SpaceX's direct-to-device ambitions, powered by a proposed 15,000 additional satellites in orbit, are facing opposition from rival satellite operators and astronomy interests. SpaceX submitted an FCC application in September to operate the constellation to provide D2D service globally, as well as mobile satellite service (MSS), using spectrum that the company is buying from EchoStar (see 2509220006). In comments filed this week in docket 25-340, numerous parties complained about potential spectrum interference or orbital clutter.
ACN Communication Services asked the FCC Wireline Bureau for a waiver of agency rules so the company can revise the data it filed to determine the size of its payments to the USF. ACN said it’s a reseller of telecommunications and broadband services to residential and business customers and has paid into the fund since 1993. “Upon review of the most recent annual USF report,” ACN determined that its reports from 2023-25 were in error and that it had “significantly overreported its USF end user revenue,” said a filing Monday in docket 06-122.
House leaders are eyeing floor votes by the end of the week on an FY 2026 minibus appropriations package that would reduce the scope of President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts for NTIA and raise allocations for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the DOJ Antitrust Division. The package, which leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees released Monday, would give NTIA $50 million for FY26. That’s more than 8% higher than what Trump proposed in June (see 2506020056) but still 12% lower than what the agency received for FY 2025.
A total of 180 Amazon Leo satellites were launched in 2025, it told the FCC Space Bureau last week. Three satellites were subsequently removed before beginning regular operations, it noted.
The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, aka Team Telecom, told the FCC this week that it’s starting a review of Interactive’s proposed purchase of customers, network gear and other assets from TelNet. No one filed comments on the transaction when the Wireline Bureau requested them (see 2512050020). “The Committee will not be sending further Tailored Questions to the Applicant before starting the 120-day initial review period,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 25-189.
FCC approval of Nexstar’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna would violate the law, lead to nationwide TV blackouts, increase ad and retrans prices, damage local journalism and cause a wave of anticompetitive media consolidation, said petitions to deny the deal filed in docket 25-331 by Wednesday’s deadline.
Spire Global is eyeing October to launch three Lemur-class satellites that would operate using the same frequencies and parameters as the company's existing constellation. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Tuesday, Spire said the three satellites would have standard Spire remote sensing and geolocation payloads, as well as custom payloads for detecting and tracking moving targets on Earth.
The FCC Wireline Bureau released Wednesday a final list of locations that are eligible for enhanced alternative Connect America cost model (A-CAM) support, as well as a final list of support amounts for carriers that reflects the updated locations. The locations list "incorporates all successful broadband speed and availability challenges" filed by Aug. 1, 2024, “along with all adjudicated challenges to the broadband fabric, including challenges to unit count totals,” the bureau said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Tuesday approved a request by Amherst Telephone Co. to transfer control of the company to the Amherst Communications Employee Stock Ownership Trust. The bureau sought comment in November (see 2511250013). The local exchange carrier provides service in parts of Portage, Marathon and Waupaca counties in central Wisconsin.
Representatives of radio altimeter manufacturers met with FCC staff earlier this month seeking clarity about submitting proprietary data on the safety devices into the public record in the upper C-band proceeding, said a filing posted Monday in docket 25-59. The companies previously met with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology (see 2512180040). Commissioners approved an NPRM on an upper C-band auction in November (see 2511200046).