Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission announced the final list of areas that will be eligible for bidding in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, which will target up to $16 billion to census blocks with no fixed broadband service meeting the Commission’s minimum standards. In total, about 5.3 million unserved homes and businesses are located in areas eligible for bidding in the Phase I auction, which will begin on October 29. The auction will prioritize bids for the deployment of broadband networks providing higher speeds up to 1 Gbps and lower latency.

On Sept 17, 2020, 36 Democratic and 2 Independent Senators wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to demand that the FCC take immediate action to help children who lack internet access at home and are unable to participate in online learning. Specifically, they called on Chairman Pai to utilize the E-Rate program to close this "homework gap" without further delay.

The Report assesses industry compliance over the past two years with sections 255, 716, and 718 of the Communications Act of 1934. These sections require telecommunications and advanced communications services and equipment, and Internet browsers built into mobile phones (collectively, covered products and services) to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The Report also addresses accessibility barriers to new communications technologies, and the effect of the accessibility-related recordkeeping and enforcement requirements under section 717 on the development and d

The Federal Communications Commission announced the 2020 winners of the Chairman's Awards for Advancements in Accessibility (Chairman’s AAA). This FCC program, which began in 2011, is focused on improving access to telecommunications and technology for people with disabilities. The award winners for 2020 are:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, 2020:

Thank you to the International Institute of Communications and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for inviting me to speak with you. We’ve been asked to talk today about consumer protection in a market economy. When we think about how best to promote the public interest, regulators should avoid the trap of viewing consumer welfare and the private sector as being inherently at odds with one another. After all, it is good for consumers when the private sector invests, innovates, and competes.