News Update – Broadband & Telecom – February 2026
FCC Seeking Comment On Sports Broadcasting Practices And Marketplace Developments
February 25, 2026 – The FCC’s Media Bureau has issued a Public Notice requesting comment on the current and emerging trends in the distribution of live sports programming. Comments are due on or before March 27, 2026. Reply comments are due April 13, 2026. In the opening paragraph of the Public Notice, the Media Bureau provides the following description of the current landscape for watching live sports:
For decades, Americans have enjoyed turning on their television sets and quickly finding the games they wanted to watch for free on an over-the-air broadcast. Yet watching your favorite sports team play is not as easy these days. Many games are still available for free over broadcast TV, but there has been a surge in recent years of games going behind the paywalls of various streaming services. While this can increase the number of games and sports available to fans, many consumers today find it more difficult to find the events they want to watch and are now paying to sign up for one or more video distribution platforms that consumers can find difficult to navigate.
Among other things, the Media Bureau is seeking comment on the following questions:
How does the present marketplace benefit or harm consumers? With respect to the sports media marketplace, how have recent developments in the marketplace affected the ability of broadcasters to obtain media rights to sports programming? How have changes in the marketplace impacted costs to consumers?
How does the recent trends towards fragmentation facilitate or inhibit the ability of local broadcast television stations to meet their public interest obligations, including their production of local news and reporting?
In what ways is the marketplace continuing to evolve and how will future changes impact consumer access to free over-the-air news and information, including public safety information?
How prevalent are sports media rights deals between local TV broadcasters and local sports teams and what are their terms and conditions?
How have changes in the marketplace affected viewers’ ability to watch nationally televised live sports, as well as their local team(s), on broadcast TV? What type of rights (e.g. exclusive, simulcast, replay) are included in agreements between leagues or conferences and national video programming distributors?
CISA Announces Virtual Town Hall Meetings On Cyber Incident Reporting For Critical Infrastructure Act Of 2022 (CIRCIA) Rulemaking
February 13, 2026 – The U.S. Department Of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has announced it will hold a series of virtual town hall meetings to gather stakeholder input on the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA) rulemaking. Registration is required to attend each town hall meeting. Interested parties may register at www.cisa.gov/circia.
CISA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement CIRCIA in April 2024. Among other things, the law requires covered entities in the critical infrastructure sector to report covered cyber incidents and ransom payments to CISA within prescribed timeframes.
The series of CIRCIA town hall meetings will begin on March 9, 2026, and each meeting is tentatively scheduled to take 2 hours. The start and end times, as well as any changes or updates to dates, locations, or start and end times for the town hall meetings will be posted on www.cisa.gov/circia and communicated via email to registered attendees. CISA has announced the following virtual town hall meetings that are scheduled to be held on the following dates:
Chemical Sector; Water and Wastewater Sector; Dams Sector; Energy Sector; and Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector – March 9, 2026 – Virtual
Commercial Facilities Sector; Critical Manufacturing Sector; and Food and Agriculture Sector – March 12, 2026 – Virtual
Emergency Services Sector, Government Facilities Sector, Healthcare and Public Health Sector – March 17, 2026 – Virtual
Communications Sector; Transportation Systems Sector; and Financial Services Sector – March 18, 2026 – Virtual
Defense Industrial Base Sector and Information Technology Sector – March 19, 2026 – Virtual
General Town Hall Meeting – Session 1: March 31, 2026 – Virtual
General Town Hall Meeting – Session 2: April 2, 2026 – Virtual
Annual CPNI Certification Filings Due March 2, 2026
February 11, 2026 – The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has released an Enforcement Advisory to remind telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers of their obligation to file their annual certification of compliance with the FCC’s Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules by March 2, 2026. The FCC’s CPNI rules require carriers and interconnected VoIP providers to, among other things: (1) obtain customers’ approval to use, disclose, or permit access to their CPNI for marketing or other purposes; (2) notify customers of their right to restrict the use of their CPNI; (3) take reasonable measures to discover and protect against attempts to gain unauthorized access to CPNI; (4) notify law enforcement and affected customers of a breach of CPNI. All companies subject to the FCC’s CPNI rules must file an annual certification, on or before March 1, documenting their compliance with the rules, and documenting any complaints or problems. The Enforcement Bureau’s Enforcement Advisory contains a list of frequently asked questions, a CPNI certification template, and the text of the FCC’s CPNI rules.
FCC Reminds Robocall Mitigation Database Filers Of Increased Penalties For Submitting False Or Inaccurate Information
February 6, 2026 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has issued a Public Notice to remind Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) filers of changes to the base forfeiture amounts that apply only to RMD filers for submitting false or inaccurate information to the RMD and failing to update their RMD filings within 10 business days, as required by the FCC’s rules. These new base forfeiture amounts were adopted in the December 30, 2024, Robocall Mitigation Database Report and Order, and became effective on February 5, 2026. The Bureau’s Public Notice summarizes the changes as follows:
Specifically, the Robocall Mitigation Database Report and Order amended “Table 1 to Paragraph (b)(11)—Base Amounts for Section 503 Forfeitures” in section 1.80 of the Commission rules to: (1) add an increased base forfeiture amount of $10,000 for each violation for filers that submit false or inaccurate information into the RMD; and (2) add an increased base forfeiture amount of $1,000 for failure to update information in the RMD within 10 business days for information that has changed as required by the Commission’s rules. The amendment also provided that these violations continue until cured, meaning that forfeitures for submission of false or inaccurate information into the RMD or failure to update information in the RMD would be assessed on a daily basis up to the statutory maximum for continuing violations. These forfeiture changes only apply to violations related to filings in the RMD.
Meta & Corning Announce $6 Billion Multi-Year Partnership – Corning To Supply Fiber Optic Cables For Meta Data Center Infrastructure
February 1, 2026 – Corning Incorporated and Meta Platforms, Inc. have announced a multiyear, up to $6 billion agreement to accelerate the buildout of the most advanced data centers in the United States to support Meta’s apps, technologies, and AI ambitions. Under the agreement, Corning will supply Meta with its newest innovations in optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions. To support this, Corning will expand manufacturing capabilities across its operations in North Carolina – including a significant capacity expansion at its optical cable manufacturing facility in Hickory where Meta will serve as the anchor customer.
