AT&T CEO John Stankey said Monday the carrier will move aggressively to shutter more of its legacy copper network in coming months, filing applications at the FCC to stop selling legacy products in about 1,300 wire centers. That is about a quarter of AT&T’s footprint, officials said on a call discussing Q4 results. AT&T also announced that its growth is continuing, with 482,000 postpaid phone subscription net adds in the quarter and 307,000 AT&T Fiber adds.
New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s decision to pull all items on circulation for a vote by commissioners wasn’t a surprise, industry officials said. Since taking office a week ago, President Donald Trump has pushed a deregulatory agenda and issued a regulatory freeze among a slew of executive orders on his first day (see 2501210070). Among the FCC items withdrawn was a controversial NPRM that former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated in March on banning bulk broadband billing in multi-tenant environments (see 2408010064).
The White House likely won't try clawing back BEAD money, wrote Jade Piros de Carvalho, Bonfire Infrastructure Group vice president-broadband advocacy and partnerships, on Friday. States and territories entered into signed agreements with NTIA when their initial proposals were approved. The agreements define the terms and conditions of federal grants, and they permit states to draw down funds, including immediate access to 2% of the money for administrative purposes, she said. While the Donald Trump administration in theory could seek to take back BEAD money, "breaching signed contracts with states probably won’t go over well with governors." She said that while there had been concerns that Trump's American Energy executive order would pause disbursement of BEAD funds, the administration made clear BEAD was not part of that executive order.
USTelecom urged legislative action to shore up lawmakers’ mandate for the USF amid the “existential threat” posed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2024 en banc decision that the program’s contribution factor is unconstitutional (see 2407240043). The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the 5th Circuit’s ruling (see 2501170046). In an open letter Friday, USTelecom said Congress should “reaffirm” its bipartisan will to maintain USF “and reform how the program is funded.” It added, “Reform must begin by requiring Big Tech companies that benefit massively from universal connectivity to join in contributing to this vital national commitment.” Some lawmakers and other observers believe Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, may move Congress’ USF revamp toward making the program subject to the federal appropriations process (see 2411270060). In addition, USTelecom said NTIA, under President Donald Trump, “should roll back rate regulation and other requirements” for the $42.5 billion BEAD program “that Congress never asked for, while retaining a significant role for fiber, the high-speed broadband gold standard.” Removing BEAD requirements Congress didn’t mandate in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “would shed the unwanted baggage and accelerate what matters most -- getting the work of connecting everyone done,” USTelecom said. “Restoring a tight focus on the mission -- broadband deployment – can dramatically accelerate efforts to fill gaps in high-speed service, helping unlock economic opportunities and access to innovation throughout” the country. USTelecom also urged lawmakers to “move again” on the American Broadband Deployment Act permitting package that the House Commerce Committee approved in 2023 (see 2305240069). The measure, which groups together more than 20 GOP-led connectivity permitting bills, drew unanimous opposition from House Commerce Democrats, and local government groups continued lobbying against it last year (see 2409180052). “Congress should green light speeding up approvals for more broadband projects on federal lands,” USTelecom said: “With a third of our nation’s land under federal control, federal permitting reform would provide an immediate adrenaline shot to the capacity, sophistication, reach and security of our nation’s information infrastructure.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced acting leadership for a number of bureau offices Friday but not for the offices of Workplace Diversity or Communications Business Opportunities. An executive order that President Donald Trump issued Monday that ends federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts could affect those offices and their staff, industry and FCC officials told us. Neither office was mentioned in Carr’s release Monday announcing the shuttering of other FCC diversity efforts (see 2501210070). The FCC didn’t respond to repeated inquiries about those offices' fate. Office of Workplace Diversity staff were present at an all-hands meeting that Carr held Thursday, FCC employees told us.
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told investors Friday that the carrier’s network is holding up reasonably well in the Los Angeles area as wildfires sweep through the region. Meanwhile, Verizon announced it added more than a billion postpaid mobile and broadband subscribers in Q4, its best numbers in more than a decade, though the carrier's move to AI dominated its investor presentation. There was little discussion on the call about Verizon's huge investment in 5G.
Olivia Trusty, President Donald Trump’s intended nominee for the FCC seat former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vacated last week, faces a uncertain confirmation timeline amid a glut of higher-profile nominees the Senate must process in the coming weeks. Trump said shortly before his return to office that he intended to pick Trusty for an FCC seat (see 2501160064) but as of Friday afternoon had not formally nominated her. It’s possible that the Senate Commerce Committee could hold a confirmation hearing for Trusty in February, but it's likelier to wait until the panel can pair her with a Trump NTIA administrator pick and other subcabinet nominees, some lobbyists told us.
The Senate Commerce Committee unveiled plans for a confirmation hearing Jan. 29 for commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick. The committee said Wednesday night that the hearing will follow a 10 a.m. meeting to vote on its rules for the 119th Congress. Both events will be in 253 Russell. Lutnick “is an excellent choice to lead” the Commerce Department, and his experience as Cantor Fitzgerald CEO and in other roles “will serve him well in his mission to promote America’s unlimited entrepreneurial spirit,” said Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He “will play a key role in unleashing unprecedented innovation and ensuring our nation’s job creators are well equipped to expand opportunities for good-paying jobs.” Lutnick, who headed President Donald Trump's transition team for his second term, said just before the Nov. 5 election that the U.S. should auction broadcast spectrum only to broadcasters that “agree to be nonpartisan” (see 2410280037). Lutnick’s comments came amid Trump’s fights with several major broadcasters over election coverage.
President Donald Trump renewed the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Thursday to “provide advice and evidence-based recommendations to the President to ensure that policies are informed by the latest scientific discoveries and technological advancements,” the White House said. The council will “champion bold investments in innovation, the elimination of bureaucratic barriers, and actions to help the United States remain the world’s premier hub for scientific and technological breakthroughs.” Trump’s executive order reestablishing PCAST would give the advisory council up to 24 members and sets as its co-chairs the White House AI and "cryptocurrency czar," a role previously given to David Sacks, and the assistant to the president for science and technology. Other PCAST members should be “distinguished individuals and representatives from sectors outside of the Federal Government appointed by the President,” the EO said. “These non-Federal members shall have diverse perspectives and expertise in science, technology, education, and innovation.” The White House said Trump’s first administration “accelerated research and collaboration,” including via “spectrum auctions to unlock valuable frequencies for 5G and innovation.”
Alaska's Quintillion expects a "prolonged" outage of its service to North Slope and northwest Alaskan communities due to a fiber cut under the Beaufort Sea, according to President Mac McHale. McHale said that the company became aware of the outage Saturday and that winter conditions, including sea ice and darkness, "have made it impossible to pinpoint an exact location of the cut and the extent of the cable damage." He added, "Unfortunately, the outage will be prolonged, and sea ice will prevent a repair crew and vessel from entering the area and completing a subsea repair until late summer." McHale said Quintillion "is aggressively exploring options" for a short-term fix, such as a terrestrial route. "The good news is that Quintillion had previously invested millions of dollars to acquire the cable needed for such a route and has this hardware on hand in Fairbanks," he said. That option, though, "will require significant assistance from the federal government." He said the company has been working with the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope on obtaining a FEMA resilient infrastructure grant, with a joint application being filed with FEMA in March. Quintillion will continue pressing for FEMA support and pursuing the Bureau of Land Management permits needed to build this terrestrial route. "To expedite a repair, we will need the full force and support of the incoming Trump Administration, including cutting federal government red tape and eliminating bureaucratic obstacles that will stand between Quintillion and system restoration," McHale said. "The time for federal agencies to act is now.”