Telecom Alert: Upcoming Senate Vote on FCC Nominee; TCPA Declaratory Ruling; Senate Criticism of Proposed Spectrum Auction Authority; Request for NG911 Funding in Budget Bill [Volume XXII, Issue 24]
Practice Group Update
We are excited to announce that our practice group is changing its name from the Telecommunications Practice Group to the Communications and Technology Practice Group. This change reflects the growth and evolution of our Practice Group and our dedication to remaining at the forefront of our rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
As part of this update, beginning June 23rd, our Telecom Alert will become the Communications and Technology Alert and will be sent from CommTechLawAlert@khlaw.com. For more information, please visit our Practice Group Page on the Keller and Heckman website.
Join Keller and Heckman LLP at UTC
Please join Keller & Heckman LLP Communications and Technology Practice Group Partners Sean Stokes, Casey Lide, Thomas Magee and Tim Doughty at the UTC Telecom and Technology Conference this week in Long Beach! See session schedules below. You can also find Keller and Heckman at Booth 550 in the Exhibit Hall.
Thomas Magee
Tuesday June 17th, 2025 / 2:15pm-3:45pm PT
What Utility Pole Owners Need to Know about Pole Attachments
Location CC – 203 B
Sean Stokes
Thursday June 19th, 2025 / 9:10am -10:10am PT
Pole Attachments 101
Location: CC - 202 C
Thursday June 19th, 2025 / 2:15pm-3:45pm PT
Regulatory Compliance for Broadband Utilities
Location CC – 203 C
Casey Lide
Thursday June 19th, 2025 / 2:15pm-3:45pm PT
Practical Legal Issues for Utility Broadband Providers
Location CC – 203 C
Senate Announces Confirmation Plans for FCC Nominee Olivia Trusty
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on Thursday on the confirmation vote of Olivia Trusty, the Trump Administration’s nominee to fill one of the FCC’s open commissioner positions. In April, Trusty passed a Senate Commerce Committee vote, advancing her nomination to the Senate floor. If confirmed by the full Senate, Trusty would join a Commission with only two remaining members: FCC Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez. As noted in last week’s Telecom Alert, Commissioner Simington announced his departure from the Commission, and Commissioner Starks officially resigned from his duties at the beginning of the month. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202-434-4271).
FCC Issues Declaratory Ruling on TCPA Rules
The FCC has issued a Declaratory Ruling granting a petition filed by the Edison Electric Institute (“EEI”) clarifying the application of Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act regulations with respect to utility communications to customers. The FCC has long held that utility consumers have consented to informational communications that are closely related to the utility service when they provide their telephone number to the utility. The FCC’s recent action clarified that utility reminders about time-of-use pricing and other demand-response events are “closely related” to utility service, and therefore within the scope of consent given by customers when they provide their phone number to their utility. Accordingly, utilities are not required to seek additional consent from customers for these types of communications. For more information, please contact Tracy Marshall (marshall@khlaw.com; 202.434.4234) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202-434-4271).
Senators Continue to Raise Concerns About Budget Bill’s Spectrum Auction Authority
Last week, Republican and Democratic Senators raised issues with the spectrum portions of the Senate Commerce Committee’s proposed budget reconciliation bill. The bill would make 800HMz of spectrum from 1.3 GHz to 10.5 GHz available for auction and requires that 100 MHz must come from the upper C-band (3.98 GHz – 4.2 GHz). Senior Republican senators on the Armed Services Committee Deb Fischer, Mike Rounds, and Tom Cotton raised concerns about the bill’s effect on the Defense Department access to spectrum. Democratic senators, in a letter to Senator Cruz, sought a Commerce Committee markup of the bill before introduction to the Senate floor. They hope to raise concerns about the proposed bill's effect on altimeters in the upper C-Band, the proposed tying of BEAD funding to states’ compliance with a 10-year moratorium on AI restrictions, and the effect on spectrum currently allocated to the DoD and Wi-Fi. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202-434-4271).
Trade Associations Request NG911 Funding in Budget Bill
Directors and CEO’s of APCO, iCERT, NASNA and NENA submitted a joint letter to members of the Senate Commerce Committee requesting funding for the deployment of NG911 technology and services through the budget reconciliation bill currently being reviewed by the Senate. The letter reminds the committee members that NG911 funding was proposed by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) last year, which includes specific provisions to pay for IP-based upgrades for emergency calls and modernized caller ID functionality. While the group recognized the budget reconciliation bill included the much-needed renewal of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, it lacked funding mechanisms to upgrade critical legacy 911 systems, which are vulnerable to cyberattacks. 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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