The nonprofit Pennsylvania Prison Society (PPS) is challenging the FCC's November prison calling reconsideration order before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2-1 FCC decision increased rates for incarcerated people’s communications services on an interim basis (see 2512040036). In a petition for review filed last week with the 3rd Circuit (docket 25-3431), PPS said the reconsideration order also denied a PPS application for review, delaying implementation of parts of the FCC's 2024 IPCS order.
“Clear and understandable data” from an upcoming data collection on incarcerated peoples calling services is required for “just, reasonable and fairly compensatory” rate caps, said representatives from Aventiv and Securus in a Dec. 10 meeting with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 23-62 Friday. The companies also discussed the necessity of “a stable regulatory environment, coupled with consistent enforcement of rules and requirements,” the filing said.
VoIP providers in California have been getting State Board of Equalization notices about having to file annual property tax statements starting next year, which is what the cloud communications industry had hoped the FCC would prevent, telecom lawyer Jonathan Marashlian of Marashlian & Donahue wrote Friday. The tax development springs from the California Public Utilities Commission's 2024 decision reclassifying interconnected VoIP providers as “telephone corporations," he said. "Once the CPUC decided to regulate VoIP like legacy telephony, other state agencies quickly followed suit—and found new ways to tax VoIP providers," he said.
The FCC should grant the 30-day extension the airline industry has requested for comments on the upper C-band spectrum auction (see 2511140015), said the North American Spectrum Alliance and a joint filing from public interest, tribal and rural interest groups Friday. Due in part to the government shutdown, the FCC “currently has before it an unusual number of significant proceedings that affect overlapping sets of stakeholders,” said the joint filing from groups including Public Knowledge, the Rural Wireless Association and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. “Stakeholders with limited staff and resources face particular difficulty when multiple proceedings demand attention at the same time,” the filing said. “A modest extension in this docket will allow for more complete participation by parties whose perspective the Commission should want to hear.” The extra time “will result in the ‘complete record’ that the FCC is rightly seeking for this proceeding, without meaningfully delaying the ultimate timeline for the Upper C-band auction,” said the North American Spectrum Alliance filing. The “large and diverse group of stakeholders in the Upper C-band requires this additional time to submit well-informed comments on the complex and numerous scenarios for the auction and the post-auction transition,” the alliance said. A 30-day extension is “unlikely to delay the overall proceeding,” the joint filing said. “Congress has set a July 2027 deadline for the spectrum auction, and the Commission has ample time to complete this rule-making while still meeting that deadline.”
Wireless ISPs continue to urge the FCC not to relocate citizens broadband radio service operations from any portion of the 3.55-3.70 GHz band to another band. CBRS advocates have been pushing against any major change to the band. NCTA is encouraging service providers to file comments at the FCC opposing proposals to increase power levels (see 2511130037).
The FCC is rechartering its World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee and soliciting applications for membership, said a public notice Friday. The FCC “intends to renew the Committee for a period of two (2) years following consultation with the General Services Administration,” the PN said. “It is anticipated that after this consultation, the renewed charter will become effective on or before January 31st 2026.” Applications and nominations are due by Jan. 9, the PN said. The committee is intended to provide the FCC with “advice, technical support, and recommended proposals” for the WRCs, the PN said. “In particular, the Committee will focus on the international frequency spectrum issues identified on the WRC-27 agenda with the goal of identifying private sector/public priorities and objectives.” The current WRC advisory committee’s informal working groups have meetings scheduled for January and February, said a second PN.
The FCC needs to do more to verify spending program participation and eligibility requirements, said an Office of Inspector General report on the agency’s top management and performance challenges for FY 2026. The report prioritized protecting FCC programs from abuse, safeguarding national security and strengthening cybersecurity as the top three challenges. The FCC’s “widespread reliance on unvalidated, self-certified eligibility criteria for participation in and seeking reimbursement from FCC programs is a significant vulnerability” that leads to abuse of FCC programs, the report said. “A systemic failure to verify program requirements through reliable source records encourages bad actors to do business with the Commission and allows unscrupulous program participants and their partners -- telecommunications providers, sales agents, consultants, and vendors -- to easily commit fraud against FCC programs,” the report said. The agency should incorporate “common sense verification measures before program funds are disbursed,” the OIG report said. FCC rules don’t currently apply federal regulations for suspending or debarring fraudulent entities to its subsidy programs, the report said. “Thus, as highlighted in all our Semiannual Reports to Congress for the last eight years, FCC should implement regulations necessary for the suspension and debarment guidelines to be applicable to its subsidy programs and other nonprocurement transactions, such as grants or loans, to protect itself and the entire government from fraud and misconduct,” the report said.
The FCC should reject NextNav’s petition on reconfiguring the lower 900 MHz band for 5G-based 3D positioning, navigation and timing operations, said numerous trade groups in filings last week (docket 24-240).
President Donald Trump signed off Thursday night on an executive order that directs NTIA to potentially curtail non-deployment funding from the $42.5 billion BEAD program for states that the Trump administration determines have overly burdensome AI laws (see 2512110068). The order is identical to a draft proposal that circulated in November (see 2511190069). Democratic lawmakers and BEAD supporters quickly disparaged Trump’s directive, which already faced potentially multiple legal challenges because it would preempt many state-level AI regulations.
Pointing out that it operates its global maritime distress and safety service in the U.S. on a waiver, Iridium pressed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office for an update of the agency's Part 80 rules before the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference, according to a filing Thursday. The Part 80 rules cover maritime services. The WRC-19 NPRM issued this week (see 2512100054) seeks comment on Part 80 rules updates, and Iridium said it supports a maritime mobile satellite service downlink allocation in the 1621.35-1626.5 MHz band and other changes.