No. 25-1422October Term 2025Before Arguments
Sprint Corporation, nka Sprint LLC, et al., Petitioners v. Federal Communications Commission, et al.
from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Case status
- Current stage
- Before Arguments
- Latest event
- Accepted by the Court
- Decision timing
- No window until argument is scheduled.
- What it's about
from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Question presented
1. Whether this Court should, at minimum, grant, vacate, and remand in light of AT&T and the government’s concessions in that case. 2. Whether “location” CPNI under § 222 refers only to call-location information, not other information about the location of a mobile device. 3. Whether the number of “continuing violations” arising from a single failure to act under § 503(b) is a legal question for courts to decide, without deferring to the FCC’s conclusion.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Supreme Court case awaiting argument
Timing
Expected by late June 2026, if argued this term
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 94 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Briefing
What it's about
Sprint is asking the Supreme Court to review an FCC enforcement case tied to federal rules protecting customer telecom data. It says the Court should at least send the case back after FCC v. AT&T and should clarify what counts as "location" customer data and how many "continuing violations" can come from one failure to act.
Argument
The case is still at the certiorari (the Court's decision whether to hear a case) stage, and no oral argument is scheduled. Sprint argues the Court should at least send the case back in light of FCC v. AT&T and resolve two questions about location data and continuing violations.
Impact
The case could affect how far the FCC can go when enforcing telecom privacy rules and counting violations. That matters to phone and wireless providers like Sprint, and to customers whose location-related data is covered by federal law.
What is at stake in Sprint v. FCC?
Sprint asks the Court to review FCC enforcement orders after FCC v. AT&T. It also wants clarity on what counts as location customer data and how continuing violations are counted.
Who could be affected by Sprint v. FCC?
Phone and wireless providers could face different privacy and enforcement risks. Customers could also be affected by how the law treats mobile-device location information.
What happens next in Sprint v. FCC?
The justices first must decide whether to hear Sprint v. FCC. No argument date or decision window is available yet.
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 23, 2026
- Method
- Methodology