AST SpaceMobile is clarifying to the FCC that its activities in the 430-440 MHz band will be limited largely to emergencies when other frequency bands are unavailable. In a letter Friday to the agency's Space Bureau, it said the one exception is its FM-1 satellite, in which it will use 430-440 MHz for emergencies; for telemetry, tracking and control; and for launch and early orbit operations. It told the commission much the same earlier this month (see 2508060048). AST is seeing pushback from amateur radio interests to its request to use the band since they also use parts of it (see 2507210031). Pointing to an interference analysis it submitted, AST said it's "extremely unlikely" there will be interference to ham radio operations in the 430-44 MHz band.
While SpaceX is challenging at least one state, saying it was unfairly precluded from BEAD locations it should have won, a Vernonburg Group analysis points to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites being able to serve at most 26% of BEAD-eligible unserved and underserved locations nationwide. That lines up with the concerns of fiber advocates and others about LEO networks' ability to meet the legislative definition of a priority project -- such as delivering 100/20 Mbps service -- at BEAD scale, former BEAD Director Evan Feinman told us.
Federated Wireless, a longtime proponent of the 3.55-3.7 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, urged policymakers to look instead at 4 GHz as they seek to put together a spectrum pipeline for the future. The revised budget reconciliation package, which was signed into law in July, exempts the 3.1-3.45 and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands from reallocation, but not CBRS (see 2507070045).
Regulatory approval of cable ISP WideOpenWest going private should be "relatively straightforward," UBS analyst Batya Levi told us Tuesday. WOW announced the $1.5 billion all-cash deal with investment funds DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners after the market's close Monday. The transaction should close by year-end or in Q1 2026, with shareholder and regulatory approval to come, WOW said.
The decision Friday by public interest groups not to challenge the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ narrow decision overturning last year’s net neutrality order appeared to be based on a number of considerations, including avoiding a precedent that could prevent future FCC rules (see 2508080020). Friday was the deadline to file a petition for certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review. Some lawyers saw the 6th Circuit’s decision as badly reasoned and susceptible to further review (see 2507160048).
States received BEAD applications from providers of a wide range of technologies during the "Benefit of the Bargain" application round, according to initial data that some states released (see 2506060052). NTIA required all eligible entities to conduct a new round of applications so previously excluded providers could submit proposals for the $42.5 billion program.
The FCC is facing persistent calls from one unsuccessful bidder for Paramount Global to revisit the approval of the company's sale to Skydance Media, but we're told the commission is unlikely to heed them. The agency didn't comment Wednesday.
Broadcasters called for the FCC to save their industry by immediately eliminating the national TV ownership cap in comments filed in docket 17-318 by Monday’s deadline. Meanwhile, MVPD groups, labor unions, public interest groups and conservative entities Newsmax and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) disputed the FCC’s authority to alter the cap and said doing so would hurt localism, retransmission consent rates and journalism.
Operators of tolling systems won't be affected by NextNav's proposal to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band to allow a “terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services, according to a study that the company filed at the FCC. It supplements a Brattle Group report that NextNav filed previously (see 2507180034).
Cable One will test a mobile offering in some of its markets starting later this year, CEO Julie Laulis said Thursday. In a call with analysts to announce the company's Q2 financial results, Laulis said it has signed an agreement with a mobile virtual network enabler for the pilot offering. Cable One reported Q2 revenue of $381.1 million, down from $394.5 million during the same three months in 2024. The decline was largely due to fewer video subscribers, it said. The quarter also ended with 932,000 residential data customers, compared with 963,000 in Q2 the year before. Laulis said Cable One isn't expecting to grow its residential broadband customer base this year -- June was the first month in 2025 with year-over-year increases in broadband additions. The company attributed the broadband customer losses to pricing and packaging changes, competition and the end of certain promotions, although that still led to a slight increase in residential broadband revenue over Q1. Cable One's simplified pricing and new marketing are setting the stage for stronger subscriber growth over time, Laulis added. She also noted that about 53% of locations in Cable One's footprint have fiber-to-the-home overbuilding, and fixed wireless "is nearly ubiquitous."