NTIA's broadband equity, access and development (BEAD) program puts a heavy emphasis on fiber deployments, but satellite-delivered connectivity will likely be part of the mix of technology options states set out as options in their initial proposals, we were told. States' and territories' initial proposals are due to NTIA by Dec. 1.

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee told us they’re geared up to fight against lower chamber Republicans’ bid to defund CPB via FY 2024 federal funding legislation. The House Appropriations LHHS Subcommittee voted earlier this month to advance its funding bill without any mention of CPB funding, meaning the program wouldn’t have any advance federal funding for FY 2026 (see 2307140069).

The FCC contacted the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality and the EPA about their plans about health and environmental risks from lead-sheathed cables used by AT&T and Verizon, which report earnings this week. USTelecom said Friday the telecom industry is working to better understand the extent of the problem (see 2307210056). The cables received lawmaker, industry and public attention after The Wall Street Journal reported this month about telcos, including AT&T and Verizon, having left lead cables underground, underwater and on poles nationwide.

House Judiciary Committee Republicans accused Democrats of trying to censor testimony Thursday in a way that mirrors how they allege the federal government colluded with social media companies to censor legitimate news stories.

The U.S. shouldn’t look to the citizens broadband radio service band as a model for future sharing if only because it’s based on old technology and doesn’t reflect advances in sharing technology, said Peter Rysavy of Rysavy Research at an American Enterprise Institute 5G forum Thursday. Other experts said the U.S. will be hobbled on spectrum until Congress reauthorizes FCC spectrum auction authority.

The FCC and the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are partnering on a trial of georouting calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the commission said Thursday as commissioners approved 988 outage reporting requirements 4-0, as expected (see 2307130010). Commissioners also unanimously approved an order allowing 14 FM6 stations to broadcast analog signals as an ancillary service and an order giving tribal libraries and other E-rate participants greater access to funding.

Capitol Hill may be on course to tackle a trifecta of major FCC and communications policy matters during the final week before Congress begins the month-plus August recess, including Senate floor votes on Democratic commission nominee Anna Gomez, but lawmakers cautioned Thursday afternoon that action on those issues remained uncertain. Senate Democrats were urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to file cloture on Gomez in hopes of setting up floor votes next week on the nominee, whose confirmation would bring the FCC to a 3-2 Democratic majority more than two years into President Joe Biden’s term.

Here are last week’s most-read stories on court proceedings affecting telecom, tech and media that were covered in-depth by our sibling publication Communications Litigation Today. Current subscribers can click the reference number hyperlink or search the story title. Nonsubscribers can gain access by signing up for a complimentary preview.

The House Judiciary Committee passed legislation Wednesday that would ban law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying consumer data from brokers without a warrant (see 2307180064). Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., voted “present,” making him the only member not to support the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act (HR-4639). He defended the FBI during Friday’s hearing on reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Industry and consumer advocates clashed Wednesday after the FTC and DOJ issued draft merger guidelines detailing what transactions violate antitrust law (see 2206210071).