press release

[Press release] Sens Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Inmate Calling Technical Corrections Act to strengthen the nation’s criminal justice system by helping families keep in touch with incarcerated family members, which studies have shown can help reduce recidivism rates and thereby save taxpayer dollars. This targeted legislation would address long-standing concerns regarding predatory inmate calling rates at prison facilities across the US and would affirm the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to address a m

The Federal Communications Commission is warning consumers about “neighbor spoofing” scams where thieves manipulate caller ID information in ways that make calls appear to have been placed locally. In general, scammers use such spoofing to increase the likelihood that consumers pick up
the phone and to increase the consumer’s trust in the call.

Consumer Tips:

Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) filed the Open Internet Preservation Act to protect consumers by preventing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from slowing down and controlling web content.  The legislation also creates transparency by requiring ISPs to make public their terms of service.  The House companion of this bill was introduced in 2017 by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

[Press release] Members of the House Subcommittees on a) Health and Technology and b) Agriculture, Energy, and Trade held a joint hearing on the challenges in the current regulatory and operational environment that limit the ability of small carriers to bridge the rural digital divide. The hearing examined the disparities between large, nationwide carriers and small, rural carriers that contribute to the urban/rural digital divide and the challenges inherent in the current regulatory and operational schemes that limit the ability of small carriers to deploy broadband in rural America.

We believe that San Franciscans and communities across the country deserve a better internet, with more choice and competition in the market than exists today. We both have been strong advocates for municipal fiber because we know that many consumers feel inadequately served by their private provider, if they are even served at all. This country has a history of allowing communities to take local control of important utilities such as water, electricity and sewer services – the internet should be no different.

The House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing continuing its oversight role of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke to the need to maintain America’s status as a global leader in wireless technologies. In his opening remarks, full Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) stressed the importance of accurate broadband mapping in efforts to expand broadband internet access. David Redl, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA, U.S.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed to direct approximately $954 million toward restoring and expanding communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands—networks that were damaged and destroyed during the 2017 hurricane season. Specifically, he proposed to create a $750 million Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund (Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund) and a $204 million Connect USVI Fund.

The National Religious Broadcasters received encouraging news from the Federal Communications Commission and veteran lawyers commenting on the government entity’s work during Proclaim 18, the NRB’s International Christian Media Convention. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai spoke to the Christian communicators gathered for the annual meeting in a video shown in both the opening session February 27 and an FCC session March 1. He pledged to continue to speak out for free speech and thanked NRB for its instrumental support in the last year.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the agency has chosen Patrick Webre as chief of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, continuing the work he has been doing as acting chief. During his career, Webre served in several leadership roles at the FCC including as an Associate Bureau Chief and Chief Programs Officer in the Bureau he now leads, legal advisor to the chief of the Media Bureau, and an attorney in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Immediately prior to rejoining the Commission last year as acting chief, Webre worked at

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission and spurring the deployment of next-generation wireless services. The legislation, RAY BAUM’S Act (H.R. 4986), will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The legislation would: