Following the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) authority to administer the Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund), a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress are taking tangible steps towards potential USF reform. In an effort to evaluate and propose potential reforms to the…
Articles Posted in Telecommunications
From Space to Spectrum: The FCC’s August 2025 Open Meeting Rundown
On Thursday, August 7, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) held its monthly Open Meeting, where it considered items spanning several industries, including broadcasting, satellite communications, and public safety, among others. The expansive agenda reflected the Commission’s full court press on agency-wide regulatory streamlining, system modernization, and expansion of…
Circuit Split No More: US Supreme Court Upholds FCC Universal Service Fund Authority
Schools, hospitals, and libraries in poor and rural areas and millions of low-income American consumers can breathe a sigh of relief: they will continue to receive uninterrupted service subsidies through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund). On June 27, 2025, the US Supreme Court issued…
FCC Enforcement Monitor June 2025
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: CB Radio Operator’s Transmission of Indecipherable Sound Effects Leads to $25,000 Fine Low Power FM Radio Licensee Enters Consent…
FCC Enforcement Monitor April 2025
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Virginia Sheriff and FCC Determine Public Safety Interference Caused by Handheld Radio Unauthorized Operation by Puerto Rico AM Station…
FCC Enforcement Monitor February 2025
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Seven-Figure Fine Proposed for Robocaller Targeting FCC Staff FCC’s Enforcement Bureau Issues Payola Warning to Broadcasters California Noncommercial TV…
FCC Enforcement Monitor September 2024
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Massachusetts Man Ordered to Cease Using Interfering Home TV Antenna Unauthorized Transfers of Arkansas Radio Stations Lead to $8,000…
FCC Enforcement Monitor July 2024
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published the FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Failure to Pay Annual Regulatory Fees Trips Up Texas AM Radio Licensee Communications Provider for Deaf and Hard of…
FCC’s Universal Service Fund Found Unconstitutional by Fifth Circuit
On July 24, 2024, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released a decision in Consumers’ Research et al. v. FCC holding that the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (“USF”) contribution mechanism violates Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution and remanded…
FCC Releases Draft NPRM Considering Broader Regulation of AI-Generated Robocalls
Chairwoman Rosenworcel announced on July 16 that the Commission is considering adoption of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on proposals to regulate AI-generated robocalls. The draft NPRM, released this afternoon, is the outgrowth of a November 2023 Notice of Inquiry and follows several recent FCC actions intended…