Overview

• T‑Mobile and Sprint lost their D.C. Circuit appeal challenging roughly $92 million in FCC fines for selling customers’ real‑time location information to aggregators.
• The panel rejected arguments that device‑location data falls outside the Communications Act’s CPNI protections and called the carriers’ statutory reading strained.
• Judges found the companies continued selling access after abuses were known and ruled the carriers waived any jury‑trial claim by paying the orders and seeking direct review.
• The case stems from programs that fed LocationSmart and Zumigo, with misuse highlighted by access obtained through Securus to track individuals without consent.
• AT&T and Verizon still contest separate FCC penalties in the 5th and 2nd Circuits, while T‑Mobile says it discontinued the program years ago and is reviewing the ruling.