Kansas Broadband & Telecom News – August 2026
Broadview Networks, Inc. Changes Name To Broadview Networks, LLC
August 28, 2026 – Broadview Networks, Inc. has filed a letter notifying the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) that the company is changing its name to Broadview Networks, LLC. The letter requests that the KCC update its records to reflect the new name. Broadview has a Certificate Of Convenience And Authority to provide competitive local services and interexchange telecommunications services in Kansas. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 27-BRVC-0148-CCN.
Oklahoma Considering New Assessment Methodology For Oklahoma Universal Service Fund
August 28, 2026 – The Oklahoma Corporation Commission will consider moving to a new assessment methodology for the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund at a September 1, 2026 special meeting. The proceeding is “Case No. OSF2019-000316, Application of Brandy L. Wreath, Administrator of the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund, Seeking to Establish an Assessment Factor for the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund and Determine a New Assessment Methodology, for possible discussion and possible vote(s) on a proposed Final Order Closing Case, and/or any alterations, revisions, or amendments thereto proposed at the meeting.”
SKT, Inc. To Surrender Certificate Of Convenience And Authority To Provide CLEC Services In Kansas – Customers Being Transferred To Twin Valley Communications
August 18, 2026 – SKT, Inc. has filed an application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to surrender its Certificate Of Convenience And Authority (COC) to provide competitive local exchange services within the state of Kansas. SKT was granted a COC in 2005 to provide competitive local exchange services in Sprint/United Telephone Company exchange areas (Docket No. 95-2SKT-662-COC). Its COC was later amended to include the non-rural exchanges of AT&T Kansas (Docket 21-2SKT-197-COC). SKT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Twin Valley Management, Inc. As part of consolidation of operations, SKT’s customers are being transferred to Twin Valley Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Twin Valley Management, Inc. SKT states that its customers will incur no interruption of service, and notice of the transfer was provided to customers on or about August 1, 2026. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 27-2SKT-0136-CCS.
S&T Telephone Cooperative Revises General Exchange Tariff – No Longer Providing Printed Telephone Directory; Removing Discontinued Services
August 17, 2026 – S&T Telephone Cooperative Association has filed revisions to its General Exchange Tariff with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). S&T’s filing makes two changes to its tariff: (1) revising tariff language to state that the company is no longer providing a printed telephone directory; and (2) removing services which are no longer provided by the company. S&T states that the tariff revisions will have no effect on revenue. The company notified its customers of the change to printed directories in June 2026. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 27-S&TT-0135-TAR.
Evergy Asks Kansas Corporation Commission To Issue Protective Orders That Prohibit Disclosing Confidential Information To Unsecured Or Open AI Tools & Systems
August 16, 2026 – Evergy, the largest electric company in Kansas, has asked the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to amend the protective order the agency uses in most regulatory proceedings to prohibit parties, their counsel, and their consultants and agents from unauthorized disclosure of confidential information through unsecured or open generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, platforms, systems, or similar technology (AI Tools). Evergy made the request by filing motions to amend protective orders in a number of current KCC regulatory proceedings involving the company.
Evergy argues that the KCC’s “standard Protective Order does not address the use of AI Tools in processing information supplied in the course of a proceeding.” Evergy further argues that to foreclose potential disclosure of confidential information through AI Tools, the KCC should amend the existing Protective Order to restrict the use of open AI Tools with regard to confidential information, consistent with what Evergy has proposed in its motions. Among other things, Evergy makes the following arguments against the use of unsecured or open AI tools, platforms, systems, or similar technology:
Generative artificial intelligence programs that supply natural language answers to user prompts, such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, create novel risks to the security of confidential information. Prompting these AI Tools with confidential or business proprietary information creates a risk that the generative AI will “learn” from the prompt, which may result in the corporate owner of that AI Tool retaining access to the confidential information.
There is a lack of “reasonable expectation of confidentiality” in a party’s use of unsecured AI Tools because their “conversations with another publicly accessible AI platform” were “voluntarily disclosed.” Therefore, unsecured AI Tools challenge the “ability to protect confidential information and business proprietary information from access by unauthorized parties.”
