FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel visited Asheville, North Carolina, on Friday and met communications providers and emergency response officials in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Relief efforts at the FCC and communications companies continue, even as Florida is preparing for a second storm. “I saw firsthand how the public sector and private sector are working together to help with recovery,” said Rosenworcel in a news release Monday. “We must use [Hurricane Helene] to understand ways we can make this infrastructure more resilient and more accessible in the future.”

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and former Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley Smith disagreed with Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis Monday about the FCC’s authority to require disclosures on political ads created with generative AI. During a Federalist Society virtual discussion, Carr and Smith said the FCC was stepping onto the FEC’s turf and going beyond the intent of statutes giving the agency regulatory power on political ads. However, Lewis said the FCC effort would be complementary to FEC rules. “If we don't have these rules, it is critically important that those who are critical of them come up with solutions to solve this threat,” Lewis said.

Privacy and mental health advocates are largely supportive of the privacy protections in the 988 call georouting draft order, which is on the FCC's October meeting agenda (see 2409260047). An FCC official told us 5-0 approval is likely.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated on Friday for a commissioner vote rules that would expand parts of the 6 GHz band where new very-low power (VLP) devices can operate without coordination, beyond the initial 850 MHz commissioners approved last year (see 2310190054). When the FCC took comment earlier this year, Wi-Fi advocates and 6 GHz incumbents disagreed sharply on whether to expand VLP use of the band (see 2404290035).

Congressional Democratic leaders remain intent on attaching funding to restore the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program to a year-end legislative package (see 2409170066). Some lawmakers acknowledge the push faces long odds in what’s likely to be a fraught lame-duck session. Some ACP boosters believe Capitol Hill’s lame-duck dynamics could change depending on the outcome of the Nov. 5 election. GOP lawmakers aren’t enthusiastic about attaching ACP money to a legislative vehicle this year, in part citing their longstanding demand for a major overhaul of the program in conjunction with additional funding.

Possible harm to the public interest outweighs the presence of competition in a Connecticut market where Verizon seeks deregulation, the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) said in a proposed decision released Thursday. PURA plans to vote Oct. 16 on the draft, which would deny Verizon’s petition to reclassify its remaining services as competitive and retire the company’s alternative form of regulation plan.

Fixed wireless access isn’t beating fiber, the Fiber Broadband Association told the FCC in a new filing, responding to a recent CTIA report (see 2409230020). Meanwhile, during a webinar iconectiv released Thursday, speakers said all signs indicate the FWA market is taking off, with continued growth likely.

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. Lawsuits added since the last update are marked with an *.

DOJ said current laws are sufficient to prosecute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) crimes, including AI-generated deep fakes, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.

U.S. ISPs face a bigger cybersecurity threat today because nations representing that threat work together like never before, Wilkinson Barker’s Clete Johnson said Wednesday. Other experts said cybersecurity plans are rightly a requirement of receiving funding under the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.