Press Release

The Federal Communications Commission voted to eliminate the Broadcast Mid-Term Report (Form 397) filing requirement, concluding that this paperwork has become redundant and unnecessary. The FCC has used Form 397 in its mid-term reviews of broadcasters’ equal employment opportunity practices.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules banning illegal spoofed text messages and international calls. The proposed rules would enable the agency to address consumer concerns about unwanted text messages and scam calls from overseas. The rules, if adopted, would ensure that the FCC is also able to bring enforcement actions against bad actors who spoof text messages and spoofers who seek out victims in this country from overseas. 

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to improve Internet-based relay services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing and communicate by speaking.

In county- and city-run jails — where predatory contracts get little attention — instate phone calls can still cost $1 per minute, or more. Moreover, phone providers continue to extract additional profits by charging consumers hidden fees and are taking aggressive steps to limit competition in the industry. These high rates and fees can be disastrous for people incarcerated in local jails. Local jails are very different from state prisons: On a given day, 3 out of 4 people held in jails under local authority have not even been convicted, much less sentenced.

The NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association announced four Smart Rural Community Collaboration Challenge grant recipients as part of the association’s initiative to highlight and support efforts that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. The Collaboration Challenge grants promote broadband-enabled solutions for communities and support collaborative efforts in economic development, education, energy, health care and public safety. The SRC Collaboration Challenge grant recipients are:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai reiterated his call for a robust caller ID authentication system to combat illegal caller ID spoofing. The Chairman recently asked the nation’s largest carriers to provide details about their caller ID authentication plans and he has called for implementation to take place in 2019. On Nov 5, 2018, Chairman Pai demanded that the phone industry begin providing caller ID authentication for consumers in 2019.

44 public interest, civil rights, racial justice, and consumer groups wrote a letter urging Congress to prioritize civil rights concerns when developing consumer privacy legislation. The letter reads:

Throughout our economy, emerging technologies are disrupting pre-existing business models and creating unprecedented opportunities for the American people. However, without access to reliable high-speed broadband, too many Americans are being left out of those opportunities. This is particularly true in rural America, where nearly 39 percent of Americans lack sufficient broadband access.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is collaborating with eight states to broaden and update the national broadband availability map. The eight states – California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia – will contribute data and other inputs to the map. NTIA expects to seek participation from additional states, territories and federally recognized tribes that have broadband programs or related data-collection efforts.

To show how the major US carriers fared in the second half of 2018 across all the spaces in which you use your smartphone, we’re offering our semi-annual three-part series of complementary special reports on mobile performance in the US.