Telecom Regulation Tracker
71
May 2026
Regulation
Formal rulings and regulatory decisions by national telecommunications regulators confirmed each month from regulator publications, official gazettes, and telecom press. Covered regulators include the FCC (US), Ofcom (UK), ACMA (Australia), and CRTC (Canada). Each record covers the regulator, the decision type (spectrum allocation, network sharing order, or market consolidation ruling), the market and operators affected, and the decision date.
National telecommunications regulator including the FCC, Ofcom, ACMA, or CRTC issued a formal ruling on 5G spectrum allocation, network sharing agreements, or mobile market consolidation in May 2026
Telecoms operators and their regulatory affairs teams use it to monitor decisions in peer markets that may set precedent for their own regulatory environment. Spectrum investors and advisory firms use it to track allocation decisions before they affect market structure. Law firms and consultancies advising telecom clients use it for regulatory precedent research. Journalists covering telecoms policy use it as a structured source of confirmed regulatory decisions.
1982
<table class="catchall-table"><thead><tr><th style="min-width:40px">#</th><th style="min-width:160px">Regulator</th><th style="min-width:120px">Country</th><th style="min-width:160px">Decision Type</th><th style="min-width:160px">Affected Company</th><th style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">Decision Date</th><th style="min-width:280px">Ruling Summary</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="min-width:40px">1</td><td style="min-width:160px">FCC</td><td style="min-width:120px">United States</td><td style="min-width:160px">Other</td><td style="min-width:160px">—</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">2026-05-01</td><td style="min-width:280px">The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules for satellite spectrum-sharing to increase capacity for space-based broadband services and improve user performance, replacing a decades-old regulatory framework that limited non-geostationary orbit satellite systems.</td></tr><tr><td style="min-width:40px">2</td><td style="min-width:160px">Anatel</td><td style="min-width:120px">Brazil</td><td style="min-width:160px">5G Spectrum Allocation</td><td style="min-width:160px">Beam</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">2026-05-04</td><td style="min-width:280px">Anatel auctioned the 700 MHz band and authorised the Amazônia 5G consortium to assume strategic frequencies including the 3.5 GHz band, allowing Beam to enter the mobile telephony market as the first Acre-based operator and expanding 4G and 5G to underserved regions.</td></tr><tr><td style="min-width:40px">3</td><td style="min-width:160px">FCC</td><td style="min-width:120px">United States</td><td style="min-width:160px">Other</td><td style="min-width:160px">Rapid Consulting, LLC</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">2026-05-26</td><td style="min-width:280px">The NAD found Rapid Consulting's claim "Legal to Own with no FCC License Required" for "My Emergency Radio" to be supported.</td></tr><tr><td style="min-width:40px">4</td><td style="min-width:160px">FCC</td><td style="min-width:120px">United States</td><td style="min-width:160px">Other</td><td style="min-width:160px">—</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">2026-05-10</td><td style="min-width:280px">The FCC adopted uniform rules on a mandatory, reasonable unlocking period for mobile phones, nullifying anticompetitive practices and allowing consumers greater flexibility while promoting competition in the mobile internet service market.</td></tr><tr><td style="min-width:40px">5</td><td style="min-width:160px">Anatel</td><td style="min-width:120px">Brazil</td><td style="min-width:160px">Other</td><td style="min-width:160px">Correios</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">2026-05-14</td><td style="min-width:280px">Anatel authorised Correios to enter into a commercial partnership to operate personal mobile services through a virtual network (MVNO), using existing telecommunications operators' infrastructure.</td></tr><tr class="catchall-blurred"><td style="min-width:40px">6</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:120px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">████████████</td><td style="min-width:280px">████████████</td></tr><tr class="catchall-blurred"><td style="min-width:40px">7</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:120px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">████████████</td><td style="min-width:280px">████████████</td></tr><tr class="catchall-blurred"><td style="min-width:40px">8</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:120px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:160px">████████████</td><td style="min-width:110px;white-space:nowrap">████████████</td><td style="min-width:280px">████████████</td></tr></tbody></table>
<h3>Are only final decisions included or also consultations and draft rulings?</h3><p>Final decisions and binding orders are the primary inclusion. Significant consultations and draft rules that have attracted major industry responses are included where they represent a material pending change.</p><h3>Does this cover net neutrality and platform access rulings as well as spectrum?</h3><p>Yes. Net neutrality orders, wholesale access and unbundling decisions, and platform interconnection rulings are included alongside spectrum allocation and merger decisions.</p><h3>How does this differ from general technology regulation trackers?</h3><p>This dataset is specific to telecommunications sector regulation — spectrum, network infrastructure, and mobile market structure. General tech regulation (AI regulation, content moderation) is not covered here.</p>