The Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to throw out an appeal of last year’s FCC order giving the FirstNet Authority, and indirectly AT&T, control of the 4.9 GHz band through a nationwide license (see 2410220027). The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), which leads the appeal, fired back, saying a challenge by PSSA also should be tossed.
NTCA, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and other commenters told the FCC last week that they dislike a proposal to deregulate telephone access charges more now than they did five years ago, when the agency last sought comment (see 2008050030).
New questions in the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s previously routine equal employment opportunity (EEO) audit letters appear to be aimed at seeking out broadcaster diversity hiring programs and grievances against them.
Shifting federal priorities away from fiber toward newer technologies like low earth orbit (LEO) satellites is creating uncertainty for states' broadband plans and funding, experts and local officials warned Thursday at the National Association of Telecom Officers and Advisors' (NATOA) annual conference (see 2508200037). Panelists said the move has rattled the industry, left local governments scrambling for resources, and raised questions about how states will balance cost, access and long-term reliability without the possibility of new federal support.
Political scrutiny of Skydance Media's purchase of Paramount Global is growing, with the ranking members of the House Commerce and Judiciary committees demanding Thursday to see internal company communications, as well as those between the FCC and the companies.
Countries around the world are approaching the move to 6G from different perspectives and often with differing focuses, said a recently posted report by the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council. The TAC approved the 6G report and two others from its working groups earlier this month but didn’t make them available at the time (see 2508050062).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
NEW ORLEANS -- Broadband experts, attorneys and local officials welcomed the use of AI Wednesday at the National Association of Telecom Officers and Advisors' annual conference (see 2508190045) here. Some said it could streamline permitting and speed deployment timelines but warned that federal preemption and lax oversight risk sidelining state and local voices in shaping how the technology changes communications policy.
An April 28 power outage in Portugal and Spain led to a widespread internet disruption in parts of Morocco, showing the interconnectedness of modern networks, Ookla industry analyst Luke Kehoe said during the company's webinar Wednesday. Morocco saw no similar power outage, but its fixed and mobile networks went down nonetheless, Kehoe noted.
Too many areas in the middle of the U.S. lack the critical infrastructure they need, such as designated interexchange points (IXPs), said Tonya Witherspoon, a consultant who led digital transformation initiatives at Wichita State University (WSU). During a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday, she said most of the nation’s IXPs are on the East and West Coasts or in more populous states like Texas. Policymakers so far have paid too little attention to the dearth of U.S. IXPs, other speakers agreed.