Telecommunications

  • July 31, 2024

    Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Launches And Submarines

    The U.S. Space Force paid billions of dollars in July to SpaceX and United Launch Services LLC for national security launches, while the U.S. General Services Administration hired Deloitte Consulting LLP to consult on the nation's efforts to field next-generation nuclear submarines. ​​​​Here, Law360 looks at some of the most noteworthy government contracts over the last month.

  • July 31, 2024

    Include Satellites In Broadband Updates, SpaceX Tells FCC

    SpaceX urged the Federal Communications Commission to include provisions for gateway earth station satellite hubs like its own in proposed regulations to expand broadband access within certain spectrum bands, telling the regulator that doing so would be a "win-win-win" for stakeholders.

  • July 31, 2024

    Telecom Trespassing On Reservation Land, Oregon Tribes Say

    Lumen Technologies Inc. is trespassing on territory that belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and has been for years, according to a lawsuit accusing the telecom of continuing to operate on an expired lease instead of striking a new deal for miles of laid fiber.

  • July 31, 2024

    GOP Senate Bill To Bar FCC's AI Disclosure Rule Blocked

    A Republican effort in the U.S. Senate aiming to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from requiring broadcasters to disclose the use of artificial intelligence in political ads lost traction at the committee level Wednesday.

  • July 30, 2024

    11th Circ. Upholds Geofence Warrant In Carjacking Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday rejected a convicted carjacker's attempt to quash a geofence warrant that allowed law enforcement to obtain information from cellphones within a certain geographic area, finding that the man lacked standing to challenge a search that revealed no information from his own electronic device. 

  • July 30, 2024

    Pa. House Majority Leader Fights Robocall Suit At 3rd Circ.

    The Democratic majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Third Circuit to undo a ruling that his automated calls informing constituents about government programs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 30, 2024

    Judge Asks Dish If Circuits Truly Split On Data Breach Claims

    A Colorado federal judge on Tuesday pressed Dish Network Corp. and a group of current and former Dish employees who are suing the company in a putative class action about a ransomware attack last year to address whether there is a split among federal circuits on what allegations are needed to support claims in data breach cases.

  • July 30, 2024

    SEC Ruling Calls For FCC Revamp, Ex-Agency Lawyer Says

    Although the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that civil defendants must be allowed jury trials to contest government fines was focused on securities law, the ruling will also upend the Federal Communications Commission's in-house enforcement and require new legislation, warns an appellate lawyer and former FCC attorney.

  • July 30, 2024

    Prosecutors Say Bribery Ruling Won't Disrupt Madigan Trial

    Prosecutors accusing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of corruption said Monday night his case is unaffected by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling limiting the reach of a bribery statute that once criminalized gratuities, saying the government's allegations do not rely on gratuities, so "this dog will not hunt."

  • July 30, 2024

    Sens. Look To Break Down Federal Barriers To Broadband

    Three senators think they have the solution for speeding up the broadband permitting process in the form of a bill that they say will cut red tape and ensure applications are dealt with within the nine-month window the federal government has to do so.

  • July 30, 2024

    Senate Sends Kids' Online Safety, Privacy Bills To House

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday easily approved a pair of bipartisan bills claiming to put more responsibility on social media platforms to ensure children's safety online and enhance data privacy protections for teens, although one of the proposals continues to face First Amendment opposition from consumer advocates as the measures move to the House.

  • July 30, 2024

    Low-Power TV Stations Seek More Latitude From FCC

    Low-power television stations believe it's time for the Federal Communications Commission to allow them to start operating at higher levels of power as long as they remain in their service contours.

  • July 30, 2024

    Hytera Radio Redesign 'Infected' With Stolen IP, Motorola Says

    Hytera Communications should be held in contempt for shirking royalty obligations on its latest line of digital mobile radio products because evidence shows the company's entire redesign process was "infected" with stolen trade secrets, Motorola Solutions argued Monday.

  • July 30, 2024

    PTAB Scraps 4 Patents At Heart Of $12M Google Trial Loss

    A Texas app developer fighting Google over its calling patents has suffered a series of blows at the patent board after judges there ruled that language in most of those patents were not very new, putting a $12 million jury verdict for the app-maker in jeopardy.

