press release

The American Library Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt the legally enforceable network neutrality rules necessary to fulfill library missions and serve communities nationwide.

The ALA joined 10 other national higher education and library organizations in filing joint public comments with the FCC. For instance, the FCC should:

• Explicitly apply open Internet rules to public broadband Internet access service provided to libraries, institutions of higher education and other public interest organizations;
• Prohibit “paid prioritization;”
• Adopt rules that are technology-neutral and apply equally to fixed and mobile services;
• Adopt a re-defined “no-blocking” rule that bars public broadband Internet access providers from interfering with the consumer’s choice of content, applications, or services;
• Further strengthen disclosure rules;
• Charge the proposed ombudsman with protecting the interests of libraries and higher education institutions and other public interest organizations, in addition to consumers and small businesses;
• Continue to recognize that libraries and institutions of higher education operate private networks or engage in end user activities that are not subject to open Internet rules; and
• Preserve the unique capacities of the Internet as an open platform by exercising its well-established sources of authority to implement open Internet rules, based on Title II reclassification or an “Internet reasonable” standard under Section 706.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged the Federal Communications Commission to preserve free and open competition on the Internet, in recently filed comments.

In his submission, Sen Wyden called for the FCC to do that by reclassifying broadband providers as Title II common carriers, enforcing rules to ban paid prioritization and ensuring more transparency for consumers. Treating broadband providers the same way as other telecommunication companies, under Title II of the Telecommunications Act will provide the FCC with a strong legal foundation to enforce the open Internet rules that level the playing field for consumers and startups.

The US Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has published the federal agencies’ transition plans for vacating or sharing spectrum bands set to be auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission in the fall of 2014.

The agencies’ transition plans provide information on the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands, known as the “AWS-3” bands. The plans include timelines outlining when agencies will discontinue use of the bands or be ready to share them with non-federal users and provide estimates of the cost of relocating or sharing in these bands.

NTIA and the FCC will soon be releasing a joint public notice detailing the coordination procedures between AWS-3 licensees and the agencies following the FCC auction. The FCC’s auction of these bands along with the 2155-2180 MHz band is scheduled to begin on November 13, 2014.

Assist 123, a Las Vegas (NV) telecommunications carrier, will pay $1.3 million to resolve a Federal Communications Commission investigation into allegations that the company billed wireless telephone consumers for a “Concierge/Directory Assistance” subscription text messaging service, a service that they did not want or authorize.

This practice is commonly known as “cramming.” This is the FCCs third enforcement action recently involving alleged cramming violations, following a proposed $7.62 million fine to Optic Internet Protocol and a proposed $1.6 million fine to Net One International Assist 123 and its affiliated companies billed consumers for unwanted Premium Short Messaging Service (PSMS) communications. These billing practices generated over 2,600 pages of complaints and inquiries from consumers.

Rather than open Internet, the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Rulemaking proceeding is about whether the FCC should continue applying the light-touch policy regime that has been in place for broadband Internet access service since the Clinton Administration.

Further regulation of broadband is not needed at this time and would threaten the healthy dynamics fueling the growth and continued improvement of the Internet and the many services it enables.

“Reclassifying” broadband Internet access service as a Title II common carriage telecommunications service, as some have suggested, would be a radical departure that would not achieve its proponents’ stated goals and would only endanger the entire Internet ecosystem. The price and service regulation inherent in Title II have no place in today’s fast-paced and competitive Internet marketplace, and the threats posed by this approach would not likely be confined to broadband providers, but would spread inevitably to other Internet sectors.

The United States country code top-level domain name (.us ccTLD) is managed on behalf of the US government through a contract overseen by the US Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

In March 2014, NTIA entered into a new contract with Neustar to operate the .us ccTLD. The.us contract requires the creation of a process for Neustar to solicit input from stakeholders on the management of .us to continually improve and enhance the user experience and utility of the usTLD space. Neustar has proposed the creation of the usTLD Stakeholder Council to fulfill the requirement and meet this important goal.

The Notice of Inquiry, published by Neustar, solicits input from all usTLD stakeholders on the proposed composition of the Stakeholder Council, the principles and policies that will guide the Stakeholder Council and the operating procedures for the Council. Those who wish to provide input have until Aug 16, 2014, to submit comments.

The Federal Communications Commission plans to fine Optic Internet Protocol, a Roswell (GA) telephone company, $7.62 million for allegedly switching consumers’ long distance telephone services without their authorization (“slamming”), billing customers for unauthorized charges (“cramming”), and submitting falsified evidence to government regulatory officials as “proof” of consumers’ authorizations.

