Federal agency
Appears in 16 stories · Last updated Nov 11, 2026
Cleared the constellation and the direct-to-cell service
AST SpaceMobile has 13 of its large BlueBird satellites in orbit and says it expects initial, intermittent coverage in the United States, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Britain by the end of 2026. The Texas company now aims to have about 45 satellites in orbit by mid-2027, later than its earlier target of the end of this year.
Updated 10 hours ago
Reviewing the SpaceX-Grain and SpaceX-EchoStar transfers; Chairman Carr said the market should decide
SpaceX agreed to buy nationwide 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management for about $8 billion, and it is buying EchoStar's wireless licenses in a deal that has grown to roughly $20 billion. The airwaves let Starlink Mobile reach phones on the ground, including indoors.
Updated 2 days ago
Was scheduled to vote on October 29; outcome not reported
The Department of Homeland Security has ordered all US civilian federal agencies to remove DeepSeek products from their systems, including third-party tools built with the Chinese company's AI models. The order, signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on July 24, also blocks agencies from buying DeepSeek services.
Updated Nov 2
Defending the Universal Service Fund; considering appeal options
A federal appeals court ruled October 15 that the FCC broke federal law by creating the private nonprofit that runs the $9 billion Universal Service Fund. The Fifth Circuit threw out the fund's contribution rate for the fourth quarter of 2025, 38.1%, and sent the case back to the agency.
Updated Oct 25
Won Supreme Court stay Oct. 14; application for review still pending
The Supreme Court let political parties and joint fundraising committees keep discounted TV and radio ad rates through the Nov. 3 midterms. A 7-2 unsigned ruling on Oct. 14 stayed a Fourth Circuit order that had given the Federal Communications Commission 48 hours to decide a Democratic challenge.
Updated Oct 23
Reviewing SpaceX's million-satellite orbital data center application
SpaceX is now a profitable public company. Third-quarter results reported October 20 showed $4.4 billion in net income on $14.6 billion in revenue, up 161% from a year earlier.
As of October 2026: Rulemaking agency for the equipment authorization program
The FCC's national security rules just moved from finished devices to the chips inside them. Starting October 13, 2026, any device containing a logic-bearing hardware component made by a company on its Covered List, such as Huawei, loses eligibility for FCC authorization regardless of who assembled the final product.
Updated Oct 6
As of October 2026: Approved the foreign equity investment via Media Bureau ruling
The Federal Communications Commission approved a plan that lets the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar hold nearly half the equity of the company that owns CBS and is buying Warner Bros. Discovery. The investors receive only non-voting shares; the Ellison family keeps full voting control.
Updated Oct 3
As of August 2026: Defendant; calls Disney's lawsuit meritless and says the review continues
A federal agency can pull the license a TV station needs to broadcast. On August 18, ABC, its parent Walt Disney, and eight ABC-owned stations sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stop it from using that power against them.
Updated Aug 19
As of May 2026: Setting rules that determine whether direct-to-cell becomes mainstream or chaotic
SpaceX hit 50 dedicated Starlink launches before June 2026, roughly one every four days. The constellation has 10.3 million subscribers across 160 countries, 10,191 active satellites, and $10.6 billion in 2025 revenue. Starlink is SpaceX's only profitable division and the central asset in its pending Nasdaq IPO.
Updated May 31
As of May 2026: Approved the merger via bureau-level action, waiving the 39% ownership cap
For two decades, federal law has barred any single company from owning television stations that reach more than 39% of American households. On March 20, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) waived that rule for the first time, clearing Nexstar Media Group's $6.2 billion acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna. The combined company now owns 265 stations in 44 states, reaching roughly 80% of U.S. TV households — more than double the legal cap.
Updated May 30
As of May 2026: Implementing foreign drone restrictions via Covered List
For nearly a decade, Chinese drone manufacturer DJI dominated the U.S. drone market with 70 to 90 percent share, used by hobbyists, farmers, real estate agents, and 90 percent of first responders with drone programs. On December 23, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission added all foreign-made drones and critical components to its Covered List, blocking any new models from receiving the equipment authorization required for U.S. sale.
Updated May 26
As of May 2026: Reviewing license transfer
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday morning carrying replacement satellites Globalstar needs to keep its mobile network alive. The same launch ticks off one of the conditions Amazon set before paying about $10.7 billion to buy the company.
Updated May 17
As of May 2026: Regulator enforcing Kuiper/Leo deployment milestones and spectrum/operations conditions
At 3:28 a.m. ET on December 16, ULA lit an Atlas V and pushed 27 Amazon Leo broadband satellites into orbit. It's another clean launch in a campaign that's starting to look like a metronome: stack satellites, light rocket, repeat.
Updated May 15
As of May 2026: Rule-writer and enforcer pushing robocall mitigation from voluntary tools to mandatory blocking
The FCC's robocall fight just hit the part where the referees stop warning and start pulling players off the field. As of December 15, 2025, U.S. voice providers are required to block calls that claim to originate from numbers that should never place outbound calls.
As of March 2026: Defending foreign drone ban in federal court
DJI controls roughly 77% of the American consumer drone market. On December 22, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blocked all new foreign-made drones from receiving the radio-frequency authorization required for legal US sale.
Updated Mar 26
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