The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted an administrative stay late Tuesday afternoon that temporarily blocked a White House OMB memo, which called for a freeze on most federal grants and loans, from going into effect. The Trump administration memo already faced an array of legal challenges, including a planned lawsuit from a coalition of Democratic attorneys general from New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Broadband officials and industry advocates raised questions about the memo's constitutionality and the future of certain FCC programs, such as Lifeline. Others warned the freeze could have serious implications for NTIA's BEAD program.
NTIA must take a tech-neutral approach in the BEAD program and "reverse policy choices that skew market-driven outcomes for technology selection," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick. Louisiana was the first state to begin its BEAD process and receive final NTIA approval for its plan (see 2501140055). Landry wrote Lutnick a letter Wednesday encouraging that the agency provide more flexibility and streamline other approval processes.
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday denied to review a petition from telecom groups challenging a New York law requiring that ISPs offer a certain plan for eligible low-income households (see 2404260051). The Affordable Broadband Act requires $15 monthly plans providing 25/3 Mbps speeds. Some saw the decision to uphold the 2nd Circuit's ruling in favor of the law as unsurprising given the legal battle over the FCC's reclassification of broadband as a Title II telecom service (see 2410010024).
Industry and public interest groups disagreed last week about whether the California Public Utilities Commission should temporarily freeze the state LifeLine specific support amount (SSA) for wireline and wireless providers. The CPUC is considering freezing the SSA at $19 beginning Jan. 1 until a new methodology is calculated (see 2406040032).
A Texas appeals court found "reversible error" in a lower court ruling in cities' challenge of the state's small-cells rules (see 2301270028). The trial court ruling siding with the state was reversed in part and the remainder of the ruling was remanded to the trial court. In Justice Edward Smith's opinion Friday in 03-22-00524-CV, he said the state "identifies no case" in which consideration of 10% of fair market value "was deemed adequate," and the cities "identify none in which that amount was held to result in a gratuity."
Industry groups widely opposed an FCC notice of inquiry seeking comment about the impact of broadband data caps on consumers and potential regulatory steps the agency could take. In comments posted Friday in docket 23-199 (see 2410150069), many warned the proceeding was a step toward rate regulation and potential consumer harm should the FCC limit the use of data caps. Some public interest groups urged the commission to proceed, however.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission during an agency meeting Thursday unanimously denied Lumen's petition for reconsideration of an order finding violations of the state's service quality rules (see 2410070044). A Lumen spokesperson told us the company will "continue our extensive efforts to address their concerns while exploring our procedural options moving forward."
Attorneys general of 46 states and the District of Columbia urged the FCC to proceed with its proposed revisions to the robocall mitigation database (RMD). In reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 24-213 (see 2410160037), several industry groups also backed the proposal and sought some changes that will ensure information filed by providers is as accurate as possible.
Several industry groups continued calling on the FCC to permanently eliminate the requirement that a certified professional engineer (PE) verify and certify a company's broadband data before it's submitted through the broadband data collection (BDC). The groups made the remarks in comments posted through Wednesday in docket 19-195 (see 2408300036). Others raised concerns with a proposal for adopting additional reporting requirements for satellite and fixed wireless providers.
Rural and high-cost areas throughout Alaska remain "some of the hardest and most costly to serve in the country," the FCC acknowledged in a Monday order establishing the Alaska Connect Fund (ACF), complementing the 2016 Alaska Plan (see 2410150048). The order will take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. Also adopted on Monday was a Further NPRM seeking comment on implementation of the fund.