Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington delivered remarks at the ACA Connects 2025 Summit, where he discussed the priorities of the FCC under the new administration. Commissioner Simington, a Republican, said the FCC is “grappling with some problems right now that were left unaddressed for the last few years.” He added that he personally was “unhappy with some directions [the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program] took in the last administration.” Simington said that the FCC under the new administration was focused on practical solutions and getting things done.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says he hopes to bring a resolution to the Senate to repeal the funding of Internet hot spots from the E-Rate Program, which is part of the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund. The original support for funding hot spots came from a July 2024 vote of the FCC under then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to allow the E-Rate program to pay for hot spots.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has cagily created a new and coercive technique for operating outside the agency’s established statutes and procedures to attack corporate decisions he and Donald Trump do not like. That technique is to use its powers—or the threat thereof—to micromanage the activities of companies without needing to follow the niceties of commission votes and judicial review.

A broadband company promised to bring high-speed internet to many Michigan residents and businesses and then left them in the lurch. In 2024, Kansas-based Mercury Broadband defaulted on federal grant obligations and relinquished more than 60,000 locations across the state, said Eric Frederick, who heads the Michigan High Speed Internet Office. Mercury will not be completing the vast majority of the internet buildout projects.

Reps Bob Latta (R-OH-5) and Robin Kelly (D-IL-2) reintroduced the 

Brendan Carr, newly minted chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has been plenty busy making his mark in the telecommunications regulatory landscape. Here's a look at the most notable events that have transpired during Carr's first 30 days—and what we can expect in the months to come:

NRECA is urging the Trump administration to update federal broadband policies and programs to better support rural America’s access to high-speed internet and strengthen the economy, public safety, health and education. In letters to several new Trump administration officials—Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr—NRECA outlined how the federal government can empower co-ops to provide rural broadband by reforming key programs, regulations and funding mechanisms.

Small wireless carriers are asking the Federal Communications Commission to delay the implementation of the 5G Fund for Rural America. This new funding mechanism was approved by the FCC in August 2024 and is aimed at improving rural 5G coverage.

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved proposed rules to bring unused 5G-grade spectrum to market by taking the first step to reauction advanced wireless service (AWS)-3 spectrum licenses in the agency’s inventory. To lay the groundwork for this reauction, the FCC’s proposed rules would update the AWS-3 service rules to reflect legislative and regulatory developments since the spectrum was originally auctioned in 2014.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced the appointment of Bradley Craigmyle as Deputy General Counsel of the FCC. Craigmyle will serve as the FCC’s Deputy General Counsel for litigation. He joins the FCC from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of General Counsel, where he served as Associate General Counsel and managed the office’s high-priority and high-profile litigation.