Sometime in October 2025, expect the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to issue rules requiring that companies report cyber incidents and ransomware payments, Wiley's Sydney White said during the second part of an FCBA CLE on Thursday (see 2405090051). The rules are part of additional authority CISA received under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA). Numerous cyber incident-reporting requirements exist, so new requirements will add to companies' reporting burden, experts said.

Expect more Max bundling with other streaming services and partnering with telcos around the world, Warner Bros. Discovery executives said Thursday as the company announced Q1 2024 results. WBD and Disney this week unveiled a Disney+/Max/Hulu streaming bundle that will launch this summer.

A bipartisan bid aimed at attaching $6 billion in stopgap funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program and $3.08 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to the FAA reauthorization package appeared likely to fail Thursday amid opposition from Senate leaders (see 2405080047). Amendment co-sponsor Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, conceded in an interview Thursday he and other backers appear to lack the necessary votes to hold up consideration of the FAA package. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and amendment co-sponsor Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., separately confirmed to us that chamber leaders still resisted allowing a floor vote on the proposal because they view it as nongermane to the FAA package.

LTD Broadband asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Wednesday to overturn the FCC's denial of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase (RDOF) I auction long-form application. It filed a partially redacted petition (docket 24-1017). LTD was the largest RDOF winner, receiving an award of roughly $1.3 billion to deploy broadband to 528,088 locations across more than a dozen states (see 2012070039).

AI will play a large role in the telecom network of the future, but finding the right AI model and aligning it with the network will pose big challenges for carriers, experts said during a Senza Fili “Sparring Partners” webcast Thursday.

The California Public Utilities Commission set next steps for foster youth and broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) programs through two 4-0 votes at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. The vote on extending the CPUC’s current foster youth pilot program beyond July came after multiple delays as the agency and stakeholders considered how to ensure a seamless transition. And even with the first volume of California’s BEAD plan done, much work remains to achieve maximum broadband across the state, California commissioners said.

Challenges remain as companies implement a voluntary cyber-trust mark program based on National Institute of Standards and Technology criteria, speakers said during an FCBA CLE on Thursday. FCC commissioners approved the program 5-0 in March (see 2403180046), but the order has not appeared in the Federal Register and the program's timeline is unclear. The cyber mark label will appear on consumer IoT products with an accompanying QR code. It's comparable to the ENERGY STAR program, which certifies products as energy efficient.

The Universal Service Administrative Co. owes Data Research Corp. (DRC) $9.9 million, plus interest, for broadband services it provided more than 20 years ago to the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE) under the federal E-rate program, DRC's complaint Wednesday alleges (docket 3:24-cv-01211) in U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico in San Juan.

EchoStar's initial move into the postpaid wireless market "was rushed," as the company had spent a lot of focus on its wireless network infrastructure and not as much on its go-to-market strategy, CEO Hamid Akhavan said Wednesday as the company announced results for the quarter ending March 31. He said the prepaid and postpaid wireless businesses will do better in the second half of the year. Raising cash is one of its biggest objectives, given looming debt and lack of sufficient cash on hand, he said. EchoStar shares closed Wednesday at $15.44, down 11%.

Other nations are increasingly interested in regulatory alignment or reciprocity with the U.S. on space sustainability-related issues, leadership at Commerce's Office of Space Commerce told an FCBA audience Wednesday. But a murkier issue is who would handle that harmonization, OSC Director Richard DalBello said.