States face less certainty and clarity about the BEAD program in light of Commerce axing its fiber focus and indicating more rules changes could be forthcoming, according to broadband policy experts. Earlier in the week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the agency is launching a review of BEAD rules and dropping its emphasis on fiber (see 2503050067).

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

With Congress fighting over whether DOD spectrum will be reallocated for commercial use (see 2502270064), experts agreed Wednesday that putting a value on federal spectrum remains difficult.

Permitting reform has bipartisan support, which bodes well for substantial action soon, speakers said Wednesday at ACA Connects' annual Washington summit. Yet while there's support, "nobody can quite figure out what [reform] looks like,” said Senate Commerce member John Curtis, R-Utah. Besides broadband, other sectors, such as energy, also have permitting woes, he added. Speakers said they believe BEAD, with some rules changes, will move forward. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the agency is launching a review of BEAD rules and dropping its fiber focus (see 2503050067).

The FCC will focus on making GPS and 911 calls more reliable at its March 27 open meeting, Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday. The meeting will be the second with Carr at the helm. Draft meeting items are expected to be posted Thursday.

The satellite industry hopes for a better reception from President Donald Trump's administration than it got under former President Joe Biden concerning satellite broadband as a part of the BEAD program (see 2412130011), Boston Consulting Group’s Mike French said Wednesday. His comments came as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick promised a “rigorous review” of the BEAD program (see 2503050067).

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday he’s launching a “rigorous review” of NTIA's $42.5 billion BEAD program and will be “ripping out … pointless requirements” that the Biden administration included in the initiative’s original notice of funding opportunity, which Republicans repeatedly criticized last year. House Communications Subcommittee members divided sharply along party lines during a Wednesday hearing over Republicans’ push to revamp BEAD, including the newly filed Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (Speed) for BEAD Act from subpanel Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina and other GOP lawmakers.

The move to open radio access networks (ORAN) is happening, but it will require continuing focus on interoperability and scale, O-RAN Alliance Chair Abdurazak Mudesir said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “If we’re not able to scale the commercial deployment,” ORAN won’t “be worth the effort,” said Mudesir, group chief technology officer at Deutsche Telekom. The alliance held a separate event as part of MWC.

Ligado and Inmarsat contractually agree to use different parts of the L band for mobile satellite service (MSS) operations, but they were at loggerheads during oral argument Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court over whether that contract constitutes a lease. Inmarsat is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware overseeing Ligado's Chapter 11 reorganization to rule that federal bankruptcy law requires Ligado to make its quarterly lease payment to Inmarsat (see 2502070026).

ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer and two other communications industry executives set to appear at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday urge lawmakers in written testimony to revamp the NTIA-administered, $42.5 billion BEAD program. Some also say they want quick congressional action on a potential U.S. Supreme Court overturn of USF’s funding mechanism. Sarah Morris, acting deputy NTIA administrator during the Biden administration, is also set to testify. Her written statement wasn’t available Tuesday afternoon. The panel will begin at 2 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn.