Communications and Technology Alert: Commission Revises Filing Deadlines; November Open Meeting Items Approved; Section 253 NOI Comments; Draft AI Executive Order; NTIA BEAD Awards [Vol. XXII, Issue47]
Commission Revises Deadlines for Electronic Filings
On November 17th, the Commission released a Public Notice further revising certain deadlines for electronic filings, superseding initial guidance released on November 13th following the end of the federal government shutdown. The revisions included extending deadlines for all Universal Licensing System (ULS) applications and notifications originally due between October 1st and December 5th until December 5th. Additionally, all applicants who attempted to file on October 1st will have their applications considered as received on November 18th. While the Commission has reopened its filing and database systems, ULS, Antenna Structure Registration (ASR), Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS) and Electronic System (E-106) are experiencing significant performance degradation, leading to extensive delays in search results and intermittent timeouts of application submissions. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Commission Approves Four Items in November Open Meeting
On November 20th, the Commission approved four items at its November Open Meeting. The Commission voted 2-1 to approve an Order of Reconsideration that rescinds a January 2025 Declaratory Ruling that reinforced cyber security obligations under CALEA on telecommunications carriers in the wake of the Salt Typhon cyber-attacks. Arguing in favor of the recission, Chairman Carr highlighted a variety of coordinated actions the Commission has taken to help carriers harden their networks and stated that the Declaratory Ruling was "neither lawful nor effective." The Commission also approved an NPRM titled Freeing Up Large Swath of Upper C-Band Frequencies, which would make between 100 and 180 MHz of spectrum in the Upper C-band (3.98-4.3 GHz) available for auction, as required in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Commission also approved an NPRM that will seek comment on removing certain analog services’ mandatory status as telecommunications relay services and approved a Direct Final Rule deleting 21 "duplicative, outdated, or unnecessary" regulations. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Commentors Disagree in FCC NOI On Local Government Barriers to Wireline Deployment
Last week, comments were due in response to the Commissions Notice of Inquiry (NOI) “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments.” In this NOI, the Commission sought comment on state and local government regulations which should be subject to Commission preemption under Section 253 of the Communication Act. Section 253 specifically allows the Commission to preempt state and local regulations that "may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any… telecommunications service." Industry groups alleged that a number of permitting and right-of-way management practices of state and local governments delay or otherwise impede wireline telecommunications service deployments. Local government commentors stated that the Commission's NOI is seeking to solve a problem that does not exist, advocating that existing local government review processes are necessary to ensure public safety and the safe use of public rights-of-way. Reply comments are due December 17th. For more information, please contact Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
Draft Executive Order Ties AI Regulation to BEAD Funding
On November 19th, a draft Executive Order (EO) was leaked detailing efforts to develop a uniform national policy framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The EO would require the Attorney General to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to evaluate and challenge existing state laws regulating AI. The EO would also empower the Secretary of Commerce, based on the Task Force’s evaluations, to issue Public Notices which render states with laws deemed “onerous” as ineligible to receive remaining funding from the Broadband Equity Access and Development (BEAD) program. The purpose of the EO is to prioritize a national regulatory framework over existing compliance with a patchwork of state-level laws and regulations. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
NTIA Announces Approval of BEAD Proposals for 19 States and Territories.
Last week the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the approval of 19 state and territory final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) proposals. The approved proposals are for Louisiana, Wyoming, Iowa, Georgia, Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Dakota, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, Virginia, Texas, Guam. the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. To date, Louisiana is the only state to have completed the award amendment process allowing Louisiana to access BEAD funding. The award to Louisiana comes nearly 11 months after the Trump administration paused and rescinded the Biden administration’s BEAD award to Louisiana, and 6 months after the Trump NTIA required all states and territories to conduct an additional round of BEAD selection prioritizing partners who submit lowest-cost bids in accordance with the administration’s new “Benefit of the Bargain” scoring rubric. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
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