Communications and Technology Alert: 900 MHz Broadband Rules Effective Date; FirstNet Contract Renegotiated; Unleashing American Drone Dominance Public Notice; Foreign Robocall Scam NAL [Vol. XXIII, Issue 14]
FCC 900 MHz Broadband Rules to Take Effect April 30th
Last week, the FCC published the final version of its Report and Order that would permit 900 MHz Band (896-901/935-940) narrowband licenses to be consolidated into 5/5 MHz paired broadband licenses, effective April 30th, 2026. The R&O builds upon the Commission’s previous realignments of the 900 MHz band, allowing any given county, in lieu of transitioning to a 5/5 MHz configuration, to either maintain legacy or 3/3 MHz broadband configurations. Any transition to a 5/5 MHz band configuration will be conducted through a voluntary, negotiation-based system to meet the needs of incumbent narrowband systems. For more information, please contact Greg Kunkle (kunkle@khlaw.com; 202.434.4178) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
FirstNet Contract Renegotiated
Last week, The Commerce Department announced that it had renegotiated "the framework of AT&T's FirstNet contract" such that FirstNet will be "delivering $2 billion in additional value for the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network used by first responders." Under the agreement, AT&T will both reduce FirstNet costs by $1 billion and invest approximately $1 billion of its own funds in new network buildouts and coverage improvements, with priorities set by public safety users and the FirstNet Authority Board. The deal is intended to expand coverage, strengthen network reliability, and speed 5G deployment to support mission critical communications for first responders nationwide. NTIA said the renegotiation were the result of "President Trump’s Executive Order on Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative, which requires agencies to review contracts to ensure that taxpayers are deriving maximum value from every federal dollar." For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
Commission Seeking Comment on Unleashing American Drone Dominance
Last Wednesday, the Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) released a Public Notice requesting public comment on agency actions in support of the Trump Administration’s two Executive Orders (EOs) Unleashing American Drone Dominance and Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty. This Public Notice follows actions by the Commission earlier this year to place foreign-produced UAS and UAS critical components on the Covered List, as well as carve out exemptions and conditional approvals to remove certain devices and equipment from being covered. The Public Notice specifically seeks comment on reducing burdens for device certification, access to sufficient spectrum for drone testing and operations, facilitating investment in drone capabilities, and streamlining the Commission’s experimental licensing rules, among other issues. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Enforcement Bureau Issues NAL for Foreign Robocall Scams
Last Thursday, the Commission announced that the Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Apparent Liability to Voxbeam Telecommunications for transmitting suspicious call traffic from a foreign provider onto American networks in violation of the Commission’s robocall rules. The rules require Voxbeam and other voice service providers to block traffic from providers not listed in the Robocall Mitigation Database and take all reasonable steps to protect consumers from robocalls. Voxbeam allegedly transmitted tens of thousands of calls which violated these provisions, Voxbeam itself was not listed in the Commission’s Robocall Mitigation Database during the time in which it transmitted the call traffic. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
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