USDA Awards over $40 Million in Missouri, Iowa
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it has invested $41.6 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Missouri and Southern Iowa. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s Reconnect Pilot Program investments.
Read MoreTopics: The Regulatory Mix, broadband deployment, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, USDA's Reconnect Pilot Program, rural e-Connectivity, MAPS Act, Broadband DATA Act, SHARE Act, Network Security Information Sharing Act of 2019, Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2019, Television Viewer Protection Act
House & Senate Announce Agreement on Anti-Robocall Bill
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Chairman John Thune (R-SD), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) announced that they have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic:
Read MoreTopics: Wireless E911, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, FCC November Open Meeting, US House Energy and Commerce Committee, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Auction For C-Band Licenses
FCC Revises Lifeline Program
The FCC has announced various reforms to its Lifeline program. The Order eliminates the Lifeline Broadband Provider ETC category and the process for designation of broadband-only ETCs by the FCC. Instead, states will make such designations. Other reforms adopted in the order included:
Read MoreTopics: ETCs, CAF II Auction, FCC LIfeline Program, Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)
Washington Approves over $4 Million in Rural Telecommunications Funding
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) announced state regulators approved more than $4 million in state communications funding for small telecommunications companies, enabling continued telephone access in rural communities throughout Washington.
Read MoreTopics: 833 Toll Free Code Auction, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, Washington Rural Telecommunications Funding, high-cost rural telecom, Broadband Conversations
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Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) announced that the Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a markup on Thursday, November 14, at 11:30 am, to consider over half a dozen pieces of legislation related to broadband mapping, spectrum sharing, promoting 5G networks and network security. They will also consider a bill to reauthorize a media law to provide greater transparency and rights to consumers, including subscribers of Internet service providers and fixed and mobile telephone providers. |
Topics: U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5G Networks, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Broadband Mapping, Spectrum Sharing, Network Security
House Seeks Update on Location Data-Sharing Probe
Eleven Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats sent a letter to FCC Chairman expressing growing concern that the FCC is failing to protect consumers’ privacy by refusing to hold wireless carriers accountable for unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ real-time location data. The members asked Chairman Pai to provide them with an update on the FCC’s investigation by November 29, 2019.
Read MoreTopics: Consumer Protection, Location Data-Sharing, Missouri Broadband Grants
FCC's Updated Minimum Lifeline Service Standards to Take Effect Next Month
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced updated minimum service standard levels for speed and usage allowances for Lifeline-supported fixed broadband and mobile voice services.
Read MoreTopics: Rural Tribal Mapping, Public Safety and Telehealth Reports, Lifeline Service Standards
What will the FCC be tackling next?
Chairman Pai’s theme for the November 22, 2019 Open Meeting is “Protecting National Security and Public Safety.” This is a reference to two of the items: one that would prohibit the use of any federal universal service funds to purchase equipment or services from a company that poses a national security risk and another that would adopt vertical location (z-axis) accuracy metrics for wireless calls to help first responders identify a 911 caller’s location in a high-rise building.
Read MoreTopics: National Security, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Unbundling and Resale Rules, IP CTS Support, Suspension and Debarment, USF Programs, TRS Programs
FCC Approves TMobile/Sprint Merger
The FCC announced it had approved, with conditions, the transfer of control applications filed by TMobile and Sprint. The FCC found that the transaction will help close the digital divide and advance US leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity.
Read MoreTopics: FCC Open Meeting for November, National Security, Sprint T-Mobile Merger, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Unbundling and Resale Rules, TRS Fund Contribution
FCC VoIP 911 Fee Declaratory Ruling
At its Open Meeting today, the FCC voted to issue a Declaratory Ruling clarifying that state, local, and Tribal governments cannot charge the same class of subscribers total 911 fees that are higher for VoIP services than for traditional telecommunications services with the same 911 calling capability. The FCC said that such treatment is discriminatory and conflicts with the NET 911 Act of 2008, which provides that a 911 fee or charge on VoIP service subscribers “may not exceed the amount of any such fee or charge applicable to the same class of subscribers to telecommunications services.”
Read MoreTopics: National Institute of Standards and Technology, VoIP 911 Fee, FCC Tariff Filing Rules, NIST Privacy Framework, CAF II Performance Testing
USDA Awards over $40 Million in Missouri, Iowa
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it has invested $41.6 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Missouri and Southern Iowa. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of USDA’s Reconnect Pilot Program investments.
