December 2018

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to establish a reassigned numbers database that will reduce the number of unwanted phone calls Americans receive. The new rules establish a single, comprehensive database with information provided by phone companies that callers will be able to use to avoid calling reassigned numbers. Callers using the database will be able to find out if telephone numbers assigned to consumers who want their calls have been disconnected and made eligible for reassignment.

The Federal Communications Commission took a step toward holding a major 5G spectrum auction in 2019 by adopting new rules that will promote the availability of high-band millimeter wave spectrum for the next generation of wireless connectivity. The airwaves in the combined Upper 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands are the largest amount of contiguous spectrum available for wireless service in the millimeter wave bands—2,400 megahertz in total—while the 47 GHz band provides an additional 1,000 megahertz of spectrum. Specifically, the Fourth Report and Order in the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding:

The Senate passed the compromise farm bill, HR 2, notching a win for Democrats who opposed the House’s plan to impose tighter work requirements on food stamp recipients. The bill would raise the annual budget for Department of Agriculture broadband loans, loan guarantees and grants to $350 million from 2019 to 2023 and allows funding to go toward grants as well as loans. Other compromise farm bill broadband provisions include raising the “minimum acceptable level of broadband service for a rural area” to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream – up from a previous 4/1 Mbps.