Local Governments Draw a Line Against FCC Permit "Shot Clocks"

As the FCC moves toward its June 25 vote on the wireline permitting NPRM, a coalition of local-government groups—the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and NATOA—filed joint comments opposing the proposed 120-day shot clock for right-of-way applications. The groups argue the Commission lacks statutory authority and subject-matter expertise over local land use and permitting, calling the effort "heavy-handed federal regulatory overreach." The proposed rule would create a rebuttable presumption that a state or local government has effectively prohibited service if it fails to act within 120 days. This fight is the other side of the permitting-reform coin: the outcome will determine whether the months- and years-long approval delays that add cost to member projects actually shrink, or whether litigation over preemption keeps the timeline uncertain. NATE supports faster permitting. 

FCC's Trusty Calls Infrastructure Vandalism a National Security Crisis

At the 4th National Summit on Protecting Critical Communications Infrastructure in Philadelphia on June 4, FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty warned that copper theft and deliberate destruction of network infrastructure have escalated into a national security threat. She cited over 18,000 incidents in 2025, a 59% jump from 2024, averaging more than 1,500 per month, disrupting service for roughly 11.8 million customers. She added that increasingly organized actors are targeting fiber routes, cell towers, and backup power with enough precision to threaten 911 centers, hospitals, and military sites. Trusty urged Congress to pass H.R. 2784, the Stopping the Theft and Destruction of Broadband Act. Site security and infrastructure hardening are becoming part of the scope of work. Member crews are often the first to discover and repair the damage, making this a workforce and liability issue as much as a policy one.

AWS-3 Auction 113 Underway — Bidding Tops $94 Million

The FCC's Auction 113, the first FCC spectrum auction in four years, opened June 2 and has drawn roughly $94 million across its first eight rounds. Seventeen qualified bidders are competing for 200 AWS-3 licenses in the 1.7 and 2.1 GHz bands, including all three national carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile), Conundrum Wireless (tied to EchoStar/Dish), and SpaceX. The clock auction is still running. The bidding provides an early indication of the next build cycle: winning carriers will convert these lower-mid-band holdings into antenna swaps, radio installs, and densification work across hundreds of markets.

AT&T's Capex Surge and FirstNet Expansion Point to a Big 2026 Build

AT&T's $23–$24 billion 2026 capex outlook now nearly equals the combined spend of Verizon and T-Mobile, and the carrier says it will hire "thousands" of new technicians this year as part of a $250 billion, five-year commitment to 5G, fiber, and satellite. AT&T also reached a $2 billion agreement in principle with the Department of Commerce to expand and upgrade FirstNet. The FirstNet work alone represents hundreds of purpose-built sites in rural, tribal, and remote areas, Band 14 radio upgrades at thousands of existing sites, and core buildout.

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