Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission announced the start of bidding in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, which will target up to $16 billion to deploy networks to serve up to 10.25 million Americans that currently lack access to fixed broadband service meeting the FCC’s benchmark speeds. The auction has attracted significant interest, with 386 providers qualified to bid, representing a more than 75% increase over the number that qualified for the Commission’s successful 2018  Connect America Phase II auction. 

The giant elephant in this virtual room: the completely indefensible proposal to create a government-sponsored wholesale wireless network. For the last few years this “idea” has been floated, rejected, floated, rejected, and just recently floated again. Now, it seems to be under consideration once again by some at the highest levels of our government.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the November Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, 2020:

At our November open meeting, the Federal Communications Commission will be considering the following items:

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated legacy unbundling and resale rules where they stifle technology transitions and broadband deployment. The rules date back to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which required monopoly local telephone companies to make portions of their networks and services available to competitors at regulated rates. The Order eliminates rules requiring unbundling of the following network elements, subject to certain conditions and multiyear transition periods: