Communications and Technology Alert: Verizon NG911 Petition for Waiver; Broadband Deployment Act Markup Cancelled; House Public Safety, Permitting Bills; Request to Repurpose UHF Channels; 6 Ghz LPI Third NPRM Reply Comments [Vol. XXIII, Issue 17]
Commission Seeks Comment on Verizon Petition for Waiver of NG911 Deadlines
Last Friday, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) released a Public Notice requesting comment on a Petition for Waiver filed by Verizon to extend deadlines for complying with Phase 1 NG911 requirements. Verizon’s petition states that despite completing the majority of its Phase 1 implementations in Massachusetts and other states in early 2026, it requires additional time to provide “seamless support for certain multi-line telephone system (MLTS) users’ caller location functions.” If a waiver of the deadlines is not granted, Verizon alternatively requests that the Commission waive relevant Part 9 requirements for affected MLTS managers and operators. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wight@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
House Cancels Markup on State and Local Permitting Reform
Last week, the House Rules Committee canceled a scheduled markup of the American Broadband Deployment Act (H.R. 2289), a broad ranging bill aimed at facilitating telecommunications deployments by limiting and streamlining state and local wireline and wireless permitting, zoning, and franchising requirements, as well as eliminating certain environmental and historic preservation reviews. The bill would amend Sections 253, 332, and 1455 of the Communications Act. The House Rules Committee originally planned to consider the bill during a Monday hearing, potentially advancing the bill to a floor debate. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239), Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
House Acts on Public Safety and Federal Permitting Legislation
Last week, the House of Representatives passed four communications and public safety bills: Kari’s Law Reporting Act (H.R. 5201) and the Emergency Reporting Act (H.R. 5200), which both aim strengthen and modernize 911 and emergency call routing and reporting requirements; the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act of 2026 (H.R. 7386) would extend and updates FirstNet to ensure reliable nationwide broadband for first responders; and the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act (H.R. 1681) would direct the NTIA to create an “interagency strike force” with the heads of each federal land management agency, with the goal of prioritizing permitting request by communications providers. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
Commission Receives Request to Repurpose UHF Channels for 5G/6G Use
On April 15th, Landover Saturn 5 LLC requested that the Commission open a rulemaking to repurpose UHF Channels 28-36 (554–608 MHz) for "a contiguous nationwide block of low-band spectrum for flexible 5G and future 6G use." The proposal would use a voluntary, public private partnership in which broadcasters elect to relinquish or share channels using ATSC 3.0 technology, allowing continued broadcast service below Channel 28 while clearing approximately 50 MHz of contiguous spectrum. Landover proposes that they would act as a neutral sponsor to coordinate broadcaster participation, manage repacking, transition logistics, and oversee spectrum monetization under FCC oversight, without federal repack funding. The company argues this approach would accelerate deployment, preserve broadcasting, and generate more than $15 billion for the U.S. Treasury while completing the transition faster and at lower public cost than prior FCC incentive auctions. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Public Interest Organizations Advocate for Higher Power Levels for 6 GHz LPI Devices
Last Monday, a group of public interest organizations, including the Open Technology Institute at New America and the Benton Institute, filed comments on a Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning further updates to LPI device operations in the 6 GHz band. The organizations requested higher power levels for LPI devices, given the proliferated use of next generation Wi-Fi indoors and the need to meet the demand of more advanced features of Wi-Fi 7 and 8 in the near future. The organizations also advocated for adopting rules authorizing indoor-only Wi-Fi access points under Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) to account for Building Entry Loss (BEL), as well as supporting authorizing LPI access points on cruise ships. Comments in the Third FNPRM concluded on April 21, 2026. 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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