Today:  US Congress Letter in Support of Rural Broadband Funding, US Senate Special Committee Examines Progress in Stopping Illegal Robocalls, FCC Proposes $3.9 Million Fine for Slamming and Cramming, Minnesota Opts In to FirstNet Plan  

US Congress Bipartisan Letter In Support Of Rural Broadband Funding

A bipartisan letter, signed by 37 Members of Congress, was sent to FCC Chairman Pai.  It argues that a lack of sufficient funding for rural broadband development puts millions of Americans at a significant disadvantage.  The writers “request that the Federal Communications Commission take action to address the budget shortfall in certain parts of the High-Cost Universal Service Fund.  As outlined in a letter sent to you last May by 160 Members of Congress, this lack of sufficient funding puts the rural communities that we represent at a significant disadvantage.”

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association thanked members of the House of Representatives for joining Rep. Kevin Cramer (R–N.D.) in calling on the FCC to address the budget shortfalls in the USF High-Cost program that are hindering rural broadband access and deployment.

US Senate Special Committee on Aging Examines Progress In Stopping Illegal Robocalls

Senators Susan Collins and Bob Casey held a hearing titled, “Still Ringing Off the Hook: An Update on Efforts to Combat Robocalls,” to examine efforts of law enforcement and the telecommunications industry to crack down on unwanted calls.  Lois Greisman, Associate Director at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) testified that the FTC received more than 3.4 million robocall complaints in 2016 and in 2017 it received more than 3.5 million robocall complaints just between January and August.  It testified that total unwanted-call complaints for the first eight months of 2017, including both robocall complaints and complaints from consumers whose phone numbers are registered on the Do Not Call Registry, exceed 5.5 million.  On average, over 400,000 of these complaints each month are about robocalls.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro covered three main topics in his testimony:  (1) seniors’ vulnerability to scams and the impact scams have on them; (2) IRS impersonation scams; and (3) Pennsylvania’s Do Not Call registry, which complements the federal system, and its effect on robocalls.  AG Shapiro and Senator Casey sent a letter to the FCC, asking it to implement without further delay the proposed rule to let telephone providers block calls originating from spoofed or invalid numbers, unallocated numbers, and numbers whose owners have requested be blocked.

Need additional details on this development? Get more information regarding this topic via TMI Briefings dated 7/26/17, 7/25/17, 5/19/17, and 3/28/17

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FCC Proposes $3.9 Million Fine for Slamming and Cramming

The FCC is proposing a $3,963,722 fine against Neon Phone Service of Rockledge, Florida.  Neon will have 30 days to respond to the FCC’s Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture.  The FCC will review the response and any additional evidence and may then proceed to issue a final forfeiture order.  The FCC received numerous consumer complaints claiming that Neon had switched long distance service providers without authorization and added unauthorized charges to bills.  In response to the FCC, Neon provided apparently fabricated audio recordings as evidence that the consumers had agreed to switch to Neon’s service.  The Commission’s Enforcement Bureau then formally inquired about the consumer complaints, and Neon failed to respond to the Bureau’s request for information or provide any type of proof that the carrier changes were authorized.  The Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture is available here. 

Minnesota Opts In to FirstNet Plan

Governor Mark Dayton approved a plan to modernize Minnesota’s communications infrastructure, to better connect and serve first responders across the state.  In a letter to FirstNet, the Governor stressed the importance of FirstNet consulting with the 11 Federally Recognized Minnesota tribes as sovereign nations, to determine whether building out the public safety communications network on their land would be beneficial to their citizens.  Once built, agencies across Minnesota will have the option to opt-in and subscribe to FirstNet service.

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily 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 a TMI Briefing.