Satellite operators and broadcasters want the FCC to phase in Space Bureau regulatory fee increases, expand the payor base and maintain COVID-19 pandemic regulatory fee relief measures, according to comments filed by Monday's deadline in docket 12-108. Satellite interests repeatedly warned of fee shock, particularly as the FCC proposes big jumps in fees to cover costs associated with last year’s creation of the bureau (see 2304110002). The agency should “maximize fairness in the payment process” by continuing “the availability of the extraordinary relief measures for financially distressed regulatees,” a joint filing from state broadcast associations said.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- State utility commissioners at the NARUC conference grappled Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court reversal of the Chevron doctrine. Loper Bright, “though not framed as a federalist decision," has "modest pro-state implications,” Wilkinson Barker’s Daniel Kahn said during a panel of telecom law experts. Earlier, an NTCA official told the NARUC Telecom Committee that his association plans to seek reconsideration of an FCC order on next-generation 911 if commissioners approve it at their Thursday meeting.

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., remain opposed to the Kids Online Safety Act, which is preventing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., from moving the bill by unanimous consent (see 2406200053).

CTA and other industry groups urged that the FCC look closely at concerns raised in initial comments about rules for implementing multilingual wireless emergency alerts (see 2406140051). Meanwhile, some state attorneys general oppose industry efforts at slowing the move to require multilingual alerts. Replies were posted through Monday in dockets 15-91 and 15-94 in response to a notice from the FCC Public Safety Bureau (see 2405130047). The notice proposed a 30-month deadline for implementing templates in English and 13 other languages, plus American Sign Language.

Many space operators continue assailing the FCC's idea of a 100 object-years cap, reply comments in docket 18-313 show. However, SpaceX remains a staunch defender of object-years. The object-years approach -- capping at 100 the number of years failed satellites in a constellation could remain in orbit -- also came under fire last month in the agency's orbital debris docket record refresh (see 2406280009). In addition, there remains a schism over the idea of adopting aggregate, system-wide collision risk metrics.

A draft order requiring that device-makers and MVPDs make closed-caption display settings easily accessible is expected to receive unanimous approval during FCC commissioners’ open meeting Thursday, agency officials told us. The final item is expected to change language from the draft version, resulting in the rules no longer applying to preinstalled apps. The order is based in part on a consensus proposal from NCTA and several consumer groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing. “We are in a very different place in terms of the consumer industry relationships now than we were decades ago," said Karen Peltz Strauss, a former FCC Consumer Bureau deputy chief who now represents the consumer groups in the proceeding. “There's a lot more communication, a lot more collaboration, coordination. We've seen a real seismic shift in being able to work with industry to get the access we need.”

Providers of incarcerated people's communications services criticized a draft FCC order proposing a reduction in the cap on rates providers may charge for audio or video communications. Most urged the commission to reconsider barring providers from recovering safety and security costs incurred for providing IPCS. Advocates welcomed the move and urged that the FCC continue examining other ways to increase access to communications services for incarcerated people. Commissioners will consider the item during their open meeting Thursday (see 2406270068). Comments were posted through Monday.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A California rulemaking on modernizing carrier of last resort rules could inspire similar proceedings elsewhere, state and industry officials signaled at the NARUC conference Monday. The California Public Utilities Commission last month opened a rulemaking that took a fresh look at COLR rules after rejecting regulatory relief for AT&T (see 2406200065).

The FCC said Friday it launched an investigation after AT&T revealed that a bad actor breached its network in April and accessed call and text records for nearly all its wireless customers from mid-2022 and for a single day in January 2023. The breach included calling data from customers of mobile virtual network operators using AT&T’s network. In an SEC filing, AT&T said that a suspect was apprehended.

The U.S. Supreme Court has opened the door for lower courts to clarify when the government can regulate the tech industry’s content moderation practices, legal experts said Friday.