T-Mobile asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to act on its petition for rehearing of a decision by the court upholding an $80 million data breach fine by the FCC (see 2508150014). T-Mobile was also fined $12.2 million for actions by Sprint, which it later acquired. The FCC has asked the court to hold off on a decision while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to hear appeals by Verizon and AT&T challenging similar fines (see 2511170035).
The FCC's order to overturn a January ruling and NPRM addressing the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks, approved 2-1 last week (see 2511200047), benefits WISPA members, the group said Tuesday in an emailed statement. “This is an important development that removes an unnecessary regulatory burden from all commercial broadband providers irrespective of the technology you use to serve your communities.”
AT&T told the DOJ that it needs to buy “unused 3.45 GHz and underutilized 600 MHz Spectrum” from EchoStar to compete in an increasingly competitive wireless market, according to documents filed at the FCC. AT&T's arguments to DOJ were submitted to the FCC at commission staff’s request and posted Tuesday in docket 25-303. The company recently said it has already started to deploy the 3.45 GHz licenses it bought from EchoStar (see 2511170023), adding coverage to nearly 23,000 cellsites in a matter of weeks.
The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment this week on a request by Amherst Telephone Co. to transfer control of the company to the Amherst Communications Employee Stock Ownership Trust. The local exchange carrier provides service in the Amherst, Polonia and Rosholt exchanges in parts of Portage, Marathon and Waupaca counties in central Wisconsin. Comments are due Dec. 8, replies Dec. 15, in docket 25-309.
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) urged the FCC to back off its review of how the commission can further reduce wireless red tape and instead address the Environmental Health Trust’s August RF safety petition (see 2508070032). The group's filing came as the FCC is hit with hundreds of submissions -- ahead of any comment deadline -- opposing changes in a wireless infrastructure NPRM that commissioners approved at September's meeting.
Three House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders pressed NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth on Tuesday to follow “the letter” of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as the agency rolls out funding from the $42.5 billion BEAD program, citing “significant concerns” about the Trump administration's implementation of the initiative. They in part objected to President Donald Trump's draft proposal to require NTIA to potentially curtail non-deployment BEAD funding for states that the administration determines have AI laws that are overly burdensome (see 2511200057).
The FCC on Tuesday released the three items teed up for commissioner votes at the next meeting Dec. 18, led by another FCC attack on illegal robocalls and unsecure networks, possibly with Chinese ties. Commissioners will also take up low-power TV (LPTV) and TV translator rules. The December agenda is much lighter than those in recent months (see 2511240045).
Comcast will pay $1.5 million for a vendor breach that compromised personally identifiable information of cable subscribers, the FCC Enforcement Bureau ordered Monday. The company will also implement a compliance plan that includes vendor oversight practices related to customer privacy and information protection, the bureau said. The 2024 data breach involved information about 237,702 current and former Comcast customers that was held by debt-collection firm Financial Business and Consumer Solutions.
States can't easily do targeted outreach, support migration or identify people still relying on analog telecommunications relay services due to their lack of access to customer data, according to the National Association of State Relay Administration. In a meeting with FCC staffers, NASRA board members urged the commission to allow an exemption for TRS vendors to share customer data with state TRS administrators for outreach and transition support, said a filing posted (docket 03-123). That would help ensure device solutions for households without broadband, the group said.
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe criticized the FCC’s approach to revising National Environmental Policy Act rules in an August NPRM (see 2509190053), according to a filing posted Monday in docket 25-217. “This is an irrationally rushed docket with questionable efforts to consult in a genuine or meaningful manner with Tribal Nations, without ample consultation opportunities, and with overly prescribed allowance for consultation,” the Minnesota tribe said.