The Utilities Technology Council, Anterix and others that filed reply comments this week told the FCC the record of support is clear for a proposal to launch a rulemaking authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band. As such, the agency should move forward, they said in comments (docket 24-99). Initial comments offered insights about how the band could be used, with some commenters expressing concerns (see 2405030053).

Broadcasters expect a draft order that updates the foreign-sponsored content rules to contain language requiring entities buying political issue ads to certify that they aren’t foreign agents (see 2403210071). However, the final version of the order remains in flux, an FCC official told us.

AT&T needs freedom to address its copper network, including parts that are more than 100 years old, but regulation requires that the network keep operating, Chris Sambar, executive vice president-technology operations and head of network, said Tuesday during an AT&T Policy Forum. Sambar said he plans meetings at the FCC this week when he will discuss the cost for AT&T and other carriers of keeping copper lines operating.

The Senate Commerce Committee is at an impasse over funding the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told us Tuesday. Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Democrats haven't found enough willing Republicans and the soonest the committee could even consider a markup is the first week of June.

Frontier Communications performs well on “important” service-quality metrics, the carrier said Friday in responding to an investigation by Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). The Frontier probe began earlier this year in response to a Jan. 8 petition by Connecticut's Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC), which flagged Frontier for failing to meet minimum standards for out-of-service repair and maintenance (see 2401310006 and 2401080041). In OCC’s Friday brief, the consumer advocate urged PURA to impose additional and broader service-quality standards and open another proceeding for considering monetary penalties.

DOD is starting part of its work on the national spectrum strategy on its own. At a meeting Wednesday, it will launch an initiative investigating dynamic sharing in the lower 3 GHz band, as a continuation of the Partnering to Advance Trusted and Holistic Spectrum Solutions (PATHSS) process. DOD announced the meeting last month (see 2404080063), but it has received relatively little attention. A former NTIA official saw no reason for concern.

Satellite broadband has a niche role in some of the state broadband equity, access and deployment program plans that NTIA has approved thus far. Multiple states' finalized BEAD volume 2 plans indicate that satellite is a last-resort option absent fiber proposals. Other states exclude satellite in their cured volume 2 plans. Seven states and the District of Columbia have received NTIA sign-off on their volume 2 plans.

NAB, NPR and other opponents of the FCC’s authorization of geotargeted radio used Thursday’s comments deadline to take additional shots at the technology, while proponent GeoBroadcast Solutions said the agency should “keep an open mind.” Two broadcast entities, Press Communications and REC Networks, have called for reconsideration of the agency’s order allowing content origination on FM booster stations. Geotargeted radio will “erode public confidence in FM radio broadcasting” and harm stations “baited into employing the technology,” NAB said in docket 20-401.

Americans “detest” calls they didn’t ask for, but the Insurance Marketing Coalition’s challenge of the FCC’s Dec. 18 order implementing rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to target and eliminate illegal robotexts (see 2312220059) “is not a case about unsolicited calls,” according to the coalition’s opening brief Wednesday (docket 24-10277) in the 11th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court.

The FCC will take a series of steps aimed at addressing cybersecurity challenges during the commissioners' June 6 open meeting (see 2405150042). A draft NPRM released Thursday would seek comment on a proposal to impose specific reporting requirements on nine service providers as part of the agency's effort to increase border gateway protocol and resource public key infrastructure security, which assist routing traffic across the internet.