Commercial aviation priorities frequently push aside commercial space launch operation issues at the FAA, said George Nield, chairman of the Global Spaceport Alliance (GSA). Tackling some challenges that the space launch industry faces starts with elevating the Office of Commercial Space Transportation so that instead of being under FAA, it has equal standing as the FAA, Nield said in an interview with Communications Daily. The following transcript was edited for length and clarity.

Groups representing prisoners and their families told us they’re examining their options after what they saw as a surprising decision by the FCC Wireline Bureau to delay some incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2506300068). Just last month, the government defended the order before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering the challenges of IPCS providers Securus and Pay Tel, as well as other groups (see 2504250030).

California broadband advocates and industry clashed over how the state should treat fixed wireless and other non-fiber technologies in its BEAD plan, as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) races to finalize a revised proposal by Sept. 4. In reply comments posted Wednesday (docket 23-02-016), commenters disagreed on whether fixed wireless can serve as a viable long-term solution for bridging the digital divide.

Leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees who are spearheading the bipartisan congressional working group on a USF legislative revamp, which relaunched in June (see 2506120091), told us they plan to begin meeting again this month. But they said they feel less pressure to quickly reach an agreement on legislative recommendations since the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Consumers’ Research v. FCC, which found that USF’s funding mechanism is constitutional (see 2506270054). Sens. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and John Thune, R-S.D., formed the working group in 2023 as Communications Subcommittee chairman and ranking member, respectively (see 2305110066).

The FCC on Thursday released draft items scheduled for votes at its July 24 open meeting, the second with a Republican majority in this Trump administration. Chairman Brendan Carr sketched out details of the meeting in a wide-ranging speech Wednesday (see 2507020036). The main focus will be cutting regulations and streamlining copper retirements and the pole attachment process. Among other items, the FCC would decline to adopt a tribal priority window prior to the AWS-3 reauction. Another draft order requires text providers to support a text-to-988 georouting requirement.

Industry groups urged the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to move quickly in its rulemaking to modernize its carrier of last resort (COLR) requirements as the agency considers changing the state's 30-year-old rules (see 2410310044). Some suggested that the requirement be removed entirely in areas that are well-served, while advocacy organizations encouraged the commission to maintain the rules and instead update the framework.

Former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Wednesday that while he has long been a critic of the USF, he was relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court last week didn’t overturn the program (see 2506270054). Cutting off support that USF recipients need would be “a terrible outcome,” O’Rielly said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on Wednesday called for the FCC to investigate how criminals are using spectrum jammers in burglaries, saying she has discussed the issue with Chairman Brendan Carr. The commission's lone Democrat, Gomez appeared on a webcast interview with Fiber Broadband Association CEO Gary Bolton.

House action on the Senate-cleared version of the HR-1 budget reconciliation package, previously known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, appeared in doubt Wednesday afternoon amid resistance from several GOP lawmakers. Critics of Senate Commerce Committee Republicans’ HR-1 spectrum language held out hope amid the ruckus that lawmakers would make additional bands ineligible for potential reallocation. The Senate narrowly passed its HR-1 language Tuesday (see 2507010070).

Paramount Global has agreed to a settlement in President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over its editing of a 60 Minutes interview last October with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the election, the company said.