Letter

A bicameral group of lawmakers sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urging the FCC to consider more ways to advance Native communities’ access to and ownership of spectrum over their lands. It was recently estimated that nearly a third of Tribal lands in the United States lacked internet access. Over 1.5 million people living on Tribal lands lack access to broadband services. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this disparity, limiting access to telemedicine, virtual and remote learning, and public safety programs, among other services.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to Reps Bob Latta (R-OH) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) on June 30, 2022, in response to their letter on the FCC’s fiscal year 2023 proposed budget and full-time equivalent employees.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC needs an additional $3 billion to fund the removal and replacement of telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE over national security concerns, which would bring the total cost of the program to $4.98 billion. In a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Rosenworcel said without extra funds, the FCC would use the "prioritization scheme" specified by Congress for the program.

The USForward group, consisting of Mattey Consulting—the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, INCOMPAS, NTCA, Public Knowledge, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, and the Voice on the Net Coalition—filed a letter on July 8, 2022, in response to AT&T’s letter claiming the USForward Report and i

The Federal Communications Commission is revamping its Broadband Data Collection Program. Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is working to distribute tens of billions of federal dollars to support state and local broadband initiatives.

Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep Sara Jacobs (D-CA) wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan requesting the agency investigate Apple and Google for engaging in unfair and deceptive practices by enabling the collection and sale of hundreds of millions of mobile phone users’ personal data. "The FTC should investigate Apple and Google’s role in transforming online advertising into an intense system of surveillance that incentivizes and facilitates the unrestrained collection and constant sale of Americans’ personal data," says the letter.

On June 15, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) a letter providing an update on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. "Congress charged the Federal Communications Commission with developing a Reimbursement Program to assist with the removal, replacement, and disposal of equipment that could pose a risk to the security of our nation’s communications networks," said Rosenworcel.

In a letter to Members of Congress on June 1, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program s application review process is well underway. The review to date has concluded that many of the applications the agency has received are materially deficient. This is typically because they lack an adequate cost estimate or sufficient supporting materials.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Sens Peters (D-MI), Wicker (R-MS), Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Thune (R-SD) regarding their concerns about the reimbursement requests that the FCC has received through the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program.

Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) would consider an area “as unserved until [it is] actually served” when determining areas eligible for BEAD program funding, raising the potential for overbuilding unfinished federally-subsidized projects. Not only would this approach undermine the success of this program, it would ignore congressional intent, waste taxpayer dollars, complicate already-strained broadband supply chains and workforce shortages, and leave rural America further behind. Moreover, it coul