The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set its sights on reshaping the allocation of approximately $9 billion earmarked for rural 5G expansion. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the move, emphasizing the need to bridge the digital divide across underserved areas of the United States.
In a groundbreaking move against the scourge of robocallers, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a historic forfeiture of $300 million, showcasing their unwavering commitment to tackling the issue head-on. However, the question of when this record penalty will actually be paid remains an uncertainty.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the introduction of a new set of rules aimed at protecting consumers from scams that attempt to take control of their cell phone accounts. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel stated that these rules will ensure individuals maintain their freedom to choose their preferred device and provider while safeguarding them against fraudulent activities.
The FCC’s recent proposal for shared access of the 42 GHz band could revolutionize the telecom industry by introducing new service providers and business models. With mixed reactions, the proposed sharing mechanism aims to prevent interference and encourage competition, potentially attracting companies like Amazon to the mmWave spectrum.
President Biden nominates experienced telco lawyer Anna Gomez for FCC Commissioner, promising a fresh start for modern communication and bridging the digital divide, after a prolonged appointment process.
A group of consumer and privacy organizations, including the National Consumer Law Center and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny petitions aimed at allowing unsolicited bulk text messaging. The organization, which is made up of numerous telephone users from all around the country, feels that enabling such unwanted messages would be detrimental to customers. In response to a proposed rulemaking in November 2022, some individuals have urged the FCC to allow businesses to send unwanted mass text messages to consumers without their consent. This would result in a rise in unwelcome texts, such as bothersome surveys, recurrent political messaging, and pestering debt collection requests. The FCC not taking action would be detrimental to customers, as they would lose their capacity to filter out undesirable messages. The groups representing telephone subscribers are also requesting the FCC to release interpretations of the…
According to the Federal Communications Commission, callers must receive the recipient’s permission before leaving “ringless voicemails.” The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unanimously concluded that these quiet voicemails are subject to the same Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) provisions that prohibit robocalls without authorization. Each year, the FCC receives numerous consumer complaints about ringless voicemail. As a result, the Commission has made it clear that robocalls, including ringless voicemail, are unlawful if they are made without the recipient’s prior affirmative consent. This decision took effect on the same day that it was made public, November 21, 2022. Any non-emergency call made to a wireless telephone number utilizing an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice is now forbidden under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which safeguards customers against unwanted robocalls. This decision comes five years after All About the Message, LLC (AATM) petitioned the…
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has named Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cybersecurity business and developer of popular antivirus software, as one of the organizations posing an unacceptable danger to US national security. Kaspersky is the first Russian company to be added to the list, which is currently dominated by Chinese telecoms companies. The FCC has now released its most recent list of untrustworthy vendors, which includes, for the first time, a non-Chinese company: Kaspersky. Kaspersky joins Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Hytera, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company, China Telecom (Americas) and China Mobile International USA on the list. Once a company has been included on the list, it is illegal for that organization to use federal subsidies, which are distributed through the FCC’s $8 billion yearly Universal Service Fund, or to buy any of its products or services. Domestic consumers, with the exception of government employees,…
The Federal Communications Commission got a settlement from four firms in relation to emergency calling standards that were not delivered in 2020. The federal prosecution focused on the four corporations involved in the 911 calls, namely Verizon, AT&T, Intrado, and Lumen Technologies, and their inability to fulfill 911 call delivery commitments. Verizon has agreed to pay $274,000 to settle an inquiry into an outage that occurred on May 7, 2020. The other inquiries were all centered around outages on September 28, 2020. With its $460,000 payment, AT&T will resolve two investigations, while Lumen and Intrado will pay $3.8 million and $1.75 million, respectively. The massive payout demonstrates the corporations’ willingness to accept responsibility for their failure to effectively accommodate emergency calls. Each firm has also promised to put in place a compliance strategy. Within 90 days of the consent decree’s effective date, each carrier must examine and adjust…
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it will fund new broadband rollouts across the country through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The FCC has announced its readiness to give the green light to more than $311 million in funding for the provision of broadband in 36 states. A total of 48 providers have been authorized for funding, and the FCC has noted that this financing will help nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in 36 states get access to gigabit speeds over the next ten years. Companies on that list include 3E8 Broadband Solutions, 4-County Fiber LLC, Aeneas Communications, Allen’s TV Cable Service Inc., Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Communications, Cox Communications and more. Additionally, the FCC has issued a statement about its steps to increase oversight in the RDOF program. The Commission has stated that it will not approve of any service provider participating in…
