press release

The Federal Communications Commission announced settlements with Sprint and Mobilitie in two separate but related investigations into whether the companies completed proper tower registration as well as environmental and historic impact reviews prior to construction of wireless infrastructure facilities.  To settle the investigations, Sprint agreed to pay $10 million and Mobilitie agreed to pay $1.6 million to the US Treasury.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the launch of a new Honors Engineer Program to recruit current students and recent engineering school graduates to the FCC and into the forefront of the technology and communications fields. This is an opportunity for individuals to gain public
sector experience at the beginning of their careers through a valuable one-year career development program. At the end of the one-year program, Honors Program engineers will be eligible for consideration for continued employment at the FCC. 

The Federal Communications Commission approved an application by Space Exploration Holdings, doing business as SpaceX, to provide broadband services using satellite technology in the United States and around the world. SpaceX proposed a satellite system comprised of 4,425 satellites and was granted authority to use frequencies in the Ka (20/30 GHz) and Ku (11/14 GHz) bands to provide global Internet connectivity. The Memorandum Opinion, Order and Authorization outlines the conditions under which SpaceX is authorized to provide service using its proposed NGSO FSS satellite constellation.

Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Mignon Clyburn announced the appointments of Neşe Guendelsberger as wireline legal advisor and Michael Scurato as media legal advisor, as well as the departures of J. David Grossman, the Commissioner’s Chief of Staff and Claude Aiken, the Commissioner’s wireline legal advisor.

First responders perform a specialized job. And with the launch of the FirstNet network core, first responders now have access to a truly specialized communications system that can keep up with their needs. While we’ve already given first responders access to the early benefits of FirstNet, the launch of the FirstNet evolved packet core is a major breakthrough for public safety. Built on physically separate hardware, it finally gives first responders their own separate, nationwide broadband network.

President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key position in his Administration: Rebecca Kelly Slaughter of Maryland, to be a Member of the Federal Trade Commission for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring September 25, 2022. Slaughter is currently chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).  A native New Yorker, she has worked for Minority Leader Schumer since 2009, advising him on legal, competition, telecom, privacy, consumer protection, and intellectual property matters, among other issues.

The European Commission proposed new rules to ensure that digital business activities are taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way in the European Union. Two distinct legislative proposals will lead to a fairer taxation of digital activities in the EU:

The US Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved rural communities. USDA is accepting applications through May 14 in the Community Connect program. Grants from $100,000 to $3 million are available to state and local governments, federally-recognized tribes, nonprofits and for-profit corporations. Applicants must be able to provide a 15 percent match on the desired grant amount.

The Federal Communications Commission is now accepting applications from broadband providers of all kinds to participate in Summer 2018's Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction.  Providers must submit their applications by March 30, when the application window closes. The auction will make available up to $1.98 billion in support over the next decade to help build out high-speed Internet access to up to 1 million homes and small businesses in rural areas across the country that lack service.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released, for the first time, preliminary statistics and an accompanying report exploring the size and growth of the digital economy. Goods and services that are primarily digital accounted for 6.5 percent of the US economy, or $1.2 trillion, in 2016, after a decade of growing faster than the US economy overall, BEA’s research shows.