1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2015

September 2015

NTIA Says BTOP Delivered on Broadband Promises

In a speech at a BroadbandUSA regional broadband workshop in Portland (Maine), National Telecommunications & Information Administration head Lawrence Strickling was taking stock of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) broadband subsidy program that has drawn fire from congressional Republicans and some cable operators over how it spent $4 billion in subsidies, both in terms of potential misuse and of how targeted it was, or wasn't, to areas where there was no service. Strickling said the program financed 230 projects that deployed more than 114,000 miles of new or upgraded plant, as well as upgrading or launching public computer centers and promoting adoption. He said the new plant had connected "nearly 26,000 community anchor institutions such as schools and hospitals and installed or upgraded more than 47,000 personal computers in public access centers." Strickling also said that translated into "hundreds of thousands of people as subscribers to broadband services."

Cell phone lobby win means 'more people will die'

More than 10,000 people, who would otherwise be saved, die every year when calling 911 from a cellphone because emergency dispatchers can’t get a quick and accurate location on them, the Federal Communications Commission calculated, when it proposed new 911 location rules last year for wireless phones. The problem isn’t the dispatchers, police officers or firefighters who respond to the emergency calls. The failure is that the technologies used by wireless carriers fail repeatedly to locate indoor callers.

The real tragedy, say emergency workers and cellular engineers, is that this doesn’t have to be: Technical solutions exist that can locate people calling on cellphones within seconds. But tough rules proposed by the FCC in February 2014 aimed at requiring more accurate indoor locations of callers to 911 were weakened through a nearly year-long lobbying campaign by wireless carriers. Wireless carriers said the new rules relied too heavily on expensive proprietary technology that was untested and that accuracy claims were overhyped. They argued that commercially available technology already widely deployed, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices found in almost every business and most homes, promised to provide better location accuracy because it would give a specific street address with an apartment, floor and room number. But more than a dozen associations representing firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians, the elderly, the deaf and technology companies said the commercial technology wasn’t developed for the demands of a 911 system and would fail during major disasters when electricity was lost.

NTIA Publishes Guide to Federal Funding of Broadband Projects

As part of the BroadbandUSA initiative, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is releasing its Broadband Funding Guide, which provides a roadmap on how to access federal funding to support broadband planning, public access, digital literacy, adoption, and deployment. The guide details a wide range of opportunities. The guide is not meant to provide an exhaustive list of all federal funding opportunities. Instead, it can serve as a starting point for communities to explore potential federal financing options.

Communities should consider additional funding sources, including state grants and local resources. Communities may also want to consult NTIA's Introduction to Effective Public-Private Partnerships released earlier in 2015, which provides information on developing a successful partnership model for broadband investments. In the coming weeks and months, BroadbandUSA will be releasing additional publications to assist communities as they seek out ways to ensure their residents have access to cutting-edge broadband technology.

Remarks of FCC Commissioner O'Rielly Before the Professional Association for Customer Engagement

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was intended to protect consumers from abusive so-called "robocalls" and junk faxes while enabling legitimate businesses to reach customers that expressed interest in being contacted. Unfortunately, prior decisions by the Federal Communications Commission and courts throughout the country have expanded the boundaries of the TCPA far beyond what Congress intended.

In July, the FCC issued an extensive Declaratory Ruling and Order addressing most of the pending petitions. In some regards, this is a case of be careful what you wish for. To be sure, the FCC provided some clarity that many of you and I were seeking. But the item expanded the scope of the TCPA even further, increasing legitimate companies' litigation risk while doing virtually nothing that would actually protect consumers from abusive calling practices. I dissented from most of it. I will spend some time describing how the FCC's recent decisions, including the latest enforcement actions against Lyft and First National Bank, show that the FCC does not understand how the tech economy works.

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