Sapulpa, Oklahoma, unlawfully denied Verizon’s application for two permits to build and operate a 175-foot cell tower, alleged the carrier's Telecommunications Act complaint Monday (docket 4:24-cv-00192) in U.S. District Court for Northern Oklahoma in Tulsa.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied AT&T’s March 5 motion for reversal of the district court’s decision finding summary judgment in favor of Lane County, Oregon (see 2402190001), said Circuit Judges Mark Bennett, Ryan Nelson and Eric Miller in an order Friday (docket 24-855). The denial is without prejudice to AT&T’s raising the arguments in its opening brief, which is due May 24, said the order. Lane County’s answering brief is due June 24, and AT&T’s optional reply brief is due within 21 days after service of the answering brief, said the order. The carrier contends that the district court wrongly found it was obligated to appeal the county’s denial of its cell tower application to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeal. The district court ruled that AT&T failed to exhaust its administrative remedies and granted summary judgment for Lane County “without having to reach the merits of either party’s summary judgment arguments” about the county’s decision in denying the cell tower.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's president told the U.S. trade representative that customs brokers and others in the trade community aren't "pro forced-labor, pro-pollution, pro-unsustainable environmental practices," but that too often, "‘race to the top’ objectives do not take into consideration the ability to actually implement the policies, and the costs associated with the goals."

The anticipated end of the Affordable Connectivity Program will bring big competition among broadband internet access service providers for low-income subscribers, according to telecommunications and wireless industry analysts. Multiple BIAS providers are already rolling out new low-cost offerings or pledging to temporarily subsidize ACP subscribers as they seek to capture or keep them. More providers will follow suit, we're told. With the last of its funding, ACP will provide a $14 reimbursement in May rather than the usual $30 (see 2404100082).

Forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok is the right move and will withstand legal challenges, Senate Democrats and Republicans told us Tuesday as the chamber cleared the first procedural hurdle in approving the provision in the FY 2024 national security appropriations supplemental package (see 2404220049 and 2404190042).

T-Mobile’s 2020 Sprint buy “fundamentally changed the structure of the retail wireless market,” causing reduced competition and higher prices, said the seven AT&T and Verizon customer plaintiffs who seek to vacate the transaction on antitrust grounds. Their answering brief Thursday (docket 24-8013) in the 7th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court opposes T-Mobile’s petition for interlocutory review to reverse the district court’s denial of its motion to dismiss their T-Mobile/Sprint challenge for lack of antitrust standing (see 2404090059).

The FCC approved Thursday waiver requests from 11 additional parties seeking permission to launch early deployments of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band. The FCC has yet to finalize rules for C-V2X in the band -- an item pending since November 2020, when the commission approved an order opening 45 MHz of the band for Wi-Fi, while allocating 30 MHz C-V2X technology (see 2011180043).

The Ukraine High Anti-Corruption Court on April 10 upheld the Ministry of Justice's bid to impose sanctions and confiscate the assets of former Minister of Education and Science Dmytro Tabachnyk, according to an unofficial translation. The court noted that Tabachnyk is in the "temporarily occupied territories" and helps support the creation and functioning of the occupying administrations. The Ukrainian government sought to confiscate five land plots, a residential building, half a share of an apartment and monetary assets from the former minister. Ukraine's enforcement of its sanctions regime takes the form of asset freezes, the seizure of property and criminal sanctions, according to a blog post from global law firm Baker McKenzie. Ukraine passed legislation last year allowing for the "expropriation of property of" sanctioned parties.

The Ukraine High Anti-Corruption Court on April 10 upheld the Ministry of Justice's bid to impose sanctions and confiscate the assets of former Minister of Education and Science Dmytro Tabachnyk, according to an unofficial translation. The court noted that Tabachnyk is in the "temporarily occupied territories" and helps support the creation and functioning of the occupying administrations. The Ukrainian government sought to confiscate five land plots, a residential building, half a share of an apartment and monetary assets from the former minister. Ukraine's enforcement of its sanctions regime takes the form of asset freezes, the seizure of property and criminal sanctions, according to a blog post from global law firm Baker McKenzie. Ukraine passed legislation last year allowing for the "expropriation of property of" sanctioned parties.

The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition (ARCC) offered its perspective to the FCC Wireless Bureau on performance testing for the mobility portion of the Alaska Connect Fund required under FCC rules. ARCC said the filing follows up on a meeting with bureau staff March 14 (see 2403180022). “As the Bureau is aware, the extensive geography and rugged terrain served by ARCC wireless members, including both off-the-road network areas as well as many areas with environmentally sensitive tundra, require creativity and flexibility on the part of the testing carrier,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-208. “This challenge is complicated by areas with inaccessible federal land holdings that still must be tested under the Commission’s protocols.” ARCC noted that drive testing by Copper Valley under the plan’s rules cost the carrier more than $100,000.