Congress, and the FCC, may face reduced pressure to reform the USF with an expected drop in its contribution factor, but calls for change won’t go away, experts said Monday. The USF contribution factor is expected to decline from 38.1% in Q4 to 30.9% in Q1, as projected demand decreases, analyst Billy Jack Gregg said Saturday in an email. That’s based on new numbers from the Universal Service Administrative Co.
As the longest federal government shutdown in history likely nears an end, industry lawyers who depend on FCC decisions said there’s no question the companies they represent have taken a hit. Among the biggest problems, they said, are that everything the FCC has done has taken longer, while some transactions and license applications aren’t being processed with key systems offline.
The FCC on Thursday advised the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral argument last month on a challenge to the 2024 incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS) order, that the rules have changed. FCC commissioners significantly revised calling rates in an order approved 2-1 at the October open meeting (see 2510280045). The agency also released the final version of the order Thursday with some changes from the draft that was previously circulated by Chairman Brendan Carr, mostly benefiting IPCS providers.
The FCC signed an agreement Thursday to continue to work with regulators from traditional U.S. allies to strengthen cooperation “in response to evolving threats and challenges in the telecommunications sector." Regulators from the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand also signed the agreement. Industry experts told us that the pact shows that despite tariff fights and other disagreements with the nations under President Donald Trump, cooperation on security continues.
Staff departures under the current administration are starting to have an effect on federal permitting reviews, said Jill Springer, NTIA's senior adviser for permitting, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Amid a wave of departures from the federal government under President Donald Trump, Springer said the retirements are one of her biggest concerns.
Private cellular networks are growing worldwide and can offer advantages over both Wi-Fi and more traditional networks offered by carriers, experts said Tuesday during RCR Wireless’ Industrial Wireless Forum. A variety of spectrum bands are being used, including the citizens broadband radio service band in the U.S., speakers said.
SBA Communications on Monday became the last of the three major U.S. tower companies to report Q3 earnings, releasing results after the close of the financial markets. In recent calls, American Tower and Crown Castle executives were positive on the outlook for their sector as U.S. carriers continue to deploy 5G.
The U.S. is at a “crossroads” concerning the standards process, and decisions made in the next two years could have big effects for a long time, said Laurie Locascio, CEO of the American National Standards Institute, during a Center for Strategic and International Studies conference Friday. Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions CEO Susan Miller warned that as the process becomes more political, the Trump administration isn’t putting enough attention on standards work.
Eric Tamarkin, Samsung's public policy counsel, called on the FCC to move forward to fully implement the voluntary cyber trust mark program, approved by FCC commissioners 5-0 in March 2024 (see 2403140034). Tamarkin spoke during the final policy panel of the Mobile World Congress last week in Las Vegas.
A new study by the Computer & Communications Industry Association questions whether European carriers really have been hampered by EU regulation. European providers “have promoted this narrative to justify radical changes in European regulation,” it argued. “Europe, they say, is lagging behind in digital investment even though telecom operators, and particularly incumbents, have been investing heavily in 5G and FTTP [fiber-to-the-premises] coverage.”