A coalition of 22 states filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the Trump administration's sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans. The outcome of the lawsuit will "probably" affect NTIA's Digital Equity Act (DEA) grant programs, said Andrew Schwartzman, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society's senior counselor. "The qualification is that the government hasn't filed anything yet, and there are no motions or other pleadings that expand on what is said in the complaint," he said. The administration ended the $2.5 billion DEA grant program in May, causing states to cancel all contracts that would have used that money (see 2505090051).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Tuesday provided extra time for comments on a next-generation 911 Further NPRM that commissioners approved 4-0 in March (see 2503270042). Initial comments are now due Aug. 4, instead of July 21, and replies Sept. 17, instead of Aug. 18. The National Emergency Number Association and the National Association of State 911 Administrators had asked for a 120-day delay for both initial comments and replies, the bureau said. While it didn't grant the full 120 days, it said “a moderate extension” of the initial comment deadline “will provide additional time for parties to organize and coordinate their input to the Commission.” In addition, increasing the interval between initial comments and replies creates “an expanded window for collaborative discussions among parties after the initial comments have been filed.”
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies urged the FCC on Monday to take additional steps to ensure that devices from Chinese companies aren’t sold in the U.S. The agency’s 2022 order preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment (see 2211230065) has gaps, the group said in a report posted in docket 21-232.
Lawyers at Cooley warned that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, a much-watched case about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, will mean increased uncertainty for both sides in future TCPA cases (see 2506200053). SCOTUS ruled that, despite the Hobbs Act, lower courts have authority to examine agencies' decisions, including those of the FCC. The case provides “expanded opportunity to challenge FCC rulings," said Cooley's Tuesday blog post.
AT&T said its network wasn’t to blame for problems on a call with faith leaders that provoked the fury of President Donald Trump (see 2506300060). “Our initial analysis indicates the disruption was caused by an issue with the conference call platform, not our network,” AT&T said on X late Monday. “Unfortunately, this caused the delay, and we are working diligently to better understand the issue so we can prevent disruptions in the future.”
The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force announced that the seventh broadband data collection (BDC) filing window for submitting broadband availability and other data will open Tuesday. The June 2025 update of the broadband serviceable location fabric is also being made available to existing fabric licensees, the task force said Monday. “The Fabric serves as the foundation for the collection of fixed broadband availability data in the BDC,” it said. “The updated Fabric is being made available to Fabric licensees and must be used by filers of fixed broadband availability for their availability data as of June 30.”
Urban rate surveys are due Aug. 15, said the FCC Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau in a public notice Friday (docket 10-90). Providers required to complete the online survey, which identifies rates for fixed voice and broadband residential services in urban areas, will be contacted on or around July 7, it said.
AT&T's proposed $177 million settlement stemming from 2019 and 2024 data breaches shows that multifactor authentication isn't optional, cybersecurity expert Joe Vadakkan wrote last week. In the 2024 incident, hackers penetrated AT&T's Snowflake cloud system using credentials that didn't have MFA and made off with customers' call and text metadata, he said. "Weak credential protections" made the hack possible, he added. "Supply chain vigilance is critical," as the Snowflake breach came via "internal compromises." The settlement received preliminary approval in U.S. District Court earlier this month.
Comments are due July 11 in docket 25-202 on CenturyLink Communications’ application to discontinue legacy voice services in communities in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wisconsin, said a public notice in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The application will be granted automatically July 27, unless the FCC notifies CenturyLink otherwise.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau has granted certification for several companies to provide video relay service (VRS) and IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS) supported by the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund, said three public notices Wednesday. Sorenson Communications, which is majority-owned by Ariel GP Holdco, was granted certification to provide VRS and is eligible for TRS compensation through June 24, 2030. CaptionCall, also owned by Ariel GP, was certified to provide IP CTS with TRS compensation for the same five-year period. NexTalk Software, owned by Solen Ventures, was granted a conditional certification to provide IP CTS. NexTalk will be eligible for TRS fund compensation when the FCC takes action on its application for full certification, the notice said. “We find it to be in the public interest to grant such conditional certification pending a full determination of NexTalk Software’s qualifications.”