How the U.S. Supreme Court will view the appeal of the FCC data fine case remains unclear, and it could be a close decision for the court, industry experts said Monday. Justices agreed Friday to hear FCC v. AT&T and address a split in the judicial circuits (see 2601090067). The fines were handed down in the last administration and opposed by FCC Republicans at the time, but the Trump administration wants SCOTUS to uphold the penalties and preserve the agency's enforcement mechanisms.

In a win for Verizon, the FCC Wireless Bureau absolved the carrier Monday of requirements that it has faced since 2008 to unlock the handsets of subscribers, showing the agency's complete turnaround on the issue under Chairman Brendan Carr. The action was taken by the bureau without a commissioner vote and initially announced by Carr on X.

The U.K.’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced Friday that it has decided to allow the use of outdoor and higher-power Wi-Fi devices in the lower 6 GHz band, provided that they're controlled by an automated frequency coordination system. Ofcom also said it plans to award mobile licenses in “high density” areas of the U.K. in the upper band. While it's a more constrained approach than the U.S., where all 1,200 MHz of the band is available for unlicensed use, Wi-Fi advocates told us that Ofcom’s policy calls were a victory for their side.

Somos got pushback in comments posted last week on its September petition asking the FCC to make changes to how phone numbers are assigned and move away from its legacy systems to an IP world. The petition came as the agency shut down the North American Numbering Council (see 2506240074).

EchoStar and SpaceX arguments that the FCC has no role in contract disputes over EchoStar's now-aborted terrestrial wireless buildout plans ignore the fact that the companies are citing agency action as the reason for those plans' demise, said critics of the EchoStar/SpaceX spectrum deal in reply comments last week. Wireless infrastructure interests have urged the commission not to approve SpaceX's purchase of EchoStar terrestrial spectrum licenses until the latter company commits to fulfilling contracts related to its wireless buildout (see 2512160006).

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., confirmed Thursday that he’s pushing House GOP leaders to follow through on their promise to resurrect some public broadcasting funding as part of negotiations on FY 2026 appropriations legislation after Congress rescinded allocated money last year (see 2507280050). Bacon voted in June to approve the rescissions package that rolled back CPB's advance $1.1 billion in FY 2026 and FY 2027 funding after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other leaders committed to restore some of the money via the appropriations process (see 2506130025). Meanwhile, the lower chamber overwhelmingly voted to pass a minibus FY26 package (HR-6938) that includes funding for NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said at CES Thursday that making spectrum available for licensed and unlicensed use is critical to U.S. “geopolitical leadership.” When the U.S. frees up spectrum, "the world takes notice," he said, with jobs and innovators coming to the country and new devices and technology launching here first. “It’s really good for consumers.” Carr spoke during a fireside chat with Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro.

The FCC released a draft 6 GHz order and further NPRM Thursday, one of four items that Chairman Brendan Carr circulated Wednesday for votes at the Jan. 29 open meeting (see 2601070051). The FCC also released drafts of two orders that address foreign control of regulated entities and an NPRM that asks what, if anything, the FCC should do to ensure the continuation of IP relay service offerings that employ communications assistants.

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

States will surely get access to at least some non-deployment BEAD funds, though it's not clear what limits will be put on their use, said Fiber Broadband Association CEO Gary Bolton and Kathryn de Wit, director of the Pew Charitable Trust's broadband access initiative, during an FBA webinar Wednesday. Bolton said he's optimistic that the National Institute of Standards and Technology will accelerate its review and approval of states' final BEAD proposals, as NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth told him that the process "will go very, very quickly." NTIA and NIST didn't comment.