The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Fiber, coaxial cable, fixed wireless access and satellite all meet the 100 millisecond latency requirement in June's BEAD rules restructuring, but they start to differentiate when it comes to other BEAD requirements, Rysavy Research said this week. Rysavy said FWA and satellite don't readily address the 100/20 Mbps throughput requirement. SpaceX data on its Starlink service's uplink performance shows that in every state, Starlink had a range of uplink throughputs in which the lower value fell below the required 20 Mbps speed, it said. Rysavy said some quoted uplink throughput rates for FWA services fall below the required 20 Mbps threshold, though 5G network providers could meet the required threshold via outdoor antennas instead of indoor customer equipment, densifying networks and deploying additional spectrum. It said fiber and coax "offer considerable flexibility" regarding the BEAD requirement of easily scaling speeds over time. It said FWA providers can scale bandwidth through such steps as more spectrum use and deployment of better antenna systems. It questioned how easily satellite operators can scale, given the expense of satellites and their limited operational lifetimes. Rysavy said fiber and 5G-based services "clearly meet" the BEAD requirement of supporting 5G and successor wireless technologies, but called satellite "a poor choice ... due to its limited capacity and throughput rates."
The number of unserved and underserved broadband locations in the U.S. has dropped 65% over the past 31 months, according to New York Law School's Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute. ACLP said Tuesday that states' BEAD maps -- which have been updated over the past six weeks, as NTIA directed -- show a 14% drop in eligible locations. The latest maps reflect updated FCC data, including newly served locations, Rural Deployment Opportunity Fund defaults, the addition of unlicensed fixed wireless service, and additional enforceable commitments from other funding programs. There are now about 4.2 million eligible unserved and underserved locations, ACLP said. Eligible locations dropped by about 663,000 since states released post-BEAD challenge data, a 14% decrease. The total number of eligible unserved and underserved locations has fallen by about 7.7 million since December 2022, when BEAD funding was allocated.
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and 21 other Democratic lawmakers told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday that they have “deep concerns” about NTIA’s updated policy notice for the $42.5 billion BEAD program, which reversed much of what the Biden administration developed in the initiative’s initial rules (see 2506060052). NTIA said Monday it had approved updated BEAD plans for all 56 states and territories, setting up a Sept. 4 deadline for governments to submit a final proposal with the results of at least one round of a mandated “Benefit of the Bargain” subgrantee section process (see 2507210061).
FCC commissioners are expected to approve, with a few tweaks, an NPRM designed to help major providers more easily retire aging copper networks. Industry officials said Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez appears likely to dissent on the item at Thursday’s open meeting. Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld told us Tuesday that the group has major concerns with proposals in the draft.
The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 budget bill, which the subpanel planned to mark up Monday evening, would maintain the FCC’s annual funding level and bar the agency from using money to enforce certain policies that originated during the Biden administration and have been in Republicans’ crosshairs.
The proposed AI moratorium could “absolutely” be reintroduced in some form, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us last week.
The Senate voted 50-34 Thursday to invoke cloture on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, setting the stage for her likely confirmation next week. The vote divided largely along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to back Roth, as expected (see 2507160076). All Senate Commerce Democrats except Fetterman voted against advancing Roth in April amid frustrations about the Trump administration's plan for administering NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program (see 2504090037). President Donald Trump nominated Roth in February (see 2502040056).
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Wednesday that votes are possible this week on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth but said the chamber’s schedule remains in flux. Thune filed cloture on Roth Tuesday night, putting her on track for confirmation before the August recess, as expected (see 2505290053). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and lobbyists told us they expect the chamber to hold at least the initial cloture vote before the chamber leaves for the weekend. “I hope and believe it'll be this week,” Cruz said. The cloture motion on Roth ripens Thursday.
The Senate voted 50-34 Thursday to invoke cloture on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, setting the stage for her confirmation next week. The vote divided largely along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to back Roth, as expected. All Senate Commerce Democrats except Fetterman voted against advancing Roth in April amid frustrations about the Trump administration's plan for administering NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. President Donald Trump nominated Roth in February.