Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., stopped short Tuesday of agreeing to a push from Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., for a full re-vetting of FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, after her re-selection to be the commission’s third Democrat (see 2301030060). Other Sohn supporters, meanwhile, hailed her renomination and urged the Senate not to unnecessarily delay advancing her. President Joe Biden first nominated Sohn to the FCC in October 2021 (see 2110260076), but her confirmation process never made it past the committee level. Senate Commerce tied 14-14 on advancing her in March (see 2203030070), leading to a monthslong stall.

USTelecom representatives met with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to support the FCC's 2020 order on unbundled network elements rules and oppose a petition by Sonic Telecom seeking reconsideration (see 2210170079). “The Commission correctly recognized that in light of the passage of time and changed marketplace conditions, it should reexamine its unbundling requirements,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-308. The FCC “applied the law faithfully by evaluating what unbundling requirements are appropriate in the modern marketplace based on the impairment standard and by forbearing where the statutory test was satisfied,” USTelecom said, noting it “advocated for forbearing from all unbundling obligations, but negotiated a compromise” with Incompas and “nearly every interested competitive LEC and incumbent LEC in this docket.” The commission “has a long history of relying on negotiated agreements,” the group said.

Incompas asked the FCC to implement "a series of targeted reforms" to its pole attachment rules. The commission should establish a "presumption that pole owners receive a direct benefit when a pole replacement is required to accommodate a new attachment," the group said in separate meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks, per an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 17-84. Incompas also backed Crown Castle's proposed "alternative cost allocation methodology," which would account for the "direct benefit that pole owners receive from a pole replacement," and additional transparency requirements for pole replacement negotiations (see 2208290047).

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s Senate supporters face what’s likely to be an even more compressed timeline to confirm her during the busy lame-duck session because the chamber will probably need to delay any push until after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election between Commerce Committee Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker, said panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others in interviews. Cantwell and other Sohn supporters believe the nominee’s confirmation prospects improved significantly because Democrats at least cemented a 50-50 tie in the chamber following the midterm election, but opponents continue to insist confirmation isn't a certainty. Some Sohn supporters also acknowledge continued Democratic Senate control means there’s no longer the same urgency to press for approving her this year (see 2209130065).

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed to us this week they intend to stay in their respective roles in the 118th Congress. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said during a Thursday webinar he believes there will be relative continuity in the House and Senate Commerce panels’ leadership. That continuity contrasted with top-level turnover in House Democratic leadership after Thursday announcements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland that they will step down from top party roles after this Congress.

Industry asked the FCC to place more emphasis on proper attestation levels when calls are authenticated, in reply comments posted Monday in docket 17-97 (see 2210040061). The FCC sought comments on caller ID authentication obligations under the Traced Act and the efficacy of Stir/Shaken for its first triennial assessment. Some companies said Stir/Shaken should be implemented on all portions of a provider's network, and sought additional oversight of carriers transmitting unsigned calls.

5G for 12 GHz Coalition leaders told reporters Thursday they still expect the FCC to act soon on changing the rules for the 12.2-12.7 band to allow two-way use for 5G. The officials hope the FCC will also soon approve a grant of special temporary authority allowing real-world tests. They noted the coalition now includes 38 companies and organizations.

The FCC should act now to ensure the Universal Service Fund remains sustainable once programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are fully implemented, panelists said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Some disagreed about whether the FCC should expand the contribution base to include broadband internet access service (BIAS) or wait for Congressional action.

Industry and state regulators disagreed on whether the FCC should grant Midcontinent's petition for declaratory ruling on rules for obtaining local interconnection. Reply comments were posted Monday in docket 22-277 (see 2207200050). Midcontinent asked the FCC to affirm that, under its Time Warner and CRC Communications rulings, that any telecom carrier is "entitled to interconnection for the purpose of providing wholesale local interconnection services."

National industry groups plan monthly webinars for states about the NTIA’s broadband equity, access and development (BEAD) program starting next week, the Fiber Broadband Association said Wednesday. The hosting associations are ACA Connects, the Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, FBA, Incompas, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, NCTA, NTCA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association. The first 30-minute webinar is on supply chain and will be Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. “Our primary goal is to make it as easy and efficient as possible to navigate through the BEAD program’s requirements and potential deployment challenges,” the associations said.