Under the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice issued by NTIA on June 6 (“Policy Notice”),[1] state and territory broadband offices must rescind all preliminary and provisional BEAD awards made under the prior rules and must, in very short order, run a single competitive round with a strong preference for providers that promise to
This is the first of several planned blogs on the recently released NTIA BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice (“Notice”).
In early March, Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick paused all funding under the $42.5 billion BEAD program pending a “rigorous review” by the new administration. At that time, the Secretary announced his intention to “rip out”
Even before taking office, incoming members of the Trump Administration and some Republican members of Congress criticized various regulatory requirements in the $42.5 billion BEAD program as being unnecessarily burdensome and contributing to a perceived slow rollout of BEAD funding. The Commerce Department and Congress have now begun efforts to streamline and reform the BEAD
The Supreme Court in a 6-3 vote overturned the landmark decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, sharply limiting the authority of federal administrative agencies, including the FCC.[1] After the decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo,[2] it will be easier to challenge and overturn agency decisions, and federal agencies
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice and the states of Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota brought a civil antitrust suit opposing the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. According to the lawsuit, consolidating nationwide carriers from four to three would reduce competition to an unacceptable degree, ultimately harming consumers. To resolve the complaint,
On May 7, 2024, the FCC released a Declaratory Ruling reclassifying “broadband Internet access service” (“BIAS”) as a “telecommunications service” subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC under Title II of the Communications Act. It was accompanied by an Order removing BIAS from most Title II regulations, and a Report and Order applying a set
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) has adopted a “Programmatic Waiver” of its letter of credit (“LOC”) requirement for subgrantees of funding under the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (“BEAD”) program created by the Infrastructure and Investment Job Act (“IIJA”). This is big news for small and mid-size public and private entities
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are experiencing rapid growth throughout the world. In the United States, the FAA expects the recreational UAV fleet to reach almost 1.5 million units by 2024. Significant growth is also expected in commercial drones used for safety, delivery, and service operations, with the number of such aircraft expected to
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to help facilitate the nationwide transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911). The Commission will vote on this NPRM at its Open Meeting on June 8th.
Background
In October 2021, the National Association of State 911 Administrators
The Treasury Department has released the final version of important compliance guidance applicable to broadband projects funded through SLFRF or CPF awards. The “SLFRF and CPF Supplemental Broadband Guidance” (“Guidance”) addresses several crucial issues relating to the use of SLFRF and CPF funds for broadband projects, including the crucial distinction of ISPs acting