The supplemental coverage from space (SCS) licensing framework on the FCC’s Thursday open meeting agenda should receive unanimous approval, space industry experts tell us. There was heavy lobbying last week on the draft order, with suggestions for edits and tweaks.

Wi-Fi advocates strongly opposed a December request from Axon Enterprise for a waiver allowing it to market three investigation and surveillance devices to law enforcement agencies. These devices would operate at higher power levels than allowed under FCC rules in heavily used 5 GHz spectrum. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment in February (see 2402060082). Oppositions were posted on Friday in docket 24-40. Axon didn’t comment Friday.

Backers of Congress giving the FCC stopgap funding to keep the affordable connectivity program running through FY 2024 latched onto President Joe Biden's short mention of internet affordability in his State of the Union speech Thursday night to bolster that push. Biden also said Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy legislation and briefly touched on other tech policy issues. He didn't mention the House Commerce Committee's push to require TikTok Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the app for it to continue operating in the U.S., despite its supporters' rapid push to advance it (see 2403080035).

Maryland could be the next state that makes prison phone calls free, but only if lawmakers accept the proposal’s expected costs, estimated at $7.4 million. The state’s House Judiciary Committee mulled a no-cost prison calls bill (HB-1366) at a Thursday hearing, two days after the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard testimony on a companion bill (SB-948).

The House Commerce Committee on Thursday unanimously passed legislation (see 2403050051) that could lead to a U.S. ban on the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. The legislation is poised for floor action after gaining public support from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday.

It’s unconstitutional for Washington state to tax federal Lifeline reimbursements, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday. Siding with T-Mobile subsidiary Assurance Wireless, the state’s high court reversed a lower court’s opinion because it found that the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) is the FCC’s instrumentality and thus immune from state taxes.

The President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) urged that the administration balance the interests of wireless carriers and DOD in a letter the group approved at a virtual meeting Wednesday. The letter raises concerns about the congressionally mandated Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing Feasibility Assessment (EMBRSS) study of the lower 3 GHz band (see 2309280087). Moreover, it says federal use of spectrum must change. Industry officials note the missive is unusual in that NSTAC rarely weighs in on spectrum issues. NSTAC members approved the letter, addressed to President Joe Biden, on a unanimous vote with little discussion.

T-Mobile will light up “over the next few days” part of the 2.5 GHz spectrum it won in the 2022 auction after the FCC said the licenses are being released (see 2402270084). Turning on the 2.5 GHz spectrum followed the carrier's multiyear push and required an act of Congress (see 2312190089). T-Mobile plans to auction 800 MHz licenses committed to Dish Wireless after cash-constrained EchoStar decided not to buy the spectrum (see 2403010041), T-Mobile executives said Tuesday at a financial conference.

House leaders removed the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510) from floor consideration Tuesday amid other committees’ objections to it, the bill’s sponsors told us Wednesday. Chamber leaders previously scheduled consideration of HR-4510 under suspension of the rules (see 2403010073), along with two other telecom-focused bills. The House voted 339-85 Wednesday to pass H.Res. 1061, which amended vehicle HR-4366 to become the Consolidated Appropriations Act FY24 appropriations minibus package that includes reduced funding for NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies compared with FY 2023 but a slight increase for the DOJ Antitrust Division (see 2403040083).

NAB and backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) are continuing to push for the bill’s passage, possibly by attaching it to a future omnibus appropriations package. The bill's supporters argue attaching the AM radio legislation to an omnibus appropriations package could help it overcome headwinds that have prevented its legislative approval since early 2023 (see 2401050065). CTA and other opponents of the measure argue it should go through a normal legislative process.