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This Week at the Federal Communications Commission — week of July 27, 2026

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This week the FCC approved new cybersecurity rules for the Emergency Alert System, asked for public feedback on modernizing both broadcast and mobile phone alerts, expanded a slice of wireless spectrum for future mobile use, and updated how it oversees the equipment that connects undersea internet cables to land-based networks.

Emergency alert systems

  • The FCC adopted a final rule requiring security updates to the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The changes are designed to prevent hackers or foreign actors from gaining unauthorized access and sending fake emergency alerts through broadcast systems.
  • The FCC also issued a notice seeking public input on proposed updates to how emergency alerts are sent, covering both the EAS, used by radio and TV broadcasters, and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the notifications that go to mobile phones. The goal is to modernize how emergency information reaches the public.

Wireless spectrum

  • The FCC issued a final rule expanding how wireless services can use the Upper C-band, the slice of radio frequencies from 3.98 to 4.2 GHz. The action creates a single service covering both the lower and upper parts of this range, making it easier for companies to use the spectrum for mobile networks. This is a technical administrative step that prepares more spectrum for commercial wireless use, likely for 5G or future mobile technologies, while managing the costs of relocating existing satellite users.

Undersea internet cables

  • The FCC adopted updated rules for how companies manage Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE), the hardware at the ends of undersea cables. The change is largely administrative, intended to make it faster and easier to deploy undersea cables while maintaining oversight of the equipment.
  • The FCC issued a second request for public comment on how it oversees submarine line terminal equipment. The proposed rules would add layers of oversight for the hardware that connects international data networks to the United States.

This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.

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