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FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for October 2025 Open Meeting
Agenda
Adoption
Spectrum/Wireless
Resilience
AI/Social Media/Platforms
Stories From Abroad
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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, 2025:
- Space Modernization for the 21st Century – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose overhauling the Commission’s rules for licensing space and earth stations to increase speed, predictability, and flexibility in order to support the American space economy. The Notice would propose replacing part 25 with a new rule part—part 100—that would create a “licensing assembly line” to process applications. (SB Docket No. 25-306)
- Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that solicits comment on a variety of ways to encourage more intensive use of spectrum bands above 24 GHz that are shared between the terrestrial Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) and the Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS). (SB Docket No. 25-305)
- Protecting Against National Security Threats through the Equipment Authorization Program – The FCC will consider a Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to take the next important steps in modifying our equipment authorization program to protect our networks and communications supply chain against national security threats. (ET Docket No. 21-232)
- Fifth Next Gen TV Further Notice – The FCC will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on steps to support and accelerate the nation’s ongoing voluntary, market-based broadcast television transition to Next Gen TV by removing regulatory obstacles and giving flexibility to broadcasters. (GN Docket No. 16-142)
- IP Interconnection – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would examine the interconnection requirements imposed on incumbent local exchange carriers, and seek comment on ways the Commission can facilitate a successful transition to all-IP interconnection for voice services while retaining critical oversight in areas of public safety and consumer protection. (WC Docket Nos. 25-304, 25-208, 17-97)
- Empowering Broadband Consumers Through Transparency – The FCC will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to eliminate certain broadband label requirements and seek comment on other ways to streamline the broadband label rules to reduce compliance burdens while preserving their consumer benefit. (CG Docket No. 22-2)
- Improving Verification and Presentation of Caller Identification Information – The FCC will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Public Notice that would propose to give consumers accurate caller name and other information to help them better understand who is calling and whether to answer the call; propose to simplify, streamline, or eliminate outdated robocalls requirements; and provide notice that the Commission intends to dismiss certain older petitions for reconsideration and applications for review related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. (CG Docket Nos. 17-59, 02-278, 25-307; WC Docket No. 17-97)
- Incarcerated Persons Calling Services – The FCC will consider a Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would establish new interim audio and video IPCS rate caps and correctional facilities rate additives for correctional facility cost recovery, and seek comment on establishing permanent rate caps, permanent rate additives, and continued prohibitions on site commissions and separate ancillary service charges. (WC Docket Nos. 23-62, 12-375)
- Deleting Obsolete and Duplicative Wireless Rules – The FCC will consider as part of the In re: Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding a Direct Final Rule that would move to delete approximately 400 primarily wireless-related rules and requirements that have sunset by operation of law; govern an expired event; regulate an obsolete technology; are no longer used in practice by the FCC or licensees; or are otherwise duplicative, outdated, or unnecessary. These rules pertain to a wide variety of now-defunct topics including regulatory reporting requirements, technology that is no longer used, and dates pertaining to transition plans, cost-sharing obligations, pilot programs, equipment requirements, and registration procedures that have long ago passed. (GN Docket No. 25-133)
The number of older adults who lack wireline broadband access at home has fallen from 22 million in 2018 (42 percent) to 19 million (32 percent) in 2023. The gap is closing, but it has not closed. Older adults have seen modest increases in ownership of large-screen computers (desktops and laptops), from 70 percent in 2018 to 73 percent in 2023, with a slightly larger increase from 60 percent to 67 percent for those over age 75. Some states have done better work than others in reducing age-based disparity of wireline access, controlling for other factors. Generally speaking, low-income older adults in southern states have the lowest wireline and cellular data adoption rates and constitute the population at greatest risk of being disconnected from vital digital services. Cellular connectivity, including high-speed 5G services, increased by 17 percent among older adults between 2018 and 2023, providing coverage to 7 million additional older adults. Some states that are lagging in wireline broadband access show some of the highest rates of cellular data plan enrollment by seniors, reflecting efforts to close the connectivity gap by whatever means are readily available. Policies enacted since 2021, including the American Rescue Plan Act (March 2021) and the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (November 2021) targeted funds to increasing connectivity nationwide, but inconsistent implementation has yielded patchwork results.
NDIA and Public Knowledge Submitted Recommendations to NTIA About 2025 Internet Use Survey Questions
National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Public Knowledge (PK) submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) about the questions for the 2025 Internet Use Survey:
- Continue collecting data via the survey and increase its accessibility. We emphasized that the survey is an essential source of national internet usage data for the NTIA’s policy recommendations and mission. We also recommended that the NTIA retain in-person and telephone interviews as primary data collection methods to mitigate bias.
- Revise questions to better understand the barriers to broadband adoption and use. We recommend revising the questions to allow respondents to select multiple reasons for not having home internet. Additionally, we recommend removing the option of “don’t need it or not interested,” as cost is often a primary barrier.
- Retain and add questions to better understand reliability, affordability, and adoption. We recommended retaining and revising questions from the 2023 survey concerning device accessibility, reliability of internet services (including outages), and understanding changing internet uses like artificial intelligence, public safety, and digital accessibility.
The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) recently filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission in which the lobbyist implored the FCC to avoid auctioning spectrum from the CBRS band, citing the spectrum's importance to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, among other concerns. WISPA's letter comes in response to the FCC's mandate, via President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) passed in July, to free up and auction 800MHz of spectrum within two years. The language of the law has some in the industry worried about the future of CBRS spectrum, used by fixed-wireless access (FWA) providers among others, as well as 6GHz, which is primarily used for Wi-Fi technologies. "While the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminates the possibility of auctioning of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band (and, presumably, relocation of non-Federal spectrum to that band), WISPA understands that the [FCC] is tasked with consulting with [the National Telecommunications and Information Administration] on identifying 800 megahertz of spectrum – 300 megahertz of which is not specifically confined to Federal spectrum – for high-power, licensed commercial operations. That spectrum should not come from CBRS," wrote WISPA Vice President of Policy Louis Peraertz to the FCC.
What Gigs is doing looks a lot like a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) because the company enables what we’ve come to know as MVNOs, or mobile virtual network operators that use the facilities-based carriers’ networks to deliver mobile service under their own brands (think SmartLess Wireless or Trump Mobile). But Gigs doesn’t want to be called an MVNE because it does so much more than that – kind of an MVNE on steroids. igs takes care of all the licensing, tax provisioning and associated tasks that are typically the responsibilities of the MVNO/MVNE. It’s partnering with fintech brands like Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later service that already serves millions of users. Klarna’s deal with Gigs allows it to sell unlimited 5G data, talk and text plans to its customers for $40/month – all within the Klarna app. Gigs made headlines when it announced a deal with AT&T to redefine how AT&T delivers connectivity to consumers. It’s a deviation from the usual MVNO relationship in a lot of ways, one of which is AT&T is not hiding the fact that it’s the network powering the services enabled by Gigs.
Network outages used to be contained problems—a cell tower lost power, customers in that area lost service, and technicians restored connectivity within hours. The digital environment has since changed dramatically, with failures now spreading quickly across interconnected systems that society depends on. The root cause lies in digital transformation itself. Organizations have gained tremendous capabilities through cloud services, managed providers, and interconnected networks, but they’ve also created new vulnerabilities. A single software update can now ripple through thousands of companies. A power outage in one region can disable mobile networks across multiple countries. Supply chain dependencies stretch across continents, making it nearly impossible for any single organization to control all the factors that affect their service reliability. Network resilience has shifted from an operational concern to a strategic necessity, as its absence poses systemic risks to entire economies. Recent major outages reveal the true nature of network vulnerabilities.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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