Federal Communications Commission

Last week, I had the honor of hosting the Federal Communications Bar Association’s virtual Celebration—their first ever event headlined by a Chairwoman. For me, this was a big deal. Not only because it was an opportunity to have a laugh with colleagues, but as the first permanent female Chair of the FCC, having this event during Women’s History Month was an opportunity to highlight and mark the importance of women’s participation and representation across all of our work.

The Federal Communications Commission has released its Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. The report details the FCC's efforts in 2021 under four main goals: closing the digital divide, promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and reforming the FCC's processes. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlights the FCC's actions over the course of 2021, stating, "During FY 2021, the Commission mounted an extraordinary response to a historic crisis.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson met on March 29 to discuss spectrum policy efforts, the first monthly FCC/NTIA coordination meeting since the leaders launched their Spectrum Coordination Initiative. The leaders also announced that they have launched a joint task force which met this week to begin discussing the details of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agencies.

On March 28, the Federal Communications Commission presented its fiscal year 2023 budget request. The budget request will be used to support the following Strategic Goals:

In response to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau has waived certain Lifeline program rules in ten previous Orders to provide necessary relief for low-income households. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt by many Americans. The importance of access to affordable communications services for low-income consumers has been underscored by the pandemic and its long-lasting impact.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added equipment and services from three entities – AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and China Mobile International USA Inc. – to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security, consistent with requirements in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is opening a third application filing window to award at least $1 billion in Emergency Connectivity Fund support. The third application filing window will open on April 28, 2022 and close on May 13, 2022. During this third application filing window, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.