Disruptive Analysis Director Dean Bubley said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s high-profile promise of a Golden Dome that will protect the U.S. from missile attacks, similar to Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, “should lead policymakers to rethink the wisdom or feasibility of clearing” the DOD-controlled 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use. DOD supporters’ concerns about repurposing the lower 3 GHz band are the main sticking point in talks to mandate a spectrum pipeline as part of a coming budget reconciliation package (see 2505020047). DOD in March proposed making 420 MHz from current military-controlled frequencies available for FCC auction while maintaining the Pentagon’s grip on the lower 3 GHz band (see 2504040068).
Wi-Fi advocates on Monday filed at the FCC a study by Plum Consulting countering a recent NextNav engineering study that found no interference concerns with the company’s proposal for the FCC to reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2503030023).
A U.S. District Court judge appeared to repeatedly show strong skepticism Monday toward government arguments defending the White House's executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block. It's among multiple Big Law targets of President Donald Trump's executive orders, though it's uncertain whether those orders affect communications lawyers (see 2504170027). Jenner & Block is challenging the order (see 2504010072), with Monday's session addressing the firm's motion for a permanent injunction and DOJ's rival motion to dismiss. "Give me a break," Judge John Bates scoffed during roughly 100 minutes of oral argument as DOJ lawyer Richard Lawson was arguing that allegations of racial discrimination in Jenner's hiring were the rationale for the order to bar the firm's employees from accessing federal agencies and buildings.
The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) slammed the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials’ request that the FCC launch an NPRM on rules for the 4.9 GHz band (see 2502070020), including increasing the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limits to make the band more attractive for 5G. AT&T, which stands to benefit through its partnership with FirstNet, strongly supported the change.
Shareholders at major communications, media and tech companies are increasingly grappling with diversity, equity and inclusion questions, as is evident from numerous DEI-related shareholder proposals on the agendas of companies' latest annual meetings. The increased shareholder activism around DEI isn't limited to tech and communications, as the 2025 proxy season is experiencing a jump in proposals seeking to roll back or limit those corporate efforts, according to the Conference Board.
Comcast -- which saw notable subscriber losses in Q1 in broadband and video -- also may be an early sign of a softening advertising market, analysts said Thursday after the company announced Q1 results. Pointing to what he called an "intensely competitive environment," President Mike Cavanagh said Comcast "was not winning in the marketplace in a way that is commensurate" with the strength of its network and products. He then laid out plans that would address the company's issues.
EchoStar's application for review of the out-of-band emissions (OOBE) limit waiver granted to SpaceX (see 2504080029) makes a "fact-free argument" and overlooks the FCC Space and Wireless bureaus' rationale, SpaceX said Wednesday (docket 23-135). SpaceX said the waiver, for its supplemental coverage from space operations in the PCS G block, was based on technical evidence in the record, but EchoStar never submitted any technical analysis of its own. EchoStar’s insistence that the FCC setting an OOBE limit precludes a waiver in appropriate circumstances would do away with the waiver rule itself, SpaceX said. The company also recapped conditions put on the waiver to protect adjacent-band terrestrial networks.
AT&T CEO John Stankey warned Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could hurt the carrier, echoing Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg on Tuesday (see 2504220033). Unlike Verizon, which lost postpaid phone subscribers in Q1, AT&T reported 324,000 postpaid phone net adds in the quarter, buoyed by FirstNet.
T-Mobile, which will report earnings Thursday, announced new pricing plans Tuesday. The Experience More plan “includes all the benefits” of the carrier’s Go5G Plus plan “and adds more hotspot data plus T-Satellite with Starlink included through end of year,” the company said, and “Experience Beyond includes all the benefits of Go5G Next in addition to more data and T-Satellite included, providing over $200 in added value for each line, every month.” The carrier also offered four new Metro by T-Mobile plans. All the new offerings come with a five-year price guarantee. Choosing a wireless plan has become “almost as complicated as a mortgage,” T-Mobile said. “People need easy-to-understand plans, the ability to compare options across providers and the chance to switch providers when they want, rather than being locked into long-term device contracts.”
Changes wrought by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House are already affecting telecom industry financials. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg noted the risks from tariffs on a call with analysts Tuesday after the company released Q1 results. The nation’s largest wireless provider reported a net loss of 289,000 monthly postpaid phone subscribers in the quarter, after adding 568,000 in Q4 2024.