Supporters of the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-2289) are optimistic about its prospects for passing this year amid unified GOP control of the White House and Congress, but opponents believe political dynamics on and off Capitol Hill will continue to be a significant speed bump in the months ahead. The House Commerce Committee in December advanced HR-2289, which combined language from 22 GOP-led connectivity permitting bills, by a closer-than-expected 26-24 party-line vote (see 2512030031). The panel cleared a similar version of the package during the last Congress, but it never reached the floor due to Democratic resistance (see 2305230067).

Brandy Reitter, executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office, warned Wednesday that the Trump administration's changes to the BEAD program have delayed deployment in the state by about 18 months. “We would have been able to put shovels in the ground last year,” Reitter said during a Fiber Broadband Association webcast with Gary Bolton, the group's CEO. For people waiting for broadband, “it’s going to be a little while,” especially for satellite service, she said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr continued during and after the House Communications Subcommittee’s hearing Wednesday to dodge what ended up being a bipartisan push to pin him down on his position on proposals for the agency to eliminate or ease the existing 39% national TV station audience reach cap. During the hearing, Carr faced continued criticism from Democrats about his media regulatory actions since taking the helm last year. Meanwhile, he encountered universal praise from Republicans, including for implementing the 800 MHz spectrum pipeline Congress passed as part of the 2025 budget reconciliation package (see 2601140064).

Two bar complaints against FCC Chairman Brendan Carr have been denied, according to letters from the Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC) of Maryland and the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Wireless carriers aren’t unique in raising concerns about an FCC proposal to allow correctional facilities to jam cell signals in an effort to curb contraband phones, CTIA said in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 13-111. Public interest groups, often at odds with the wireless industry, and other commenters also called on the FCC to think twice before steaming forward on rules that some states and corrections officials are pushing (see 2512300043).

States have good ideas about AI regulation that the federal government shouldn’t try to block, said two state officials and a U.S. Senate Democratic staffer during a Federal Communications Bar Association panel Tuesday. In a separate session, however, telecom industry officials suggested that a “patchwork” of state AI requirements could be more difficult for businesses than dealing with today’s array of state privacy laws.

Crown Castle said Monday that it had terminated its wireless infrastructure agreement with Dish after the latter company defaulted on payment obligations. Meanwhile, Fujitsu has joined the ranks of companies and groups urging the FCC not to approve transfers of EchoStar spectrum licenses until Dish's parent company makes good on contracts tied to its now-abandoned terrestrial wireless network buildout. MoffettNathanson told investors Tuesday that there's "a decent chance" the FCC could step in and try to force EchoStar to make good on its contracts with the tower companies.

The House Communications Subcommittee’s FCC oversight hearing Wednesday is highly likely to echo the dynamics and most of the same topics that dominated an identical Senate Commerce Committee panel last month (see 2512170067 and 2512170070), lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Democrats are expected to again place a major emphasis on castigating FCC Chairman Brendan Carr over his media regulatory actions, while Republicans are likely to defend Carr even more strongly than Senate Commerce GOP members and steer the hearing’s focus toward less controversial matters.

Paramount Skydance is ratcheting up its fight to try to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, saying Monday that it's suing WBD in Delaware Chancery Court. Paramount also said it will nominate a slate of directors for WBD's annual meeting who would enter into a transaction with Paramount rather than Netflix. WBD's board has recommended that shareholders support Netflix's proposed purchase of WBD (see 2601070048).

The FCC's approval of SpaceX launching an additional 7,500 of its second-generation satellites opens the door for the company to enhance direct-to-device connectivity and also points to the Space Bureau's efforts to speed up its approvals process, according to SpaceX and space policy experts. A previous block of 7,500 second-generation satellites was approved in 2022 (see 2212010052).