Telephone and Data Systems and UScellular stock prices rose Friday after T-Mobile Chief Financial Officer Peter Osvaldik said his company was eyeing UScellular. The boards of TDS and UScellular are exploring the future of the carrier and “strategic alternatives," the companies said in August (see 2308070043). TDS was up 5.85% to $20.08 Friday, UScellular 3.26% to $46.51.

The Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA and seven other communications industry groups urged House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committee leaders Thursday night to include language from the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (HR-889/S-341) in a broader tax legislative package. Congressional leaders are weighing bringing up the funding package for a vote. HR-889/S-341, first filed in 2022 (see 2209290067), would amend the Internal Revenue Code to say broadband grants enacted via either statute don’t count as “gross income.”

The FTC is examining Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft to see if they are unfairly exerting undue control over AI markets, Chair Lina Khan announced Thursday.

FCC commissioners unanimously approved an order Thursday requiring carriers to implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls and real-time texts to 911 within six months of when the rules become effective for nationwide providers and 24 months for small providers.

Wireless carriers in comments this week condemned a “dynamic approach” to data and other proposals for California’s low-income program. The California Public Utilities Commission received feedback Wednesday on an Oct. 30 staff proposal for setting California LifeLine specific support amounts (SSA) and minimum service standards (MSS). Some urged the CPUC to tap the brakes, especially with uncertainty about continued funding for the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP).

The FCC will continue updating Congress about the affordable connectivity program's status in hopes of convincing lawmakers for money to keep it running, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday after the commissioners’ open meeting (see 2401250064). The FCC expects the initiative will exhaust its $14.2 billion allocation in April. The Wireline Bureau said earlier this month it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 as part of the program's wind-down process (see 2401110072).

The FCC released draft items set for votes at the commissioners' Feb. 15 open meeting, including an NPRM aimed at simplifying the process for alert originators to send multilingual emergency alerts over TV and radio. Also released Thursday was a second draft item that codifies some robocall rules while asking about applying protections in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to robocalls and robotexts from wireless carriers to their own subscribers.

The FCC unanimously approved all its agenda items at Thursday's open meeting, including orders on mandatory outage reporting, mitigating orbital debris and misrouted 911 calls. The agency also announced millions of dollars in proposed pirate radio fines and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented on former President Donald Trump's remarks about revoking the “licenses” of CNN and NBC over their coverage of him (see 2401170050). “The First Amendment is something we take seriously and I take seriously,” Rosenworcel said. Commissioner Brendan Carr declined comment on the former president's remarks.

AT&T had 526,000 postpaid phone net adds and 273,000 AT&T Fiber adds in Q4, the company reported Wednesday. AT&T bested Verizon, which reported Tuesday (see 2401230071), on wireless adds. But AT&T’s adjusted earnings outlook for 2024 fell short of Wall Street's expectations and the company said its $14 billion deal with Ericsson to build an open radio access network would accelerate the depreciation of other equipment (see 2312050049). AT&T closed down 2.97% Wednesday at $16.68.

Emergency alerts would go more multilingual under a proposal on the FCC's February agenda. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel teed up that and other agenda items on Wednesday. They will be released Thursday. Also on the agenda is a draft in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) licensing framework, further robocalls rules, and a revisiting of wireless mics. In addition, an Enforcement Bureau item and a Media Bureau adjudicatory matter are on the agenda.