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

Minnesota received the OK to "move forward" with its updated BEAD plans, state Office of Broadband Director Bree Maki said Wednesday during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar (see 2508250030). Maki said the approval came Tuesday. "If everything falls into place today ... we're hoping to go out for public comment tomorrow" to meet NTIA's Sept. 4 deadline, Maki said.

Satellite operators are in a tug-of-war with terrestrial interests -- and at times with one another -- over the 12.7 GHz band, according to reply comments this week in docket 25-180. Initial comments in the proceeding also saw satellite industry interest in opening the 12.7 GHz band to satcom (see 2507290045). The FCC adopted a Further NPRM in May asking about opening the 12.7, 42 and 51.4-52.4 GHz bands, as well as parts of the W band, to satellite communications (see 2505280055).

The push by the first Trump administration to create a fourth national wireless carrier -- after Sprint exited the market when T-Mobile bought it -- could be over, industry experts said following the announcement that AT&T was buying much of EchoStar’s spectrum portfolio for $23 billion (see 2508260052).

Regulatory changes being pushed by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will likely have little effect on broadband deployment, New Street’s Blair Levin said during an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation webinar Tuesday. Other speakers noted that for the most part, the U.S. broadband market is highly competitive and getting more so, as fixed-wireless access and satellite broadband become more widespread.

A federal judge has ordered the FCC to produce information about the Department of Government Efficiency’s activities at the agency in response to a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit from journalist Nina Burleigh and public interest group Frequency Forward. The information released so far in response to the FOIA shows that one of the DOGE staffers detailed to the FCC may have had ties to its regulatees, including SpaceX.

In the biggest wireless deal since T-Mobile bought Sprint five years ago, AT&T announced Tuesday that it’s buying EchoStar spectrum for $23 billion (see 2508260005). EchoStar will continue to offer wireless service, but primarily as a mobile virtual network operator riding on AT&T’s network.

NextNav is hopeful that the FCC will move forward soon on an NPRM following up on its March notice of inquiry asking about the wide range of possible alternatives to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), said Renee Gregory, the company's vice president of regulatory affairs. Opponents of NextNav’s proposal to use 900 MHz spectrum for PNT are less anxious for the FCC to take next steps.

More states are staying the course on prioritizing fiber projects in their final BEAD proposals, despite concerns that NTIA's push to consider other technologies could delay funding from going out the door (see 2508200054). At least five states -- Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Washington and Wisconsin -- submitted final proposals in recent days with the majority of subgrants going to fiber-backed projects and limited funding going to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Colorado, however, is proposing to award half of its eligible locations to LEO satellites.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied an en banc rehearing of the rejection of a $57 million FCC fine against AT&T for violating the agency's data protection rules. The panel modified its April opinion slightly, taking out language that referred to a 2012 5th Circuit decision in U.S. v. Stevens (see 1208210038).