Read MoreTopics: The Regulatory Mix, broadband deployment, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, USDA's Reconnect Pilot Program, rural e-Connectivity, MAPS Act, Broadband DATA Act, SHARE Act, Network Security Information Sharing Act of 2019, Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2019, Television Viewer Protection Act
House & Senate Announce Agreement on Anti-Robocall Bill
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Chairman John Thune (R-SD), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) announced that they have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic:
Read MoreTopics: Wireless E911, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, FCC November Open Meeting, US House Energy and Commerce Committee, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Auction For C-Band Licenses
FCC Revises Lifeline Program
The FCC has announced various reforms to its Lifeline program. The Order eliminates the Lifeline Broadband Provider ETC category and the process for designation of broadband-only ETCs by the FCC. Instead, states will make such designations. Other reforms adopted in the order included:
Read MoreTopics: ETCs, CAF II Auction, FCC LIfeline Program, Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)
Washington Approves over $4 Million in Rural Telecommunications Funding
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) announced state regulators approved more than $4 million in state communications funding for small telecommunications companies, enabling continued telephone access in rural communities throughout Washington.
Read MoreTopics: 833 Toll Free Code Auction, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, Washington Rural Telecommunications Funding, high-cost rural telecom, Broadband Conversations
|
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) announced that the Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a markup on Thursday, November 14, at 11:30 am, to consider over half a dozen pieces of legislation related to broadband mapping, spectrum sharing, promoting 5G networks and network security. They will also consider a bill to reauthorize a media law to provide greater transparency and rights to consumers, including subscribers of Internet service providers and fixed and mobile telephone providers. |
Topics: U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5G Networks, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Broadband Mapping, Spectrum Sharing, Network Security
House Seeks Update on Location Data-Sharing Probe
Eleven Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats sent a letter to FCC Chairman expressing growing concern that the FCC is failing to protect consumers’ privacy by refusing to hold wireless carriers accountable for unauthorized disclosures of consumers’ real-time location data. The members asked Chairman Pai to provide them with an update on the FCC’s investigation by November 29, 2019.
Read MoreTopics: Consumer Protection, Location Data-Sharing, Missouri Broadband Grants
FCC's Updated Minimum Lifeline Service Standards to Take Effect Next Month
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced updated minimum service standard levels for speed and usage allowances for Lifeline-supported fixed broadband and mobile voice services.
Read MoreTopics: Rural Tribal Mapping, Public Safety and Telehealth Reports, Lifeline Service Standards
What will the FCC be tackling next?
Chairman Pai’s theme for the November 22, 2019 Open Meeting is “Protecting National Security and Public Safety.” This is a reference to two of the items: one that would prohibit the use of any federal universal service funds to purchase equipment or services from a company that poses a national security risk and another that would adopt vertical location (z-axis) accuracy metrics for wireless calls to help first responders identify a 911 caller’s location in a high-rise building.
Read MoreTopics: National Security, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Unbundling and Resale Rules, IP CTS Support, Suspension and Debarment, USF Programs, TRS Programs
FCC Approves TMobile/Sprint Merger
The FCC announced it had approved, with conditions, the transfer of control applications filed by TMobile and Sprint. The FCC found that the transaction will help close the digital divide and advance US leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity.
Read MoreTopics: FCC Open Meeting for November, National Security, Sprint T-Mobile Merger, Wireless E911 Location Accuracy, Unbundling and Resale Rules, TRS Fund Contribution
FCC VoIP 911 Fee Declaratory Ruling
At its Open Meeting today, the FCC voted to issue a Declaratory Ruling clarifying that state, local, and Tribal governments cannot charge the same class of subscribers total 911 fees that are higher for VoIP services than for traditional telecommunications services with the same 911 calling capability. The FCC said that such treatment is discriminatory and conflicts with the NET 911 Act of 2008, which provides that a 911 fee or charge on VoIP service subscribers “may not exceed the amount of any such fee or charge applicable to the same class of subscribers to telecommunications services.”
Read MoreTopics: National Institute of Standards and Technology, VoIP 911 Fee, FCC Tariff Filing Rules, NIST Privacy Framework, CAF II Performance Testing
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US House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Markup