Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro waited until the end of his comments at CES on Tuesday to criticize Trump administration trade policies, while other speakers explained why AI is dominating the annual tech show and why it’s important to industry and consumers. Nearly all the keynotes at the conference this week are focused, at least in part, on AI.
Industry commenters urged the FCC to move with caution in imposing new restrictions in response to a further NPRM approved in October as part of a broader order that further tightens the agency's equipment authorization rules (see 2510280024). The call for caution wasn’t new, as the Consumer Technology Association and Telecommunications Industry Association sought clarification last month about parts of the order itself (see 2512230008). Comments on the FNPRM were due Monday in docket 21-232.
The Conservative Political Action Coalition Foundation said in FCC comments Monday that a problem for consumers like unwanted robocalls doesn't necessarily justify “prescriptive regulatory intervention.” Other filers urged the agency to adopt proposals in a caller ID further NPRM approved by commissioners in October (see 2510280024). Comments were due Monday in docket 17-59.
While the tech industry faces continuing challenges, the global tech and durables market will hit $1.3 trillion by the end of this year, said Brian Comiskey, senior director for innovation and trends at the Consumer Technology Association, in an opening keynote Monday at CES. Overall, the market is “static,” he said, with growth in some regions and contraction in others. He cited challenges including uncertainty and pressure from Trump administration tariffs. “Consumers are still buying technology, just more intentionally.”
Wireless groups and carriers called on the FCC to push forward on streamlined rules for wireless infrastructure deployment, according to comments filed in docket 25-276. While cutting regulation is a priority under the current administration, other commenters argued that local authorities must retain oversight of permitting in their communities (see 2601020017). Hundreds of fillings also raised RF safety and other concerns. Comments were due last week, and more than 3,500 were posted as of Monday.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr faces a tough decision in 2026 on whether to push forward with rules that would allow prison officials to jam cellphone signals, with no easy answer in sight, industry officials said. The proposal in a further NPRM faces a tidal wave of opposition from wireless companies and associations but has the backing of many correctional groups and officials in mainly Republican-dominated states (see 2512300043).
The wireless industry and local and state government groups filed comments last week in docket 25-276, disagreeing sharply on the FCC’s wireless infrastructure NPRM, which commissioners approved in September (see 2511250075). The agency has received hundreds of mostly short filings opposing the changes proposed in the notice (see 2512240027).
While fiber deployments hit record levels in 2025, the year also presented numerous problems, said Ash Brown, chair of the Fiber Broadband Association board, during the group's webinar Wednesday. Brown spoke with association CEO Gary Bolton, who agreed that 2025 wasn’t easy for the fiber industry. Both said fiber will be critical as AI becomes more a part of daily life.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Tuesday that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was chosen in a lottery to review the FCC’s recent controversial changes to rules for incarcerated people's communications services (see 2512300044). Industry officials said they expect that groups representing prisoners and their families will move to transfer the case to the 1st Circuit, which heard the appeal of the original 2024 order.
After mostly keeping quiet for months, the wireless industry strongly objected this week to a proposal from the FCC to allow correctional facilities to jam cell signals, with the goal of curbing contraband phones. CTIA led the charge against the proposal, which appears to also have strong backing, especially in Republican-dominated states (see 2511140036). Carriers had been expected to raise objections in comments on a further NPRM (see 2509290054), which were due Friday and posted this week in docket 13-111.