Communications and Technology Alert: Virtual Tribal Consultations Scheduled; Request to Extend Non-Usage Rules Waiver Denied; House Broadband Legislation Passed; Commission Comment Deadlines Announced [Vol. XXII, Issue 49]
Communications and Technology Regulatory Recap: Federal Interest Rules and Sale of Grant-Funded Broadband Assets
Keller and Heckman LLP’s Communications and Technology Practice continues its series of webinar updates regarding recent changes in leadership, policy, and regulations in the communications industry. For this week’s Regulatory Recap, Partner Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) discusses the Federal Interest rules and navigating a sale of grant-based broadband assets.
Commission Announces Virtual Tribal Consultations in NEPA Proceeding
In August, the Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to propose revisions and updates to the implementation of environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules. Comments on the proceedings concluded on September 18th, and Reply Comments were due on November 18th after an extension to accommodate the federal shutdown. However, the Commission’s rules permit interested parties to submit ex parte presentations to the record after the comment deadline. Recognizing the importance of tribal consultation and review in the NEPA process, the Commission has announced two dates for virtual Tribal Consultations to hear presentations from Tribal Nations and NHOs. The Consultations will take place on December 11, 2025, and January 14, 2026. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Commission Declines Request to Extend Waiver of Non-Usage Rules
On December 3rd, Chairman Brendan Carr announced in a press release that the Commission denied a request by Lifeline providers to extend waiver of the program’s non-usage rules. The Lifeline program provides support to eligible companies to provide voice and broadband services to low-income subscribers, but only if the services are used recently. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission waived this requirement to ensure continuance of service, while permitting eligible companies to continue receiving support even if services went unused, ending on April 30, 2021. Lifeline providers argued that the waiver should extend through May 1st, which the Commission and Carr rebuked, stating that it would take advantage of the flexibility provided during the pandemic and waste federal subsidies. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
House Committee Passes Broadband Legislation
Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed seven bills related to communications infrastructure permitting. Six of the bills were bipartisan, but one, H.R. 2289 - the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025, was passed by a vote of 26 to 24 along party lines. This bill would make law many of the proposals in the Commission's existing rulemaking (WT Docket No. 25-217) seeking to lessen the requirements for reviews under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This bill goes further than that NPRM, excluding the construction of a number of communications facilities from NEPA and NHPA reviews. These include facilities licensed by a geographic area license and not requiring ASR registration, facilities in federally declared disaster areas, and new or replacement facilities in the public right-of-way (ROW) so long as they are no taller than fifty feet or no more than ten feet taller than existing structures in the ROW. The bill would also introduce “shot clocks” on state and local government permitting processes and limitations on the fees they can charge for such permits. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
Commission Announces Comment Deadlines in Multiple Proceedings
Last week the Commission released comment deadlines for a number of proceedings. Comments in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the use of the Upper C-band for next generation wireless are due January 5th and Reply Comments are due February 3rd. Comments in the Further NPRM on advanced methods to address robocalls and an NPRM on inmate calling rates are also due January 5th and Reply Comments are due February 3rd. Comments in a proceeding that would remove broadband labeling requirements established under the Biden Administration are due on January 2nd, with Reply Comments due on February 18th. Comments in the Space Modernization for the 21st Century proceeding are due January 20th, with Reply Comments due February 18th. Finally, the Commission announced that it is extending the comment deadline it previously established for the IP interconnection NPRM to December 26th, with Reply Comments due January 26th. 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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