Universal service "has been an essential component" of federal telecom policy since the FCC's creation, the agency argued in a petition for writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court. Filed Monday (docket 24-354), the FCC's petition said the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in favor of Consumers' Research's challenge of the Universal Service Fund contribution methodology was "incorrect." Moreover, the agency said it "did not delegate governmental power" when it designated the Universal Service Administrative Co. as USF administrator (see 2407240043).

Space sustainability advocates are pessimistic about the chances that the FCC will require environmental reviews for proposed satellites and constellations anytime soon. Such reviews were a central part of the International Dark-Sky Association's (ISDA) unsuccessful legal challenge of the FCC's approval of SpaceX's second-generation satellite constellation (see 2407120031). Last month, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) launched a letter-writing campaign urging environmental reviews of satellite mega constellations (see 2408280002).

While expectations are that 6G will be commercialized by 2030, large scale deployments will likely come later, Milap Majmundar, AT&T director-advanced radio access network technology, standards and spectrum, said Tuesday at RCR Wireless’ 6G Forum. In addition, other speakers warned that finding new licensed bands for 6G could prove difficult.

The FCC released its order approving 3-2 radio broadcaster Audacy’s request for a temporary waiver of its foreign-ownership requirements. The dissents from both FCC Republicans condemn the order as a deviation from normal FCC procedure, but neither mentions by name the involvement of the Soros family in the deal, though that has been the main focus of Republican lawmakers and conservative media critical of the restructuring. Commissioner Brendan Carr previously called the waiver a “Soros shortcut.” To suggest that Audacy is receiving special treatment is “cynical and wrong,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, pointing to numerous similar grants from the FCC going back to 2018. “Our practice here and in these prior cases is designed to facilitate the prompt and orderly emergence from bankruptcy of a company that is a licensee under the Communications Act.”

T-Mobile agreed it will make extensive changes in its business practices to bolster its customers' security and it will pay a nearly $15.8 million fine, the FCC said Monday. The company will spend at least that same amount strengthening its cybersecurity practices, though the carrier's costs will likely be significantly higher, the FCC said. Elements of the announced consent decree resolve separate incidents in 2021, 2022 and 2023, which the FCC Enforcement Bureau was investigating.

Don't expect a DirecTV/Dish Network deal to face the same anticompetitive obstacles as a similar merger attempt did 22 years ago, antitrust and FCC experts tell us. The two direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies said Monday they reached an agreement where DirecTV would buy EchoStar's Dish and Sling video distribution businesses for $1. DirecTV will also assume an estimated $9.75 billion in Dish DBS debt. The companies said they expect regulatory approval before the end of next year.

Popping in unannounced Saturday night, D.C. Council Public Safety Chair Brooke Pinto (D) found “unacceptable” and “extremely dangerous” levels of staffing at the District of Columbia’s 911 center, the councilmember said during a livestreamed hearing Monday. Multiple members and witnesses voiced little if any confidence in the Office of Unified Communications or Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) fixing reported problems, which include blown addresses and delays answering calls and sending help.

The FCC expanded the reporting area for communications outages caused by Hurricane Helene to include counties in Tennessee and Virginia and additional counties in South Carolina, said a public notice in Monday’s Daily Digest. Reports from the affected counties show communications services experiencing outages from the storm but improving.

Emergency 911 networks appear largely to have withstood the powerful Hurricane Helene, officials said Friday. Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday at 11 p.m. in Taylor County, part of Florida’s Big Bend region, with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Friday. After preparing for the massive storm (see 2409250048), telecom companies reported some damage to network infrastructure and said they are responding to problems that flooding and power outages caused.

House Oversight Committee GOP leaders said Thursday night they launched an investigation into the FCC’s handling of radio group Audacy’s request for a temporary waiver of FCC foreign-ownership rules to complete a bankruptcy restructuring that includes George Soros-affiliated entities purchasing its stock. Panel Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., claim the FCC’s expected approval of Audacy’s request (see 2409170015) represents a politicization of the review process just more than one month before the Nov. 5 presidential election. Langworthy briefly raised the issue during a House Oversight hearing earlier this month (see 2409190063).