Public Notice

FCC Adopts Procedures to Implement Enhanced A-CAM

On July 23, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Enhanced A-CAM Order, establishing the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program as a voluntary path for supporting 100/20 Mbps broadband deployment throughout the rural areas served by carriers currently receiving A-CAM support and in areas served by legacy rate-of-return support recipients.

Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence

The US Copyright Office is undertaking a study of the copyright law and policy issues raised by generative AI and is assessing whether legislative or regulatory steps are warranted. The Office will use the record it assembles to advise Congress; inform its regulatory work; and offer information and resources to the public, courts, and other government entities considering these issues. The notice of inquiry (NOI) seeks factual information and views on a number of copyright issues raised by recent advances in generative AI.

FCC Declines to Reconsider Rules for Consumer Access to Easy-To-Understand Info on Broadband Labels

The Federal Communications Commission largely rejected petitions to reconsider its Broadband Consumer Label rules. Today’s action preserves consumer access to clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost and performance of broadband services. Following the adoption of the Broadband Label Order, several petitions were filed asking the FCC to clarify and/or reconsider certain label requirements.

FCC and HUD Partner to Promote Affordable Internet Access for Low-Income Communities

The Federal Communications Commission and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formalized a partnership to promote awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) among federal housing assistance recipients. The partnership agreement reflects HUD’s commitment to increase outreach activities, alongside the work both agencies are doing to decrease the time it takes for recipients of HUD assistance to sign up for the program.

FCC Seeks Nominations for Six Board Member Positions on the Universal Service Administrative Company Board of Directors

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) seeks nominations for the following Board member positions on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) listed below for a three-year term:

FCC Seeks Nominations for Membership on Technological Advisory Council

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations for membership on the Technological Advisory Council (TAC). Following consultation with the General Services Administration, the FCC anticipates renewing the charter of the TAC, for a period of two (2) years starting on or about September 7, 2023.

FCC Helps Hawai'i Wildfire Survivors Stay Connected

To assist those affected by the Hawai’i Wildfires, this temporary waiver of certain Lifeline program eligibility rules will ensure that consumers receiving federal disaster assistance can easily apply for and enroll in the Lifeline program. Because of the exigent circumstances arising from the Hawai’i Wildfires, the FCC finds that there is good cause for further action to ensure that consumers in the affected areas receive critical assistance for their communications needs.

Cuba City and Cal-Ore Default Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Awards

Cuba City Telephone Exchange Co. and Cal-Ore Communications notified the Federal Communications Commission of their decisions to withdraw from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support program. Cuba City and Cal-Ore’s letters constitute notification to the FCC that these carriers are defaulting on their obligations to meet their service milestones.

BEAD Build America, Buy America Waiver Request for Comment

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) charged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with establishing the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and ensuring that BEAD-funded broadband infrastructure projects comply with the Buy America Domestic Content Procurement Preference (Buy America Preference) of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA).

Chairwoman Rosenworcel Announces Rechartering of Precision Agriculture Task Force

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the FCC's intent to recharter the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Task Force for its third and final term, calling on the four working groups to examine the impact of connectivity in meeting the production and sustainability challenges facing agricultural and food systems. In addition, Chairwoman Rosenworcel called for representatives from diverse and historically underrepresented communities, including socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, to apply for membership to the Task Force and its working groups.

FCC Announces Second Round of ACP Outreach Grant Program Awards

The Federal Communications Commission announced final funding allocations for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (ACP Outreach Grant Program), National Competitive Outreach Program (NCOP) Round 2. The total amount of final funds announced for NCOP Round 2 is over $4.3 million.

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program Five-Year Action Plan

Broadband plays a pivotal role in facilitating essential activities for residents and fostering societal advancements across various domains, including economic development, healthcare, public safety, government services, and education. The federal government is embarking on an unprecedented investment in broadband, allocating over $100 billion nationwide.

Urban Rate Survey Timeline for 2024

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) and the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) initiated the urban rate survey for 2024. The information collected in this survey will be used to develop voice and broadband reasonable comparability benchmarks that will be in place in 2024. The FCC will be collecting the rates offered by a random sample of providers of fixed services identified using December 2022 data filed in the FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) tool.

Broadband Data Task Force Seeks Comment on Petition for Extension of Waiver of the Engineering Certification Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Task Force, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau, and the Office of Economics and Analytics seek comment on a Petition for Extension of Waiver (Petition) filed by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) and USTelecom – The Broadband Association (USTelecom and, together with CCA, Petitioners).

FCC Announces Key Dates for Affordable Connectivity Program Transparency Data Collection

On November 15, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order establishing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Transparency Data Collection to collect information related to the price, subscription rates, and plan characteristics of the internet service offerings of participating providers, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

FCC Seeks Comment on Extending Waiver of Letter of Credit Rules for Connect America Fund Phase II Auction

Recognizing the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on financial markets and on the ability of providers to successfully conduct their operations, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) waived the FCC’s letter of credit (LOC) rules for Connect America Fund Phase II auction (Auction 903) and Rural Broadband Experiments (RBE) support recipients in 2020 and 2021. Recipients of support from both programs were permitted to comply with the less extensive letter of credit rules established by the FCC for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).

FCC Proposes Voluntary Cybersecurity Labeling Program for Internet-Enabled Devices

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to create a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program that would provide consumers with clear information about the security of their internet-enabled devices, commonly called “Internet of Things” (IoT) or “smart” devices.

FCC Releases Illustrative Results for Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) released illustrative results for the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM) (v2.6.0) program recently adopted by the FCC. These results utilize three different combinations of per-location funding caps for unserved locations and funding percentages for locations already deployed by the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).

FCC Releases Public Notice on Tribal Spectrum Access and Data

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Native Affairs and Policy seek comment on ways in which the FCC can improve its understanding of how and the extent to which Tribal Nations and the Native Hawaiian Community are able to access wireless spectrum today. This information will be used as the FCC develops and implements new and existing policy initiatives designed to increase broadband connectivity in Tribal communities.

Oregon Broadband Office Requests Comment on the Draft Five-Year Action Plan

The Oregon Broadband Office has completed a draft Five-Year Action Plan and wants to hear your feedback.

State of Ohio Initial Proposal, Volume I Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

BroadbandOhio has drafted Volume 1 of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal including: identification of existing broadband efforts, existing unserved and underserved locations, and community anchor institutions as well its detailed challenge process plan.

National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy

This first-of-its-kind comprehensive approach is aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term cyber workforce needs. Filling the hundreds of thousands of cyber job vacancies across our nation is a national security imperative and the Administration is making generational investments to prepare our country to lead in the digital economy.

Universal Service Fund Working Group Request for Comment

The Universal Service Fund Working Group seeks public comment on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF). The goal of this working group is to create a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policy-making on the USF. The working group invited comments on ten questions related to money collected from telecommunications companies that is dedicated to fulfilling the goals of universal service.

President Biden Taps Harry Coker to be National Cyber Director

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Harry Coker, Jr. for National Cyber Director. Coker is a senior national security leader with more than four decades of public service, including in leadership positions in the US Navy, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Security Agency (NSA). From 2017 to 2019, Coker served as the Executive Director of the NSA, where he helped lead and manage the largest component of the US Intelligence Community, and prior to that, as the Director of Open Source Enterprise in the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation.