A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit pressed LTD Broadband Tuesday on its challenge of the FCC's denial of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application (see 2405090056). Judges during oral argument questioned LTD and the FCC on the standard of review applied to the ISP compared with other RDOF applicants, as well as the potential impact on rural broadband access in the areas where LTD won bids.

The group behind recent FCC complaints against CBS and ABC over their news coverage filed an equal time complaint against NBC and its station WNBC New York Monday over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ weekend appearance on Saturday Night Live (see 2411040057). The complaint from the Center for American Rights echoes points first raised by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and calls for “a substantial fine” against NBC. “Broadcasters cannot abuse their licenses by airing what amounts to a free commercial promoting one candidate the weekend before the presidential election,” said CAR President Daniel Suhr in a news release. FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington backed the complaint Monday, saying “I urge Commission leadership to take these credible allegations seriously,” but multiple broadcast attorneys told us NBC appears to have satisfied the FCC’s rules.

Altice USA and WideOpenWest (WOW) took Q3 hits to their broadband subscriber numbers from the June end of the affordable connectivity program, though both would have lost subscribers regardless of ACP, the companies said. Announcing results after the market's close Monday, WOW said it expected Q3 to mark the end of its ACP-related losses. Last week, Comcast and Charter said that if not for ACP losses, their Q3 broadband subscriber numbers would have been in the black (see 2410310013 and 2411010006).

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency hasn’t detected “national-level,” foreign interference campaigns targeting the presidential election, a senior CISA official told reporters Tuesday.

Rural and high-cost areas throughout Alaska remain "some of the hardest and most costly to serve in the country," the FCC acknowledged in a Monday order establishing the Alaska Connect Fund (ACF), complementing the 2016 Alaska Plan (see 2410150048). The order will take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. Also adopted on Monday was a Further NPRM seeking comment on implementation of the fund.

The future success of the wireless industry depends on having a single standard worldwide for mobile communications, Adrian Scrase, former chief technology officer at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, said Tuesday during an RCR Wireless industrial 5G forum. Multiple standards are “just not tenable if we’re to have economic success,” said Scarse, now a consultant for the Global Mobile Suppliers Association.

The outcome of Tuesday's Senate elections could scramble Senate Commerce Committee Republicans’ leadership structure given the competitive contest between ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Colin Allred, his Democratic challenger. Four other panel members also face tough or competitive reelection fights (see 2411040051). Democratic leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees indicated they intend to stay in those roles in the upcoming 119th Congress regardless of the election’s outcome.

A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court on Monday gave little indication how it would rule as its three judges heard arguments on overturning the agency's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040). Maurine and Matthew Molak of Texas brought the case, arguing that the ruling went beyond the commission’s authority to act under the Communications Act.

The Tuesday congressional elections could lead to significant turnover on the Senate Commerce Committee even beyond ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with four other panel members facing tough or potentially competitive reelection fights. The outcome of Cruz’s reelection bid against Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, has the biggest potential to alter the Senate Commerce dynamic because Cruz is poised to become panel chairman if he's reelected and Republicans gain a majority in the upper chamber (see 2411040049). Late polls suggested both of these results are more likely than not. It's less likely there will be substantial turnover on the Senate Judiciary, House Commerce and House Judiciary committees, as only a handful of those panels’ members face competitive contests.

GPS spoofing and jamming, already at record levels, will only get worse, experts said Monday at a Hudson Institute event in Washington. Numerous available routes could ameliorate the problem, but there has been a lack of political and policy will, speakers said. FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington called for the agency to use its statutory authority to tackle spoofing and jamming.