Federal Communications Commission

News Summary:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on June 25, seeking to explore preemption of state and local management of broadband permitting timelines and fees, a move favored by telecom industry groups. Earlier on June 26, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) filed a lawsuit against the FCC in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenging the Commission's new rules for expediting copper network shutdowns. The CPUC argues these rules constitute an overreach, violate federal law, and conflict with notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements. The FCC also took several other actions on June 26. Its Office of Inspector General (OIG) began implementing a broader, data-driven approach to oversight, increasing scrutiny and compliance risks for funding recipients through advanced analytics and cross-program risk indicators, as outlined in its 2026-2027 Work Plan. Simultaneously, the Commission voted to strengthen oversight of undersea submarine cables, blocking Chinese firms from selling related products and enabling swift approvals for qualifying U.S.-headquartered tech firms. This followed the conclusion of the AWS-3 spectrum auction on June 23-24, which raised approximately $3.5–$3.6 billion. A significant portion of these proceeds will fund the "rip and replace" program to remove Chinese telecom equipment like Huawei and ZTE from U.S. networks, directly linking spectrum policy to national security objectives.