As the FCC moves forward on revised copper retirement and other rule changes (see 2507240048), AT&T is quickly retiring parts of its network, said Jeremy Legg, chief technology officer for AT&T Services, at a KeyBanc financial conference Monday.

Consumers’ Research and its allies objected Friday to the proposed USF contribution factor for Q4, citing unanswered questions from the group’s unsuccessful challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court in late June. The factor is projected to increase from 36% in Q3 to 39.3% in Q4, based on the latest projections from the Universal Service Administrative Co. (see 2508040049).

States received BEAD applications from providers of a wide range of technologies during the "Benefit of the Bargain" application round, according to initial data that some states released (see 2506060052). NTIA required all eligible entities to conduct a new round of applications so previously excluded providers could submit proposals for the $42.5 billion program.

The Environmental Health Trust (EHT) petitioned the FCC asking it to act on a 2021 remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit of the agency’s 2019 RF safety rules (see 2108130073). The petition was posted Thursday in docket 13-84.

As states race to meet NTIA's Sept. 4 deadline to submit their revised final BEAD plans under the agency's new rules, the future of the program's non-deployment funding is in “uncharted territory,” wrote CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson in a blog Wednesday. Dawson raised questions about whether NTIA can ignore Congress’ directive to spend the full $42.5 billion on both broadband infrastructure and non-deployment initiatives (see 2507300011). Although NTIA didn't definitively eliminate non-deployment uses for BEAD funding, Dawson noted that some in the industry believe the agency might “kill all non-deployment funds as a way to take credit for ‘returning’ money to Treasury,” while others remain hopeful NTIA will allow certain projects. He warned that the shift could also lead to “significantly less BEAD funding for fiber and more for satellite and fixed wireless broadband” after the agency removed its fiber-first preference. "It’s one thing for the White House to issue executive orders that countermand Congressional spending," Dawson wrote: "It’s a whole lot fuzzier if an agency like NTIA can directly ignore Congress."

Former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel joins the MIT Media Lab as executive director, effective mid-September … Space services firm Spire Global names Quintin Jones, formerly Joint Chiefs of Staff, vice president and head of North America … Wireless broadband supplier Inseego names Lawrence Hau, ex-Vantiva, as chief supply chain officer, and Zack Kowalski, formerly Kajeet, as senior vice president of business development, new positions.

Shentel promotes Edward McKay to president and CEO, replacing Christopher French, who becomes executive chairman of the board, effective Sept. 1 … Southern Linc names Adam Emrich, ex-Georgia Power, vice president of customer solutions and sales.

Skydance Media understands that content is "king," Paramount Global Chairwoman Shari Redstone said Thursday as the company announced its Q2 financial results. Paramount's final quarterly earnings call was largely a victory lap after the market's close, with company executives thanking their teams, shareholders and one another. Skydance's purchase of Paramount is expected to close Thursday (see 2507280007). Redstone said Skydance is taking over a healthy Paramount -- something that wasn't a necessarily the expectation a year ago, given woes in linear programming. Revenue for the quarter was $6.8 billion, up 1% year over year.

AI-driven growth in fiber capacity points to a clear need "to rapidly expand both route miles and fiber miles to meet the new needs," the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and consultancy RVA said in a white paper Thursday. They forecast that roughly double the route miles of fiber will be needed by 2029, from 95,000 today to 187,000, and more than double the fiber miles, from 159 million last year to 373 million by 2029. "Meeting this need will be far from easy," the FBA and RVA said, adding that it will require such steps as permitting relief, as well as fiber and power providers collaborating on joint easements.

Trade groups are urging federal agencies to treat deliberate damage to communications networks, such as fiber-optic cable cuts, as domestic terrorism in some instances and increase investigative and enforcement resources in regions with more incidents. Widespread, organized attacks on communications networks represent "a significant and rapidly growing threat demanding urgent, coordinated federal, state, and local action," the groups said in a letter Wednesday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel.