Federal Communications Commission
FCC Seeks Comment on Interagency Broadband Coordination Agreement
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on the interagency agreement between the Federal Communications Commission, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) entered into pursuant to the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020 (BICA). Comments will inform the FCC’s preparation of a report to Congress on the effectiveness and possible improvements to the agreement. Under the BICA, within 180 days of the
FCC Extends Pause of Lifeline Phase-Out and Mobile Data Increase
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau maintains the status quo and extends, for an additional year, the waiver pausing both the phase-out of Lifeline support for voice-only services and the increase in Lifeline minimum service standards for mobile broadband data capacity.
FCC Proposes a $220,000 Fine for Apparent Wire Fraud in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
The FCC proposes a forfeiture of $220,210 against Kyle Traxler and Cleo Communications for apparently willfully and repeatedly engaging in conduct that violated the federal wire fraud statute and the FCC’s rules between on or about May 14, 2021 and on or about August 11, 2021. Cleo made apparent misrepresentations to gain FCC authorization to be a participating provider in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program and then apparently used that authorization to defraud consumers using interstate wires.
FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Seeks Applications for Membership
The Federal Communications Commission announces the anticipated rechartering of the Consumer Advisory Committee and solicits nominations for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter on or before October 16, 2022. Nominations for membership are due on August 1, 2022. The Committee’s mission is to make recommendations to the FCC regarding topics of particular interest to consumers, to be specified by the Commission, and to facilitate consumers’ participation in proceedings before the Commission.
FCC Announces Data Specifications for Bulk Fabric Challenge Data
The Federal Communications Commission announced the release of Data Specifications for Bulk Fabric Challenge Data, which sets forth the requirements for filing bulk challenges to broadband serviceable location (BSL) data in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric. The Bulk Fabric Data Specification is available here. The FCC also provides further details on which locations are considered BSLs in the production version of the Fabric.
Status Update: Mapping Where Broadband Is—and Is Not—Available in the US
For as long as people have been talking about the digital divide, there have been complaints that we lack detailed maps to tell us exactly where broadband is—and is not—available. I wanted to give people a brief of the latest key developments:
FCC Announces Conditional Forbearance from Lifeline Voice Obligation
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced—effective on August 31, 2022—the counties in which conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies, pursuant to the FCC’s 2016 Lifeline Order. This forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support (high-cost/Lifeline ETCs), and not to Lifeline-only ETCs. The FCC granted forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ obligation to offer an
FCC Grants SpaceX Permission to Connect Planes, Boats and Other Vehicles to Starlink Internet Service
The Federal Communications Commission granted the applications SpaceX Services to operate consumer and enterprise Ku-band Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM) and the application of Kepler Communications to operate unlimited Ku-band Earth Stations on Vessels (ESVs) in the territorial waters of the United States and aboard US-registered vessels throughout international waters worldwide. Both SpaceX and Kepler propose to use the 14.0-14.5 GHz band to transmit (Earth-to-space), and the 10.7-12.7 GHz band, including 12.2-12.7 GHz (generally known as the 12 GHz band), to receive (space-to-Earth).
FCC Opens Inaugural Broadband Data Collection Filing Window
The Broadband Data Task Force announced the opening of the inaugural Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window. Facilities-based broadband service providers may begin to file in the BDC system data that reflects where they make mass-market internet access service available as of June 30, 2022. Such data must be filed no later than September 1, 2022.