“Cheating and lying to consumers are unacceptable, predatory business practices,” said Travis LeBlanc, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. “We will vigorously police companies that deceive consumers by billing them for services they did not authorize or desire.”

Optic allegedly switched complainants’ preferred long distance carriers and also billed the consumers for long distance service by placing charges for its set-up fee and recurring monthly fee on their local telephone bills.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau reviewed more than 150 complaints against Optic that consumers filed with the Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, state regulatory agencies, and the Better Business Bureau.

Consumers who noticed the unauthorized charges had to expend significant time and effort to attempt to return to their preferred carriers, to get the charges removed from their bills, and file complaints with law enforcement agencies. Therefore, Commission charged Optic with willfully and repeatedly placing unauthorized charges on consumers’ local telephone bills, switching consumers’ preferred long distance carrier without verified authorization, and submitting fabricated audio “verification” recordings, all in apparent violation of the Communications Act.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the creation of a Universal Service Fund (USF) Strike Force -- housed in the agency’s Enforcement Bureau -- dedicated to combatting waste, fraud, and abuse in Commission funding programs.

The USF Strike Force will be led by Loyaan Egal, who joins the FCC after serving as a senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The USF Strike Force -- which boosts the Bureau’s existing enforcement operations -- will focus on safeguarding the Universal Service Fund and the other funding programs the FCC oversees. The Strike Force will investigate violations of the Communications Act, the Commission’s rules, and other laws bearing on USF programs and contributions. In addition to leading the FCC’s enforcement activities in these areas, the Strike Force will coordinate with the FCC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the US Department of Justice, and other law enforcement agencies to prosecute unlawful conduct.

The Strike Force’s investigations and activities will promote future compliance, protect those who depend on the funds for access, and safeguard contributors to the funds from the unlawful acts of others.

The Federal Communications Commission launched experiments to explore how robust broadband can be expanded at lower cost in rural America. The experiments will inform the agency’s broader effort to expand rural broadband through its Connect America Fund.

They will also inform the FCC’s efforts to ensure that consumers everywhere can benefit from the sweeping technological advances occurring now in the communications industry, while preserving consumer protection, competition, universal service and access to emergency services during these transitions. Up to $100 million will be available for the experiments, which will be divided into three groups as follows:

• $75 million to test construction of networks offering service plans providing 25 Mpbs downloads and 5 Mbps uploads – far in excess of the current Connect America Fund standard of 4/1 – for the same or lower amounts of support than will be offered to carriers in Phase II of Connect America
• $15 million to test interest in delivering service at 10/1 speeds in high cost areas
• $10 million for 10/1 service in areas that are extremely costly to serve.

Applicants will compete nationwide for the funds, which will be awarded to projects that are most cost effective. A key goal of the experiments is to test this competitive bidding process before it is used to allocate funds more broadly from the Connect America Fund, anticipated to occur later in 2015. The experiments will also test service over diverse technologies, including fiber and wireless networks, and will be open to non-traditional providers, including electric utilities, wireless internet service providers, and others. To ensure diverse experiments, project sizes are capped, while entities serving Tribal lands are eligible for a 25% bidding credit

The Federal Communications Commission has updated its initial screen for review of spectrum acquisitions through secondary markets and makes determinations regarding whether to establish mobile spectrum holding limits for its upcoming auctions of high- and low-band spectrum, in light of the growing demand for spectrum, the differences between spectrum bands, and in accordance with its desire to preserve and promote competition.

The FCC has updated its spectrum screen for its competitive review of proposed secondary market transactions to reflect current suitability and availability of spectrum for mobile wireless services. It adds to its spectrum screen: 40 megahertz of AWS–4; 10 megahertz of H Block; 65 megahertz of AWS–3 (when it becomes available on a market-by- market basis); 12 megahertz of BRS; 89 megahertz of EBS; and the total amount of 600 MHz spectrum auctioned in the Incentive Auction.

It subtracts from its spectrum screen: 12.5 megahertz of SMR; and 10 megahertz that was the Upper 700 MHz D Block. The Commission establishes a market-based spectrum reserve of up to 30 megahertz in the Incentive Auction in each license area to ensure against excessive concentration in holdings of low-band spectrum and ensuring that all bidders bear a fair share of the cost of the Incentive Auction.

It adopts limits on secondary market transactions of 600 MHz spectrum licenses for six years post-auction. It declines to adopt auction-specific limits for AWS–3. It treats certain further concentrations of below-1-GHz spectrum as an enhanced factor in its case-by-case analysis of the potential competitive harms posed by individual transactions.