Today: US Congress Amends Federal Communications Act, FCC Spectrum Frontiers Bidding Procedures, FCC Releases Tariff Review Plans for ILECs
US Congress Amends Federal Communications Act
The recent Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 includes various provisions amending the federal Communications Act and reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the first time in 28 years. The FCC portion of the law, known as the RAY BAUM Act of 2017, incorporates provisions that were included in various telecommunications-related bills introduced during the current session. Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 4/16/18.
FCC Spectrum Frontiers Bidding Procedures
At its April Meeting, the FCC voted to issue a Public Notice seeking comment on proposed application and bidding procedures for the auctions of the 28 GHz and 24 GHz spectrum bands. Last year, the FCC continued its work establishing licensing rules for several spectrum bands at or above 24 GHz in the Spectrum Frontiers Second Report and Order to promote the development of 5G technology, the Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services. The Public Notice proposes to offer approximately 6,000 licenses through two auctions. Bidding in Auction 101 (28 GHz) will commence on November 14, 2018. Bidding in Auction 102 (24 GHz) will commence immediately after the conclusion of Auction 101. The FCC also proposes to have separate application filing windows for the auctions and seeks comment on whether to apply certain auction rules, e.g., prohibition on certain communications, across both auctions.
FCC Releases Tariff Review Plans for ILECs
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released the Tariff Review Plans (TRPs) used by all incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to support interstate access service tariff revision filed in 2018. The 2018 TRPs reflect implementation of the transitional rate changes and recovery rules adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order.
____________________________
The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’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 an Inteserra Briefing.
