Federal Communications Commission

By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission announces the anticipated renewal of its Disability Advisory Committee (Committee) and solicits applications for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter. Applications for membership are due by 11:59 P.M. EST on September 21, 2018. The mission of the Committee is to make recommendations to the Commission regarding disability issues specified by the Commission.

On August 10, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to letters from members of Congress who wrote to Chairman Pai regarding drastic cuts to the FCC's Lifeline program. In response, Chairman Pai wrote that the 2017 Lifeline Reform Order seeks to focus Lifeline support where it is most needed.

In this Order, we extend the previously announced deadline for the close of the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge window by an additional 90 days. Challengers will have until November 26, 2018, to submit speed test data in support of a challenge. We adopt this extension to ensure that interested parties can initiate and submit speed test data for areas they wish to challenge. In addition, given this extension, we propose to make modifications to the speed test data specifications regarding the relevant timeframes for valid speed tests.

As of 2017, an estimated 6.5 million students nationwide attended schools that didn’t have the Internet bandwidth needed to support digital learning. More than 2,000 schools lacked fiber connections. Notably, 77% of those schools were in rural communities.  If there’s one message you should take away from my being here today, it’s that the Federal Communications Commission is committed to working with educators and state and local leaders across the country to close these connectivity gaps.

In this notice, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announces that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) estimated demand for category one and category two requests for E-Rate supported services for funding year 2018. 

Across the country, Americans depend on reliable phone service to stay in touch with friends and family, conduct business, and access vital public services. Although all Americans should have confidence that calls made to or by them will be completed, for those living in rural or remote areas, too often this is not the case.

For its part, the Federal Communications Commission will not take the value of broadcasting for granted so long as I am Chairman. I’m committed to modernizing our rules in order to allow broadcasting to flourish. Our record over the past year-and-a-half is proof of this. And with your indulgence, I’d like to walk through some of that record.

On March 21, 2018, Sens Tom Udall (D-NM), Tina Smith (D-NM), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Rep Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission expressing concern over the FCC's report and order"wireless infrastructure streamlining" and asked the FCC to delay finalizing the rule, "until a truly meaningful consultation with Indian Tribes occurs." On Aug 3, Chairman Pai responded, saying that in developing the new rules, the Commission engaged extensively with tribal nations, inter-tribal organizations, and state and local historic preservation officers.