Providers worldwide are starting to move to direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications, said Mark Giles, director of industry research and analysis at Ookla, during the company's webinar Thursday. Industry has moved past the “science project phase” into commercialization, he added.

Blue Origin's planned TeraWave mega constellation, with 5,408 satellites in low and medium earth orbit, won't disrupt consumer broadband competition, according to analysts. Blue Origin, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, announced the mega constellation Wednesday.

The House voted 341-88 Thursday to pass its final FY 2026 minibus appropriations package (HR-7148), which doesn't restore the $1.1 billion in advance federal funding for public broadcasting that Congress rescinded last year (see 2601200072). The chamber voted 427-0 earlier in the day to include language (H.Res. 1014) in the package to repeal part of a November law that allows senators to sue federal agencies for accessing their phone records without notice. The House previously voted unanimously (see 2511200056) on a bill to repeal the lawsuit language (HR-6019).

Broadcasters want the FCC to set a specific date to sunset ATSC 1.0, while the Consumer Technology Association, public interest groups and MVPDs raised concerns about privacy and encryption and said a forced transition is outside FCC authority, according to comments filed this week in docket 16-142. The FCC “must recognize that the status quo of the gradual transition from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0 will not get the job done,” said broadcaster consortium Pearl TV. CTA, however, argued that a “voluntary and smooth transition to ATSC 3.0 should be the goal, one that is not compelled by regulatory fiat and does not leave consumers behind or saddled with the bill.”

While aviation safety and protection for radio altimeters were possibly the hottest topics in comments on the future of the upper C band (see 2601210067), other major issues emerged as well in FCC filings this week (docket 25-50). Small carriers warned that the proposed auction rules benefit large providers, while tribes and public interest groups decried the lack of a tribal licensing window. Upper C-band incumbents also defended their use of the band.

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

The FCC Space Bureau's move toward a major overhaul of the satellite and earth station licensing rules is being met with general cheers by the space operator community, as well as numerous suggested edits. The commissioners unanimously adopted a space modernization NPRM in October (see 2510280024). Comments were due Tuesday in docket 25-306, which saw nearly 60 filings this week from space operators, trade groups and wireless interests.

Wireline and wireless associations and providers agreed in FCC filings this week about the importance of moving to all-IP technology and completing the technology transition, but they also acknowledged that getting rid of time-division multiplexing (TDM) interconnection won’t be easy. As USTelecom noted in early comments (see 2601160057), the transition is “a daunting task.”

CTIA and the wireless industry emphasized the importance of the upper C-band auction to the future of wireless communications in comments on an NPRM that commissioners approved in November (see 2511200046). Aviation safety and protection for radio altimeters were among major themes in the filings, most of which were posted Wednesday in docket 25-59. The upper C-band auction is expected to be the biggest spectrum auction under FCC Chairman Brendan Carr (see 2512260002).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's review and approval of final BEAD plans is hindering deployment, state broadband directors warned Wednesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Issues with slow NIST approvals come on top of concerns that the Trump administration's changes to the program have delayed deployment in general (see 2601140044). Officials also asked at the webinar whether all states are being treated the same.