At its September 30, 2026 Open Meeting, the Commission took action on several issues of interest. Please note the following:
The Commission adopted a Report and Order (R&O) and Further Notice of proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) to overhaul the Commission’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules while asserting the reforms embodied in the rule changes will result in significant savings and efficiencies over the next decade. The reforms in the R&O will clarify and limit the scope of Commission actions subject to environmental review and expedite the review process. The R&O codifies the statutory definition of major Federal action (MFA) in the Commission’s rules and confirms that the Commission’s NEPA requirements apply only to activities determined to constitute Commission MFAs. Further, the R&O clarifies that certain spectrum authorizations do not constitute MFAs to the extent that the deployments do not require antenna structure registration. In addition, actions associated with space-based operations, including the launch, deployment, and operation of space stations are also not MFAs. The R&O also includes additional reforms to streamline other aspects of the Commission’s NEPA rules, including those related to environmental assessments and environmental impact statements. The FNPRM seeks additional comment on the Commission’s National Historic Preservation Act framework including how the Commission’s licensing of spectrum can trigger the requirement for a federal historic review and further seeks comment on potential changes to the Commission’s historic preservation rules to improve efficiency.
The Commission adopted a R&O and FNPRM related to its rules and regulations regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The R&O cites the various measures that have been taken by the Commission to protect consumers from illegal robocalls. However, the R&O acknowledges that many lawful robocalls provide important, time-sensitive information such as medical appointment reminders or fraud alerts that consumers want to receive and the right to grant and revoke consent to receive such calls is critical to empowering consumers to decide which calls they wish to receive. The R&O modernizes the TCPA to ensure that consumers have easily accessible ways to revoke consent while streamlining callers’ ability to process revocation requests. The changes resulting from the R&O will allow callers to interpret a revocation request as applying only to the specific category of informational robocalls to which the revocation was directed, and not all robocalls for which consent was given. In addition, callers will be allowed to designate an exclusive means to revoke consent. Further, the R&O modifies the exemption from the consent requirement for financial institutions to allow them to more easily alert customers to fraudulent activity. The FNPRM seeks comment on updating various TCPA related rules including the timeframe for callers to honor revocation requests and requiring two-way texting functionality to allow for revocation via reply text and the treatment of affiliates.
The Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding Modernizing the 911 Framework. The NOI initiates a comprehensive examination of the Commission’s 911 framework. The NOI invites stakeholders to consider how new technologies and services could reshape 911 and to provide input on how the Commission can best adapt its approach to meet public safety and consumer expectations in the future. The NOI aims to examine the core objectives of the 911 framework and how these objectives can be applied to the next generation of technology. In addition, the NOI looks to explore modernizing the Commission’s decades-old “911 scope” analysis used to determine whether new technologies and services should be subject to the Commission’s 911 framework. Finally, the NOI seeks input regarding harmonizing 911 requirements across traditionally separate service categories and to how the Commission’s legal authority to regulate 911 applies in the evolving modern communications ecosystem.
We will continue to follow these proceedings and will provide updates as Comments and Reply Comments are filed.