The rapid proliferation of AI Tools has created substantial risk that confidential information in this proceeding may be inadvertently or improperly disclosed. Specifically, using unsecured or generative AI Tools to process, summarize, analyze, or draft confidential information, or to record or transcribe conversations in which confidential information is discussed, poses an irreversible disclosure risk. Once inputted into an open AI Tool, such information may be retained, used for AI model training, or otherwise distributed beyond the disclosing party’s control.
Evergy explains that it is amendable to the use of closed AI Tools, if certain certifications are provided. Evergy distinguishes unsecured or open AI Tools with closed AI Tools. The latter is described by Evergy as follows: “Closed AI Tools should not transmit, store, or retain any confidential information on servers or systems that are outside the receiving party’s exclusive control or use confidential information for the purpose of training, fine-tuning, or otherwise improving any model or algorithm.” Evergy explains that it “is amenable to parties’ use of closed AI Tools for processing of confidential information, provided the receiving party provides written certification to Evergy that describes the AI Tools that the receiving party is using and provides assurance that reasonable technical and organizational safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or use of the confidential information processed by the closed AI Tool.”
FCC Releases Section 706 Broadband Deployment Report
August 14, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the 2026 Section 706 Report (previously referred to as broadband progress report). Section 706(b) directs the FCC to annually inquire whether advanced telecommunications capability (broadband) is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. Ultimately, in the 2026 Report, the FCC finds that advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. Key findings in the 2026 Report include the following:
Broadband Availability: From June 2024 to June 2025, the number of Americans lacking access to 100/20 Mbps fixed terrestrial broadband service decreased by approximately 23%. Over a two-year period, this reduction was approximately 43%. Today, 96.9% of Americans have access to a fixed terrestrial broadband service at 100/20 Mbps.
Shrinking Digital Divide: Over a two-year period, the percentage of rural Americans lacking access to 100/20 Mbps fixed terrestrial broadband service decreased by over 44%. Further, with the inclusion of satellite, 100/20 Mbps rural broadband deployment is nearly universally available in rural areas.
5G Wireless Availability: The number of Americans lacking access to mobile 5G with a minimum speed of 35/3 Mbps declined by over 30% over a two-year period. Today, almost 95% of American homes and businesses are covered by 5G at 35/3 Mbps speeds.
Competition: As of June 2025, 77% of Americans have access to three or more fixed services at 100/20 Mbps, and 43.4% of Americans have access to three of more fixed terrestrial services at 100/20 Mbps.
Mergers & Acquisitions: IdeaTek Acquires Wave Wireless
August 13, 2026 – IdeaTek Telcom, LLC has announced that it has acquired Wave Wireless, LLC. Terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed. Wave Wireless was formed in 2004 as a wireless internet access provider. It provides service primarily in Labette County, and is headquartered in Parsons, Kansas. Wave Wireless was awarded a $495,765 grant and a $495,765 loan in 2023 under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service’s ReConnect Program. The funding was awarded to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises broadband network that will serve 228 people, six businesses, and 39 farms in Labette and Montgomery counties in Kansas.
IdeaTek primarily operates in Kansas, where it is authorized to provide local exchange and interexchange services and is designated as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier. It is also authorized to provide local exchange, interexchange, and interconnected VoIP services in Missouri. IdeaTek has been authorized by the FCC to receive Connect America Fund Phase II auction support and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I support.
Ideatek is directly, wholly owned by IdeaTek Holdings, which is directly wholly owned by Last Dance Intermediate III, LLC (LDI), a Delaware limited liability company and investment fund created for the purpose of purchasing Ideatek in March 2025. LDI is indirectly and wholly owned by Last Dance Holdings, L.P. (LDH), a Delaware limited partnership and investment fund. LDH is primarily owned and controlled by funds and entities affiliated with Oak Hill Capital Management and Pamlico Capital Management, which are private equity funds based in the United States.
