The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and industry disagreed on whether there are any steps that the FCC should take now to spur adoption of next-generation 911. All agreed that regulators should move cautiously, echoing initial comments (see 2508050042). Reply comments were due last week in docket 21-479 on the Further NPRM that commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042).
If the FCC moves forward with sweeping changes to how it enforces National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) rules, it will have to do so over the objections of the tribes, some states and historic preservation interests, based on comments that were due Thursday in docket 25-217. Other comments raised questions about how the regulations apply to satellite projects (see 2509190007).
House Communications Subcommittee members traded partisan barbs during a Thursday hearing over a largely GOP-initiated set of broadband permitting bills (see 2509120072) that Democrats claim won’t be effective in speeding up connectivity buildout. Republicans filed many of the 29 bills in past Congresses, including several they previously combined into the controversial American Broadband Deployment Act (see 2305240069). Subpanel Democrats also punctuated the hearing with criticism of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for threats against ABC and parent company Disney that resulted in the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (see 2509180055).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Michael Powell is leaving NCTA on a high note, with net neutrality -- an issue he has dealt with and opposed for decades -- seemingly dead. "It was going to be really dispiriting to me if I retired, and we were now in a Title II environment, and I'm super excited that no, I can say that we slayed that dragon," the group's outgoing leader told us.
Apple's increased adoption of eSIM marks a new challenge for mobile operators worldwide, GlobalData telecommunications analyst Emma Mohr-McClune said Wednesday. Apple unveiled several generations of its iPhone line this week, including the eSIM-supported Air, which won't have a physical SIM slot, and the iPhone 17 series, which will also be eSIM-only in a variety of markets, including the U.S., Mohr-McClune said. That means mobile operators everywhere must set up retail and online support channels for new eSIM onboarding customer issues and publish clear eSIM usage guidelines and FAQ for users, she said. They also will need to ready themselves for the loss of national and international roaming service revenue in the midterm, as owners of these eSIM-only devices see how convenient it is to switch using mobile number portability and how affordable alternative, eSIM-activated roaming plans are, she added. Mohr-McClune said original equipment operators likely will take the same eSIM exclusivity steps.
NTIA may require states to conduct an additional round of subgrantee selections for the BEAD program, warned Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's community broadband networks initiative. In a blog Tuesday, Mitchell said NTIA added a "new step in the BEAD process to further reduce new investment in the areas that currently only have access from satellite providers."
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FCC’s newly launched Consumer Protection and Accessibility Advisory Committee (CPAAC) will focus on two particularly pressing consumer issues: promoting accessibility in modern communications and “the scourge of illegal robocalls,” Chairman Brendan Carr said Wednesday. Speaking at the inaugural meeting of what he called the "renamed and refocused" advisory group, Carr promised increased FCC enforcement efforts aimed at illegal robocalls, including "actions that effectively prohibit voice service providers from connecting or maintaining their connections" to U.S. telephone networks.
In a move that could shape the non-terrestrial network (NTN) market, EchoStar announced an agreement Monday to sell SpaceX its AWS-4 and H-block spectrum for about $17 billion, equally divided between cash and stock. The companies also agreed to enable EchoStar's Boost Mobile subscribers to access Starlink’s direct-to-cell service, and SpaceX will underwrite $2 billion in interest payments payable on EchoStar debt through November 2027. Industry officials acknowledged there are numerous unanswered questions about the deal and how it will be viewed by the FCC.