FCC commissioners on Tuesday approved 3-0 a Further NPRM seeking comment on whether correctional facilities should be allowed to jam cell signals, with an eye on curbing contraband phones. Commissioners also approved notices seeking comment on revamped wireless and wireline infrastructure rules and a direct final rule deleting other wireline rules.

Comcast promotes President Michael Cavanagh to co-CEO, joining co-CEO and Chairman Brian Roberts, effective January; Cavanagh also joins board … New Street names David Barden, formerly Bank of America, as partner and leader of its North America Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure research team, replacing Jonathan Chaplin, who joins Comcast as executive vice president of strategy and investments for the Connectivity & Platforms division … Northrim Horizon acquires ACG Systems, naming Thomas Montalbano, ex-McKinsey, as CEO of that wireless tech provider, a newly created position … University of Colorado Law School’s Silicon Flatirons names Matt Schmit, formerly Illinois Department of Commerce, as executive director, replacing Brad Bernthal.

The Benefit of the Bargain (BoB) version of BEAD is shaping up to be "a tremendous success," with state plans to date coming in $15 billion under what they were allocated, NTIA head Arielle Roth said Monday. Speaking at SCTE's TechExpo event in Washington, Roth said NTIA is also pressing states in some cases to submit cheaper final proposals.

Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast planned to cease preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! and air the show on their ABC affiliates Friday night, said news releases Friday afternoon. A source familiar with the situation told us that Disney made no editorial or content concessions prior to the announcements.

FCC items reversing its off-premises hot spot and school bus Wi-Fi programs, which were approved during the Biden administration, are expected to be approved 2-1 Tuesday, with a dissent from Commissioner Anna Gomez, agency and industry officials told us. Officials active in the proceeding warned that for the school bus program in particular, it’s unclear what will happen to projects already funded under the E-rate program.

Upcoming FCC action to undo its July 2024 order allowing E-rate recipients to use funding for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots is a clear sign that House leaders have lost interest in advancing a Senate-passed Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) against that order, supporters and opponents told us. The FCC is likely to approve next week two proposals to cancel both the off-premises hot spot order and another to fund Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2509030064). The House Commerce Committee's Republican leaders still haven't taken a position on S.J.Res. 7, which the Senate passed more than four months ago. Supporters argue that moving the CRA measure would prevent a future majority-Democratic FCC from resurrecting the Wi-Fi rules for schools and libraries in their current form.

NextNav names Tim Gray, formerly Anterix, CFO, replacing Chris Gates, who becomes executive vice president of corporate development … Verizon adds Merissa Velez, ex-FCC Space Bureau, as director of international spectrum policy and regulatory counsel ... Mediacom promotes Fuad Alnajjar to group vice president of business engineering; Pradeep Kanda to group vice president of network security; Belinda Maldonado to group vice president of human resources; Joseph Michulski to group vice president of corporate finance; Ruben Martino to vice president of finance; and Manvinder Singh to vice president of data warehouse.

President Donald Trump threatened ABC again Tuesday, the same night that host Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves in most markets and two days after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr denied attempting to intimidate the network. “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this,” Trump said in a post Tuesday night on Truth Social. “Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.” Trump has threatened ABC and other networks repeatedly for years (see 2410100050).

Iowa broadband officials and providers are facing pressure from NTIA to make additional cuts to BEAD program subgrants in the state's revised final plan. An email sent to some providers that preliminarily won funding directed them to renegotiate costs for certain projects that the agency deemed to be too costly, Community Broadband Action Network (CBAN) Executive Director Curtis Dean told us.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s comments pressuring ABC and broadcast companies to cease airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! were condemned by lawmakers and some conservative publications and groups over the weekend, including the Cato Institute, the National Review and the Free State Foundation. In a Concordia Summit Q&A on Monday, Carr said Kimmel’s show being taken off the air -- just hours after he publicly warned of possible FCC action against ABC and urged broadcasters to preempt it -- was “a business decision” and “not because of anything that’s happening at the federal level.”