The FCC appears likely to release a rulemaking in March or April further exploring issues raised by NextNav as part of a request that the agency reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to enable a “terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. Industry experts told us they expect the NPRM to take a neutral stance on NextNav’s use of the lower 900 MHz band and to be the next step following last year’s notice of inquiry on GPS issues.
The AI bubble is real, but when it bursts it will likely look more like the aftermath of the telecom bubble of the 1990s than the dot-com bubble of the same approximate period, speakers said Sunday at Silicon Flatirons’ conference in Boulder, Colorado. Other sessions discussed the use of BEAD non-deployment funds, the FCC's prison jamming proposal and spectrum allocations and sharing (see 2602020034 and 2602020055).
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Monday that she remains concerned about the agency's proposal to allow prison officials to jam cell signals in an effort to curb the use of contraband phones (see 2601130057). Meanwhile, Arpan Sura, a top aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, called for policymakers to adopt a new view of spectrum, with a focus on abundance instead of scarcity. Both spoke Monday at the Silicon Flatirons conference in Boulder, Colorado.
A group of academic observers of the presidency said President Donald Trump’s fight to make independent agencies like the FCC an arm of the White House is part of his attempt to consolidate all power in the executive branch. The precedents Trump sets will be difficult, if not impossible, to reset during future presidencies, said speakers from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs during a webinar Thursday.
To the delight of Wi-Fi advocates, the FCC’s final order and further NPRM creating a new class of geofenced variable power (GVP) devices in the 6 GHz band contains a paragraph asking for broad comment on how rules for the band can be further updated, while also discouraging calls to tighten the rules. Commissioners approved the item 3-0 on Thursday (see 2601290048), and it was posted Friday.
Verizon reported Friday that it saw 616,000 postpaid phone net adds in Q4, beating the consensus estimates, and said it anticipates up to a million adds in 2026. New CEO Dan Schulman told analysts that the carrier is “at a critical inflection point” and plans to stay “fiscally responsible” as it adds subscribers. Verizon’s stock price was up 11.78% for the day to $44.52 per share.
U.S. spectrum policy is getting better, but there’s still room for improvement, Clemson University professor Thomas Hazlett said Wednesday during a webinar hosted by the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy. Hazlett was particularly critical of the FCC’s approach to sharing spectrum in the citizens broadband radio service band, which remains a source of contention between carriers and advocates of unlicensed spectrum (see 2512160063).
The FCC on Thursday took its first major action on the unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band during the second Trump administration, approving, as expected (see 2601270047), an order permitting a new class of geofenced variable power (GVP) devices. Commissioners adopted the item unanimously with a few tweaks. The FCC is also seeking comment on other changes to the rules in a further NPRM.
AT&T CEO John Stankey told analysts Wednesday that the carrier is interested in buying additional spectrum, but the $23 billion purchase of spectrum from EchoStar gives the provider options. Stankey also emphasized that the company is speeding up its fiber deployments. AT&T became the first of the “big three” U.S. wireless carriers to announce Q4 results, which included continuing subscriber growth. The Wall Street reaction was positive, and AT&T closed for the day up 4.57% at $24.05.
The FCC’s proposed Lifeline NPRM, posted Wednesday, seeks to restrict funding to only American citizens and a few classes of non-citizens. The NPRM is expected to be politically explosive, with Commissioner Anna Gomez already accusing Chairman Brendan Carr of proposing “the same cruel and punitive eligibility standards recently imposed for Medicaid coverage” (see 2601270051).