The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued a significant Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) decision in Steidinger, et al. v. Blackstone Medical Services, holding that text messages are not “telephone calls” for purposes of the private right of action contained in Section 227(c)(5) of the TCPA. The case involved plaintiffs
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Fabric Challenge Deadline is September 1; FCC Provides Guidance on Ongoing Compliance for RDOF Carriers
The FCC has released a Public Notice reminding Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) carriers that the deadline for filing challenges to the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) to be considered for inclusion in the December 2026 Fabric revision is September 1, 2026. Additional information about the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) is available here, and
FCC Form 499-Q Filings due August 3
All intrastate, interstate, and international providers of telecommunications services (including VoIP providers) within the United States, with limited exceptions, are required to file FCC Form 499-Q online with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) by August 1 each year, reporting revenue information from April 1 through June 30, and projections for October 1 through December 31 of
Rip-and-Replace Spending Reports due August 10
The FCC has released a Public Notice reminding recipients in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (Rip-and-Replace Program) to file their next spending report by Monday, August 10, 2026. Reimbursement Program participants must submit their spending reports through the Supply Chain Reimbursement Program Online Portal by completing FCC Form 5640 Part L: Spending Reports. A
September Deadline Set for Delayed Cyber Incident Reporting Rules
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) set a new deadline of September to publish long-delayed rules to implement a cyber incident reporting law. Rules to implement the 2022 Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) were due by October 4, 2025, but were delayed in part due to significant stakeholder criticism regarding scope
Fastwyre Transaction Approved After Voluntary Commitment to Eliminate Overlapping Broadband Subsidiaries
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has granted a domestic section 214 application filed by American Broadband Holding Company’s (American Broadband dba Fastwyre) and CSM Intermediate II, LLC (CSM Intermediate) (together, the Applicants), requesting Commission consent to transfer control of American Broadband’s wholly owned subsidiaries, including Cameron Communications, Cameron Telephone, Elizabeth Telephone, Moundville Telephone, and
FCC Releases New Version of Alaska Connect Fund Eligible Areas Map
The FCC has published the final version of the Initial Eligible-Areas (EA) Map, v.1.3, for the Alaska Connect Fund (ACF), establishing the geographic areas that will qualify for mobile universal service support when the ACF replaces the Alaska Plan on January 1, 2027. Providers must rely on this map when creating their initial ACF
FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for July Open Meeting
The FCC released a tentative agenda and draft items for the upcoming July Open Commission Meeting, which will be held at the FCC and streamed online on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, from 10:30am – 12:30pm EDT. The FCC plans to consider the following five items:
- A Report and Order, Order of Proposed Modification, and Order
FCC to Hold Two-Day Workshop on IP-Transition in July
On July 15 and July 16, 2026, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau will host a two-day workshop for industry stakeholders discussing the FCC’s proposals to transition carriers from legacy voice to all-Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The workshop will cover a range of topics on the all-IP transition initiative, with presentations from key FCC staff and
T-Mobile/Sprint Urge SCOTUS to Vacate FCC Data Breach Fines
T-Mobile and its Sprint subsidiary filed Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court, urging the Court to vacate the FCC’s data breach forfeiture violations against them and remand the case in light of the Court’s recent AT&T decision about FCC authority to issue fines. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for