Communications and Technology Alert: FY2026 Regulatory Fee Schedule; RMD Deficiencies Order; Final BEAD State Plan Approved; CBRS Usage Report [Vol. XXIII, Issue 35]
Commission Adopts Regulatory Fee Schedule for FY2026
Last Thursday, the Commission issued a Report and Order announcing the adoption of a regulatory fee schedule for fiscal year (FY) 2026. In FY2026, the Commission intends to assess and collect $416,112,000 which “reasonably can be expected to total the Commission’s FY2026 salaries and expenses (S&E) appropriation.” The fee schedule adopted the majority of the proposals in the FY 2026 NPRM, which reallocated resources to and from core licensing bureaus. Under Section 9 of the Communications Act, the Commission is required to set up regulatory fees to reflect the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees with each of the bureaus and offices, and establish fees reasonably related to the benefits of the activities generated by FTE’s. For more information, please contact Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271) or Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
Enforcement Bureau Directs Companies to Cure RMD Deficiencies
Last Thursday, the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau issued an Order directing certain telecommunications companies to cure deficient Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) certifications or explain why the Bureau should not remove the companies from the RMD. The Commission’s rules permit the Bureau to remove deficient certifications from the RMD if, after prior notice and opportunity to cure the deficiency, the company fails to provide necessary evidence to remedy its certification. Removal of a certification also requires all intermediate providers and voice service providers to cease accepting calls directly from the Company, except from government emergency numbers and public safety answering points. For more information, please contact Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271) or Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
NTIA Approvals Final State BEAD Plan
Last Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that all 56 states and territories have received approval for their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Final Proposals. The announcement highlights the BEAD program’s goal of achieving universal broadband availability and positions it as the federal government’s final large-scale broadband deployment initiative. The announcement comes as the last unapproved state plan, Illinois, received NTIA approval. NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth visited Virginia to make the announcement, where she highlighted that the state BEAD investments are expected to connect more than 85,000 locations, leverage significant private matching funds, and generate taxpayer savings through revised deployment plans. With all final proposals approved, NTIA stated its focus will now shift to working with states and territories as they manage and implement BEAD-funded broadband projects aimed at closing the digital divide, particularly in underserved rural communities. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
Wireless Innovation Forum Releases CBRS Usage Report
Last week, the Wireless Innovation Forum released a report titled "CBRS By The Numbers" that provides an aggregated, anonymized statistical snapshot of the U.S. Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) ecosystem using Spectrum Access System (SAS) data as of May 1, 2026. The report shows continued growth in CBRS adoption, documenting more than 440,000 deployed CBSDs and 1.3 million spectrum grants, while examining deployment trends by technology type, device category, spectrum usage, bandwidth allocation, and geographic distribution. CBRS is a U.S. spectrum-sharing framework in the 3550-3700 MHz band that was established by the Commission in 2015 and commercially implemented beginning in 2020, enabling federal incumbents, licensed Priority Access License (PAL) users, and General Authorized Access (GAA) users to dynamically share spectrum through SASs. The report highlights that CBRS deployments remain predominantly outdoor, Category B systems, with most devices operating under GAA grants. For more information, please contact Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271) or Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
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