue Frontier’s excessive use of low-wage and inadequately trained contractors for construction projects, and whether this acquisition could result in reduced capital investments by Verizon in its current footprint,” CWA said. The Coalition for IP Network Transition said the FCC should approve the deal only on the condition that the two companies phase out their legacy time division multiplex and feature group D (FGD) networks and agree to “interconnect with all other carriers” on an IP basis. The two companies have been silent on that issue, the coalition said. “The Applicants plan to bring only some of their customers a 21st Century IP-based network, while leaving other carriers with out-of-date TDM and FDG technology and facilities, and excessive access charge bills,” the coalition argued: “That, by any fair definition, does not serve the public interest.” Intrado Life & Safety urged attention to public safety issues. Since providers like Verizon and Frontier refuse to interconnect their wireline traffic to the next-generation 911 network in session initiated protocol “and insist on TDM interconnection at their service edge, the 911 network is captive to TDM with no viable alternatives for the next three to five years,” Intrado said. “Because Verizon and Frontier are two of the main contributors to the current 911 TDM dilemma, the Transaction will accelerate and deepen the ongoing harm and threat to public safety and 911 reliability during the transition to NG911.” Intrado called on the agency to “examine the potential public safety impacts of the Transaction and consider appropriate conditions regarding 911 TDM circuit availability and pricing to mitigate such impacts.”

Verizon and the California Office of Emergency Services have mutually agreed to an alternate deadline of Jan. 6 for the carrier to initiate location-based routing to 911 in the state, said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-64. That’s four days later than the date Verizon noted in a November filing.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission extended until July 29 the due date for its administrative law judges to make a decision about the state E-911 Council's complaint against Frontier Communications (see 2401170009). The PSC said in an order Tuesday in docket 23-0921-T-C that staff sought additional time to investigate the issue.

A possible shakeup of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) will be top of mind for state telecom regulators in the year ahead, NARUC Telecom Committee Chair Tim Schram said in an interview earlier this month at the association’s Anaheim meeting. USF is one of several areas of uncertainty in 2025, said three state consumer advocates in a separate interview at the collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) conference.