Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission took action to assist those affected by Hurricane Milton and future hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, and tropical cyclones (together, “tropical weather systems”) by temporarily waiving certain Lifeline program eligibility rules to ensure that consumers receiving federal disaster assistance can easily apply for and enroll in the Lifeline program. Hurricane Milton caused significant power and infrastructure disruptions, in addition to property damage in homes, schools, libraries, businesses, and healthcare facilities in impacted areas.

The growth in mobile data traffic makes our world better informed, more fulfilled, and of course, better connected. It means consumers are taking advantage of the powerful service our networks are delivering. But it also means those networks are being tested like never before. As we know, this network strain will only continue as IoT devices, intelligent infrastructure, and AI-enabled applications proliferate.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed revised spectrum sharing rules for non-geostationary orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems. This proposal would seek to clarify certain methodology details from the 2023 Report and Order that previously updated the FCC’s rules governing coordination and protection requirements among NGSO FSS systems approved through different processing rounds.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announce that comments in response to their September 2024 Public Notice are due no later than November 4, 2024, and reply comments are due no later than November 18, 2024. On September 11, 2024, the FCC released a Public Notice inviting supplemental comment to refresh and expand upon the record regarding the annual reporting and certification requirements for providers of incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS).

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced the addition of Andy Hendrickson as its new Chief Technology Officer to provide strategic and technical advice on technological developments and issues with respect to the Enforcement Bureau’s work and as part of the ongoing effort to strengthen the Bureau’s technical expertise in support of its privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, and network outage enforcement work.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the appointment of Ira Keltz to serve as Acting Chief Engineer. Keltz, an electrical engineer, will lead the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) which maintains the U.S. table of frequency allocation, manages spectrum policy for unlicensed devices, oversees the FCC’s experimental licensing program and equipment authorization program, and conducts engineering and technical studies. Keltz began working on spectrum policy issues at the FCC in 1994 and most recently served as Deputy Chief of OET.