INCOMPAS News -- November 17, 2025

Vol. 21, No. 44

November 17, 2025

FCC Provides Guidance on Reopening, Deadline Extensions

The FCC issued a public notice providing guidance on its reopening and information on the extension of filing deadlines after a partial lapse in federal government funding.

The FCC said staff will work with parties and bring a flexible approach to resolve and address issues that arise with an influx of new filings and requests.

The FCC also extended deadlines for all filings that would have been due between October 1, 2025, and November 17, 2025. The deadline for all such filings is now extended at least until November 18, 2025. The FCC said it will issue further guidance prior to November18 to provide additional flexibility on filing deadlines for certain specific systems, matters and programs.

Additionally, the FCC asked that until such further guidance is issued, parties limit filings and submissions except where immediate authority is needed and refrain from submitting filings seeking additional relief from filing deadlines for the time being.

House Subcommittee to Mark-Up Railroad Legislation, Other Bills

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced that the subcommittee will markup of 28 bills to streamline broadband permitting during a hearing tomorrow, November 18, at 10:15 a.m.

This hearing is the result of the legislative meeting held in September where INCOMPAS Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Policy Staci Pies testified in support of the package, particularly the Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act, which INCOMPAS has worked closely on with Congressional leaders. The RAIL bill will streamline deployments by putting a shot clock on the permitting process and ensuring the railroads can’t charge exorbitant fees unrelated to the deployment.

Learn more about the markup here.

Senate Plans FCC Oversight Hearing for December 17

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee announced that it will hold a hearing on oversight of the Federal Communications Commission on December 17. Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty will testify.

NTIA Announces Reforms, Future Funding for Tribal Broadband

The NTIA announced that it is working on reforms across its tribal broadband programs to reduce red tape for tribal governments, promote flexibility and align NTIA’s grant opportunities to better serve tribal connectivity.

These reforms are designed to streamline the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and the native entity set aside from the Digital Equity Act through a new notice of funding opportunity to support tribal broadband access.

The NTIA intends to launch the NOFO in spring 2026 and will make available any remaining tribal broadband funding (estimated to be at least $500 million). The agency added that it will continue to award equitable distribution grants, but all further infrastructure and use and adoption grants will be awarded under the Trump administration’s new rules.

Additionally, the NTIA said it will soon announce a formal tribal consultation to allow tribal governments to provide input on the next funding round. To date, NTIA has made 275 awards, totaling $2.2 billion with TBCP funding.

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