  • July 30, 2024

    Justices Urged To Certify Class Over Firm's Illegal Faxes

    A Georgia-based recruiting agency is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a Fourth Circuit ruling that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's fax machine definition is limited to standalone fax machines and does not include online fax services, saying the January decision creates a circuit split that needs settling.

  • July 29, 2024

    8th Circ. Tosses 'Windfall' $79M Legal Fee In T-Mobile Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Monday threw out a $78.7 million attorney fee award for plaintiffs' attorneys who negotiated a $350 million settlement with T-Mobile over a massive data breach in 2021, saying the award amounts to a "windfall" for class counsel.

  • July 29, 2024

    Comcast Reaches Deal To Bring Bally Sports Back To Xfinity

    Comcast has reached an agreement with the bankrupt owner of Bally Sports to again distribute its regional sports networks to Xfinity TV customers, according to an announcement made Monday.

  • July 29, 2024

    NIST Lays Out 200+ Ways To Tackle Generative AI Risks

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology has recommended hundreds of actions that can be taken to address issues of data privacy, intellectual property, environmental impact and more raised by generative artificial intelligence.

  • July 29, 2024

    Making Broadcasters File Disaster Reports Not Wise, FCC Told

    Broadcasters say it's a bad idea for the Federal Communications Commission to force them to start reporting disaster-related outages to the agency like other communications companies are required to because it would distract them from reporting about whatever disaster is happening.

  • July 29, 2024

    Albright Grants Verizon, T-Mobile Wins Over VoIP-Pal

    A sealed ruling from U.S. District Judge Alan Albright on Monday might have put an end to patent lawsuits facing Verizon and T-Mobile that were, at one point, potentially worth over $5 billion.

  • July 29, 2024

    Pole Owners Must Pay Half Of Upgrades, Advocacy Org. Says

    School and library advocates are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to follow Canada's lead in mandating that utility pole owners cover half the cost of upgrades for broadband equipment, saying that because both pole owners and broadband equipment attachers benefit from upgrades, they should share in the costs.

  • July 29, 2024

    Charter Pays $15M To End FCC's Network Outage Probe

    Charter has agreed to shell out $15 million and create a novel cybersecurity program meant to resolve issues raised during a Federal Communications Commission probe of major network outages affecting 911 service, the FCC said Monday.

  • July 29, 2024

    DirecTV Calls Bundled Service Exemption For Fee Regs Unfair

    If the Federal Communication Commission decides to exclude bundled services from new rules it plans to put in place banning cable and satellite providers from charging early termination fees, satellite providers will be the only ones actually bound by the rules, DirecTV has told the agency.

  • July 29, 2024

    Tenn. Republican Seeks To Block Net Neutrality In Senate

    Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is trying to gut the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules, mirroring an ongoing effort by House Republicans.

  • July 29, 2024

    Senate To Vote On Bills To Protect Kids Online

    The Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on a package of two major bipartisan bills to protect children online that could represent a watershed moment in technology regulation.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.

  • How AI Cos. Can Cope With Shifting Copyright Landscape

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    In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, recent legal disputes have focused on the utilization of copyrighted material to train algorithms, meaning companies should be aware of fair use implications and possible licensing solutions for AI users, say Michael Hobbs and Justin Tilghman at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • The Effects Of New 10-Year Limitation On Key Sanctions Laws

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    Recently enacted emergency appropriations legislation, doubling the statute of limitations for civil and criminal economic sanctions violations, has significant implications for internal records retention, corporate transaction due diligence and government investigations, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • Compliance Considerations For New Data Protection Law

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    Sam Castic at Hintze Law discusses how to determine if your organization is covered by the newly enacted Protecting Americans' Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, the scope of the law's restrictions, and how to go about compliance as its June 23 effective date approaches.

  • What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • Legal Issues To Watch As Deepfake Voices Proliferate

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    With increasingly sophisticated and accessible voice-cloning technology raising social, ethical and legal questions, particularly in the entertainment industry and politics, further legislative intervention and court proceedings seem very likely, say Shruti Chopra and Paul Joseph at Linklaters.

  • Car Apps, Abuse Survivor Safety And The FCC: Key Questions

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    A recent request for comment from the Federal Communications Commission, concerning how to protect the privacy of domestic violence survivors who use connected car services, raises key questions, including whether the FCC has the legal authority to limit access to a vehicle's connected features to survivors only, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

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    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

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