Today: FTC 2018 Do Not Call Registry Data and Mini Site. FCC Mobility Fund Mapping Investigation, US House Cybersecurity Report
FTC 2018 Do Not Call Registry Data and Mini Site
The FTC has issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2018. The FTC’s National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry lets consumers choose not to receive most legal telemarketing calls. The data show that the number of active registrations on the DNC Registry has increased significantly over the past year, while the total number of consumer complaints decreased for the first time in five years.
FCC Mobility Fund Mapping Investigation
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the FCC has launched an investigation into whether one or more major carriers violated the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) reverse auction’s mapping rules and submitted incorrect coverage maps. The investigation comes after a preliminary review of the 20,809,503 speed tests filed with the agency in connection with the MF-II challenge process. The FCC has suspended the next step of the challenge process—the opening of a response window—pending the conclusion of this investigation.
Pai issued a statement saying: “My top priority is bridging the digital divide and ensuring that Americans have access to digital opportunity regardless of where they live, and the FCC’s Mobility Fund Phase II program can play a key role in extending high-speed Internet access to rural areas across America. In order to reach those areas, it’s critical that we know where access is and where it is not. A preliminary review of speed test data submitted through the challenge process suggested significant violations of the Commission’s rules. That’s why I’ve ordered an investigation into these matters. We must ensure that the data is accurate before we can proceed.”
Commissioner Carr also issued a statement about the investigation saying, in part: “Chairman Pai’s decision to launch this investigation has my full support. Earlier this year, I said I would monitor how the maps align with consumers’ real-world experiences. Now that the challenge process has closed, the data provided confirm that Chairman Pai has made the right call…It is deeply concerning that FCC staff’s preliminary analysis of the challenge data shows that one or more major carriers potentially violated the Commission’s MF-II mapping rules and submitted incorrect maps. Today’s announcement aligns with concerns I shared with Chairman Pai, and I look forward to working with him and our able staff to complete this investigation.”
US House Cybersecurity Report
The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), released a cumulative report identifying core strategies to addressing and preventing cybersecurity incidents. The report summarizes the committee’s work and conclusions drawn from dozens of briefings, hearings, letters, reports, and roundtables, and provides six specific priorities for more effective protection against vulnerabilities:
The report concludes, “Each of the concepts and priorities detailed here represent a piece of the broader cybersecurity challenge. Pursuing any one concept-priority pair in isolation will undoubtedly improve society’s overall cybersecurity to some degree, but the Subcommittee’s work over the past several years has shown that each concept-priority pair feeds off and builds upon its fellows. Further, as highlighted throughout this report, the Subcommittee has not simply identified important, high-level areas for future action, but has already begun to act. The work products associated with each concept and priority represent the Subcommittee’s first steps towards implementing the policies it has identified.”
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.