FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s letter to Verizon concerning its diversity practices (see 2502270072) -- which referenced its pending purchase of Frontier -- sets “a dangerous precedent,” FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said in a statement Friday. “I strongly oppose conflating policy agendas with an unrelated transaction review. This is even more troubling given that the pleading cycle for this transaction has closed,” Starks said. “Leveraging transaction reviews in this fashion [will] only chill investment when it is sorely needed.”
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During a panel at NARUC's Winter Policy Summit this week (see 2502250010), Michael Santorelli, director of New York Law School's Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute, mentioned New York's Affordable Broadband Act, on which the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing Monday. States shouldn't follow New York's lead because the law is "unnecessary and sets a dangerous precedent for legislative overreach," Santorelli said. Instead, he urged that states focus on "updating laws to facilitate broadband buildout."
NARUC's board of directors on Wednesday approved the two resolutions adopted by its telecom committee Monday (see 2502240060).
AT&T remains hopeful that Congress will extend current tax cuts, CFO Pascal Desroches said Tuesday during a Barclays financial conference. “When the first [Donald] Trump administration passed the tax incentives in 2017, it was really successful in stimulating investment,” Desroches said: “We added jobs, both nationally and in individual states. … I am hopeful, based on all the discussions, that we will see an extension of those tax cuts."
Carrier executives are managing their networks using AI, but progress is slow, with nearly 60% saying that only 20% or less is now managed by AI, according to a new Mobile World Live survey. Just 10% said AI systems are already managing more than 50% percent of their networks. Traffic prediction and anomaly detection were the top uses for AI, at 47% each, the survey found, followed by predictive maintenance (33%) and energy consumption (25%). Slice management came in at 16%, digital twinning 13%. Among the reasons for slow deployment, 50% cited skill gaps, 49% said data and model security concerns, and 39% said cost. Asked which AI tools they would deploy first, the largest portion of respondents, 49%, said network troubleshooting. Customer engagement pilots came in second at 42%.
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition announced Thursday that Joseph Wender, who led the Capital Projects Fund at the Treasury Department, has been named executive director. Wender replaces John Windhausen, who announced in December he was leaving after 16 years (see 2412130048). Wender is also a former staffer to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. “This is a crucial moment in our nation’s efforts to promote broadband deployment and adoption,” Wender said in a statement. “Connectivity is the foundation of modern education, healthcare, and economic opportunity for kids, families, and communities.”
The National Consumers League and four small business owners asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to intervene to seek rehearing of a January decision rejecting part of the FCC’s 2023 robocall and robotext order. Judges agreed then with petitioner Insurance Marketing Coalition that the commission exceeded its authority under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in issuing its one-to-one consent rule (see 2501240068). The court acted just before the rule was slated to take effect.
Supply chain annual reports from advanced communications providers are due by March 31, the FCC Office of Economics and Analytics said in a public notice Tuesday. The law and FCC rules require providers to report on whether they have rented, purchased, leased or obtained equipment or services from the agency’s list of unsecure companies. The filing results from prior supply chain annual reports were released as a public list last year (see 2411270027). The reporting portal and filing instructions are on the FCC’s website.
FTC political appointees are prohibited from holding leadership roles in the American Bar Association, participating in ABA events or renewing ABA memberships, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced Feb. 14.
AT&T announced Friday that its board of directors elected CEO John Stankey as chair. Stankey replaces former FCC Chairman William Kennard, who was elected lead independent director. “As AT&T embarks on its comprehensive, Board-approved three-year strategic and capital allocation plan, this change provides the right governance structure for the Board,” Kennard said. A board member since 2014, Kennard was named chair in January 2021. Stankey became CEO and president five years ago.