Kansas Broadband News
SpaceX Wants FCC To Eliminate High Cost USF Support Programs
May 13, 2026 – SpaceX has filed an ex parte letter addressing the FCC’s forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Universal Service Fund (USF) High-Cost Program. The FCC is expected to approve and release the NPRM at its May 20 open meeting. SpaceX’s ex parte covers its meetings with advisors to the FCC Chairman and the two Commissioners, as well as the FCC’s Wireless Bureau. During those meetings, SpaceX discussed the draft version of the NPRM and recommended changes to certain parts that deal with satellite broadband service. SpaceX is the parent company of low-Earth orbit satellite broadband provider Starlink.
Notably, SpaceX claims that the FCC should establish a plan to sunset the USF High-Cost support mechanisms. SpaceX claims that universal broadband access has been achieved because of unsubsidized terrestrial broadband providers, low-Earth orbit satellite systems, and the BEAD program. SpaceX then goes on to talk about the improvements Starlink it has made to its service, such as increased speeds, reduced latency, and additional capacity of its satellite constellations. Finally, SpaceX provided redline changes to six paragraphs in the NPRM.
NTIA Issues Guidance Related To BEAD Subgrantee Award Contracts – BEAD Subgrantees: Protect Your Rights
May 11, 2026 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued guidance related to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Specifically, the guidance, titled “BEAD Subgrantees: Protect Your Rights,” informs BEAD subgrantees that their contracts with state broadband agencies must contain certain language mandated by the BEAD General Terms and Conditions. The required language is related to two topics: prohibition on utility-style rate regulation; and permitting commitments.
NTIA’s guidance informs subgrantees that “states are required to include specific contract language mandated by the BEAD General Terms and Conditions and may not omit, alter, or otherwise attempt to contract around such language in their subgrantee agreements.” NTIA further explains that subgrantees should confirm the required language is included, unaltered, in their award contracts, and should not sign agreements that omit or modify the provisions. Additional information on the required contract language is included in NTIA’s guidance document.
AccessLine Communications Corporation To Cancel Certificate Of Authority To Provide Interexchange Services In Kansas
May 7, 2026 – AccessLine Communications Corporation (ACC) has filed a letter notifying the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) that it is voluntarily requesting cancellation of its Certificate Of Convenience And Authority to provide interexchange services, with an effective date of May 21, 2026. ACC was issued a Certificate Of Convenience And Authority to provide interexchange services on February 1, 2005, in Docket No. 05-ALIC-462-COC. In support of its request, ACC has provided the following information:
The public convenience and necessity will not be adversely affected by the action described herein. ACC does not offer or provide any intrastate telecommunications services to Kansas customers pursuant to the above-referenced certificate, and therefore no customer’s services will be interrupted or disconnected.
The KCC typically does not allow a company to cancel a Certificate Of Convenience And Authority by filing a notice letter. Presumably, the KCC will inform ACC that it must file an application that adheres to the KCC’s requirements if ACC wants to cancel its IXC certificate. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 26-ALIC-0312-CCS.
Court Overturns FCC Digital Discrimination Rules
May 6, 2026 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued an opinion that overturns the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) digital discrimination rules. In short, the Court concluded that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority in two respects – disparate impact liability and the definition of covered entities.
In November 2023, the FCC adopted a Report And Order containing “final rules to prevent digital discrimination of access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin.” In general, the digital discrimination rules prohibited broadband providers’ policies or practices that (1) differentially impact consumers’ access to broadband internet access service based on their income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin, or (2) are intended to have such differential impact. In other words, the FCC adopted two theories of digital discrimination liability: disparate treatment and disparate impact. The scope of the rules also extended beyond broadband providers to entities that facilitate and otherwise affect consumer access to broadband internet access services.
Shortly after the digital discrimination rules were approved, petitions for review were filed by telecom and broadband industry associations in six U.S. Courts of Appeals, all of which sought to have them struck down, claiming the FCC exceeded its statutory authority; the rules are arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion; and the rules are otherwise contrary to law. The legal challenges were consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
That Court has now vacated the FCC’s digital discrimination rules. It found that Congress did not authorize disparate impact liability and the FCC exceeded its statutory authority in adopting a final rule authorizing the imposition of disparate impact liability. The Eighth Circuit also found that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority when it extended the final rule to cover entities other than broadband providers. While the rules have been vacated, the Court nonetheless remanded the issue back to the FCC because there is now “an unfinished obligation to ‘adopt final rules to facilitate equal access to broadband internet access service” in compliance with 47 U.S.C. § 1754.’”
Plains Internet Defaults On RDOF Support In Kansas, Fails To Meet Obligation To Serve Three Locations
May 1, 2026 – Plains Internet, LLC has notified the Federal Communications Commission that it will default on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations in Kansas (SAC 419049). Plains Internet was awarded $9,834.00 in RDOF support to serve three locations in Kansas with voice and gigabit broadband service. The three RDOF locations are located on the western edge of Hutchison, Kansas. Plains Internet has not deployed service to any of the three locations.
New Kansas Corporation Commission Telecom Dockets Opened In May 2026
26-ALIC-0312-CCS – Application of AccessLine Communications Corporation to Surrender its Certificate of Convenience to Provide Interexchange Telecommunication Services Within the State of Kansas.