FinCEN Permanently Ends Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements For U.S. Companies & Persons
August 11, 2026 – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a final rule that permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act. Beneficial ownership information refers to identifying information about the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company. FinCEN also has announced that under the final rule, it will delete previously reported information by U.S. persons from the beneficial ownership information database. Specifically, FinCEN is implementing a process to delete information about any individuals – company applicants, beneficial owners, or recipients of a FinCEN ID – that FinCEN reasonably believes was provided by a U.S. person (e.g., U.S. passport, U.S. driver’s license).
President Trump Nominates Danielle Thumann To Serve As FCC Commissioner
August 7, 2026 – President Trump has nominated Danielle Thumann to serve as a Federal Communications Commission Commissioner. If confirmed, Thumann would fill the seat previously held by Republican Nathan Simington, and serve for a term that will run through June 30, 2029. Danielle Thumann is currently a senior attorney in FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s office. Her confirmation would give Republicans a 3-1 majority at the FCC. Under the Communications Act, three members of the FCC constitute a quorum, and there can be no more than three members from the same political party.
KCC Extends Procedural Schedule For RLEC Intrastate Access Filings – Attachment 1 Due August 21, 2026
August 6, 2026 – The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has issued an order that extends the deadline for rural local exchange carriers’ (RLECs) to submit intrastate access revenue compliance filings in KCC Docket 26-GIMT-0461-GIT. Pursuant to the order, the entire procedural schedule has been extended as follows:
RLECS shall file Attachment 1 and interstate tariffs in this docket and provide an Excel copy of Attachment 1 to Staff by August 21, 2026;
Staff shall file its Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) by September 25, 2026;
Responses to the R&R shall be filed no later than October 9, 2026; and
The Commission order shall be filed no later than November 19, 2026, with new intrastate access rates effective July 1, 2027.
Crown Castle Fiber LLC Changes Name To Arium Networks LLC
August 4, 2026 – Crown Castle Fiber LLC has filed an application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to notify the KCC that the company has changed its name to Arium Networks LLC. Crown Castle Fiber requests that the KCC update its records, including amendment and reissuance of its Certificate of Convenience and Authority to reflect the addition of the new name Arium Networks LLC. The company is authorized to provide (1) interexchange telecommunication services pursuant to authority granted in Docket No. 19-CCFT-085-COC; and (2) resold and facilities-based local exchange telecommunications services pursuant to authority granted in Docket No. 19-CCFT-084-COC on October 23, 2018. The KCC Docket Number for Crown Castle Fiber’s name change proceeding is 27-CCFT-0126-CCN.
FCC To Conduct Auction For Upper C-Band Spectrum In 2027
August 1, 2026 – The FCC has announced it will hold a spectrum auction in 2027 for a 160-megahertz portion of the 3.98 – 4.2 GHz band (Upper C-Band) for next-generation wireless services. The auction will consist of 3,248 new flexible-use spectrum licenses throughout the contiguous United States. Winning bidders will be able to commence wireless services in the Upper C-Band starting in December 2030 for the top-75 markets in the U.S., and in any remaining markets starting July 2031. The 2027 auction and upper C-Band transition will ultimately result in a 440 megahertz contiguous block of spectrum for the provision of wireless services by combining the Lower C-Band (3.7-3.98 GHz) and now the Upper C-Band (3.98-4.14 GHz).
New Executive Director Of The Kansas Corporation Commission – Jesse Becker
August 1, 2026 – The new Executive Director of the Kansas Corporation Commission is Jesse Becker. Mr. Becker assumed the role of Executive Director in July 2026.
Kansas Corporation Commission Telecom Dockets Opened In August 2026
27-CCFT-0126-CCN – Application of Crown Castle Fiber LLC for an Amended and Reissued Certificate of Convenience and Authority to Reflect its Name Change to Arium Networks LLC.
27-S&TT-0135-TAR – S&T Telephone Coop Association Revisions to General Exchange Service Tariff.
27-2SKT-0136-CCS – Application of SKT, Inc., a Kansas Corporation, to Surrender its Certificate of Convenience to Provide Competitive Local Exchange Service within the State of Kansas.
27-BRVC-0148-CCN – Application of Broadview Networks, Inc. for a Name Change to Broadview Networks, LLC.
