The FCC Office of Managing Director announced Thursday a proposed Q2 USF contribution factor of 36.6%, as calculated by the Universal Service Administrative Co. That’s up from 36.3% the previous quarter and the highest quarterly contribution factor in the program's history. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear FCC v. Consumers’ Research March 26, a case about the contribution factor's legality.

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

Members of the FirstNet Authority board said during a meeting Wednesday that the AT&T-run network was very active in recent months. For example, FirstNet was at the Super Bowl, which raised unique security concerns because of the attendance of President Donald Trump, members said.

FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz is promising modernization of the bureau's licensing, as well as making spectrum available for more intensive space uses. Speaking Wednesday at Satellite 2025, Schwarz said he sees space policy through the lens of economic growth, and the bureau's "main job ... is to facilitate and accelerate all the investments in your industry." Slow processing of applications and overly burdensome rules "are creating unnecessary regulatory drag." Schwarz -- who noted that he lives on a farm in the Washington region served by satellite-delivered broadband -- said regulatory drag can compound over time, resulting in significant effects on the economy and the types of services the space industry offers.

The Donald Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs is misguided and won’t be sustained long term, consultant Deborah Lathen said Wednesday at a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Other speakers said it could take years to convince people about the importance of broadband in areas that are just being connected while confusion reigns on the future of the BEAD program.

The FCC is seeking suggestions on which of its rules should be eliminated in a docket (25-133) called “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” the agency announced in a news release and public notice Wednesday. “The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public’s participation and feedback throughout this process,” Chairman Brendan Carr said in the release. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.”

The Trump administration is eyeing an expedited review of federal spectrum holdings to identify bands that GOP lawmakers could mandate for reallocation in a coming budget reconciliation package, a former Commerce Department official and communications sector lobbyists told us. Telecom-focused congressional leaders indicated some progress in Capitol Hill negotiations to reach a spectrum reconciliation deal but cautioned that there has been no major breakthrough. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and congressional DOD supporters remain at loggerheads.

Satellite operators are “essentially flying blind” without an international protocol for sharing data about the location and position of objects in space and for planning maneuvers, said Kim Baum, Eutelsat/OneWeb vice president-spectrum engineering and strategy. Speaking at the Satellite 2025 show, she said there's a need for a universal directory of every satellite operator, including contact information, to deal with spectrum, as well as coordination of satellites possibly on collision courses. Multiple speakers mentioned the need for additional international coordination and agreement.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Monday night that he doesn’t expect the chamber to “get to” a vote this week on a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots (S.J.Res. 7). That means Senate action on S.J.Res. 7 likely won’t happen until after the chamber returns from its brief, upcoming recess the week of March 24. The Senate has a 60-session-day deadline from S.J.Res. 7’s Jan. 27 filing to fast-track consideration of the measure.

Senate Commerce Committee member Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Tuesday that he is pushing for his Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (S-838) to be part of an upcoming GOP-led budget reconciliation package. He and other lawmakers at Incompas' Policy Summit were divided along party lines over a push within the Commerce Department and Congress to revamp NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Meanwhile, Moran appeared to lean in favor of repurposing some federally controlled spectrum even as he emphasized that lawmakers must “straddle” the interests of the wireless industry and U.S. military as they negotiate the matter as part of reconciliation (see 2502190068).