House Commerce Committee Clears Five Telecom Bills
The committee amended the SAT Streamlining Act based on FCC and industry feedback
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2026 – The House Commerce Committee cleared five bipartisan broadband and telecom bills.
Earlier this month, a House Commerce subcommittee advanced six broadband bills. One of them, a bill that would have loosened a Trump administration ban on foreign-made robots, was not considered by the full committee Wednesday. Each bill was cleared unanimously by roll call vote.
SAT Streamlining Act
The House version of the SAT Streamlining Act would put a one-year shot clock on the Federal Communications Commission’s review of new satellite license applications. It would also impose shot clocks on license renewals and minor modification requests.
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the committee, put forward an amendment that was approved. The amendment, also bipartisan, made changes in response to FCC and industry feedback on the bill, said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., the chairman of the committee.
The changes included extending certain license terms to 20 years, clarifying shot clock start dates, and preventing applications undergoing national security reviews from being granted automatically.
“The amendment reflects months of bipartisan work to update the bill based on technical assistance we received from the FCC as well as constructive feedback received from stakeholders,” Guthrie said.
The bill still included a deemed granted provision, meaning many applications would be granted automatically if the FCC didn’t act on them by the deadline.
The Senate Commerce Committee removed a similar provision entirely from its version of the bill, rather than create a carve out, before clearing the text.
Each of the bills advanced Wednesday will have to be taken up by the full house before making it out of the chamber. The Senate would have to pass its own version, which would then have to be reconciled with the House, before any of the bills become law.
In July, the FCC overhauled its satellite licensing reviews, instituting a more standardized process instead of the bespoke reviews the agency has been doing. Like the SAT Streamlining Act, it was aimed at getting applications processed and approved faster.
AI for Secure Networks Act
The AI for Secure Networks Act would require the NTIA to conduct a study on how artificial intelligence and open radio access networks (open RAN) could be used to increase cybersecurity of telecom networks.
That study would include analysis of impacts on emergency alerts and public safety networks. NTIA would also have to look into how to make AI models more secure with benchmarks and testing.
The bill was led by Reps. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and August Pfluger, R-Texas.
Foreign Robocall Elimination Act
The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act would require the FCC, along with the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, to convene with private sector experts and produce a report on how to combat robocalls.
The FCC has been cracking down on robocalls for years. Earlier this year the agency expanded know-your-customer requirements, and just last week effectively shut down nine providers for not responding to information requests from an existing industry group that tracks robocalls.
The bill was led by Reps. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., and Kelly Morrison, D-Minn.
PLAN for Broadband Act
The PLAN for Broadband Act, led by Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Scott Peters, D-Calif., would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to draw up a plan to close the digital divide.
That would have to include improving coordination across federal broadband grant programs and in the federal permitting process, plus reducing administrative burdens for state and local governments to participate in federal programs.
The bill was first introduced in 2022 after the Government Accountability Office found coordination of the more than 100 federal broadband programs to be lacking.
Data BRIDGE Act
The Data BRIDGE Act would require the FCC to incorporate data on agricultural areas into its national broadband coverage map. It was led by Reps. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., and Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
The FCC is currently taking comment on streamlining data collection for the coverage map. The map serves as a guide for broadband funding agencies looking to determine where to spend their resources.
At the prior subcommittee markup, Houchin and Kelly said that bringing in existing USDA data would help direct resources at farmland where precision agriculture was increasingly demanding better connections.
