Telecommunication

Today let’s celebrate the history of Hayleyville (AL)—and the present of 9-1-1 by bestowing honors on some dynamic individuals and organizations: Tamika Greer, Roger Marshall, Cheryl Kagan and the 9-1-1 programs from Monmouth County (NJ); Orange County (FL); and the District of Columbia. They deserve our righteous praise and deepest gratitude.  But I believe we celebrate 9-1-1 best by securing its future. I think that means three things:

[Commentary] Even as an estimated 240 million 911 calls continue to be placed annually, the systems that service them have grown obsolete, unable to handle photos, video, downloads, precise geo-locating and even, in most places, simple text messages. That’s a threat not just to public safety but also to national security. Worryingly, no one seems quite sure how to pay for a modernization to what’s known as Next Generation 911 (“NG911” in industry parlance), whose cost could exceed $20 billion.

AT&T is going to replace copper wiring in parts of its California market damaged by fires due to drought conditions and high winds with fiber facilities. Major damage to public facilities was caused five counties of Northern California: Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino due to the result of 21 reported fires. AT&T filed an application for emergency authorization under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act and Section 63.63 of the Federal Communications Commission’s rules to suspend AT&T’s interstate telecommunications services until services can be rebuilt.

Bipartisan legislation to improve rural call completion passed the US House of Representatives and now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act will direct the Federal Communications Commission to require providers that transmit voice calls to register with the agency and establish quality standards for transmitting voice calls.

Allow me to highlight where the current Federal Communications Commission’s competition policy needs a makeover, and round things out with a couple of bright spots that are ripe for addressing in a bipartisan way. This Administration seems to only pay lip service, when it comes to ensuring competition, and, what is worse, it has a particularly creative view of what kind of services actually “count” as competitive. But I always seek out a silver lining no matter how gray or thick the cloud formation. First, we can take action to unleash competition in multiple-tenant environments. Second, re

The US Senate unanimously approved “Kari’s Law” (HR 582), legislation that will require multi-line telephone systems to allow direct-dialing of 911 services. The legislation now goes to the House, and if approved it will be going to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature or veto.

HR 582 passed the Senate with one amendment attached, that the law will apply, “to a multi-line telephone system that is manufactured, imported, offered for first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.”

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, a broad-based membership organization that includes health providers and telehealth networks, filed comments with the Federal Communication Commission asking for an increase in funding for the Rural Health Care (RHC) program to improve the quality of health care in rural markets across the United States.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 22, 2018.

Feb 2 is Groundhog Day. Fittingly, I’m announcing an agenda for the Federal Communications Commission’s February meeting that revisits some familiar themes from the past year: modernizing outdated rules, closing the digital divide, and most significantly, promoting innovation.