Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission has granted an emergency Special Temporary Authority request filed by the Makah Tribe to use unassigned spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band to provide wireless broadband service over its reservation as part of its emergency COVID-19 pandemic response. The Tribe is located within Washington State. The temporary grant of authority is effective for 60 days.

The American space industry holds tremendous potential to address [the challenge of the digital divide] through next-generation satellite broadband. The coming proliferation of small low-earth-orbit satellites promises to unleash internet connectivity with latency and speeds superior to existing satellite broadband options and competitive with cable and fiber offerings. And they will reach places that, due to difficult terrain and distance from population centers, have not shared in the benefits of expanding terrestrial networks. 

On March 21, 2020 Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to urge the FCC to immediately loosen requirements of the Rural Health Care Program (RHCP) to expand eligibility to more healthcare facilities. They wrote, "Following Hurricane Katrina, the FCC loosened restrictions on the RHCP to allow non-rural providers to apply for support under the program.

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional 53 funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $18.22 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was authorized by the CARES Act, has approved funding for 185 health care providers in 38 states plus Washington, DC for a total of $68.22 million in funding. Below is a list of health care providers that were approved for funding:

On May 7, 2020, several Members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express deep concern about the FCC's approval of Ligado Networks request to modify licenses. "The national security community was unanimous in the judgement that approval of the use of certain portions of the L band spectrum could pose an unacceptable risk to the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the United States.

On April 15, 2020, 19 senators wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to urge the FCC to immediately call on telecommunications providers serving law enforcement facilities across the nation to provide free phone calls and video visitations to incarcerated and detained individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In joint letters Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs encouraged the nation's governors to provide necessary access and resources to the communications workers helping to keep Americans connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCC and CISA recommend the governors:

In this Order, we adopt the attached Consent Decree entered into between the Federal Communications Commission and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Sinclair).