Press Release

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on reforms to increase efficiency and fairness in the system governing intercarrier payments for toll free calling, and to eliminate the financial incentive for abusive calling practices, including fraudulent or otherwise unnecessary robocalling to toll free numbers. The FCC is seeking comment on transitioning the toll free intercarrier compensation system to a “bill-and-keep” regime. Under bill-and-keep, each carrier recovers revenues from its own subscribers rather than other carriers.

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to establish clear, strong, and consistent safeguards to prevent the fraudulent use of toll free numbers in text messaging. In a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC:
Clarified that a text messaging provider may not text-enable a toll free number without first obtaining authorization from the subscriber for that number

The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules to help protect consumers from the illegal and harmful practices of slamming, which is the unauthorized change of a consumer’s preferred telephone company, and cramming, which is the placement of unauthorized charges on a consumer’s phone bill.  With the action, the Commission’s rules now include a clear ban on misrepresentations made during sales calls and provide that such material misrepresentations invalidate any authorization given by a consumer to switch telephone companies.

The Federal Communications Commission set aside enforcement of rules, granting a petition for forbearance that will, in effect, waive the requirement for small, rural carriers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund on their broadband Internet access transmission service revenues.

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to make additional high-band spectrum available for advanced wireless services. These actions are building blocks of the nation’s 5G future and critical to continued US wireless leadership. Pushing more spectrum into the marketplace for the next generation of wireless connectivity will contribute to economic growth, job creation, public safety, and our nation’s global competitiveness.

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated regulations for carriers seeking to move from the networks of yesterday to the networks of tomorrow. The Order:

The Federal Communications Commission today approved an item to reform Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), a form of telecommunications relay service (TRS) that allows individuals with hearing loss to both read captions and use their residual hearing to understand a telephone conversation.

The item approved by the FCC:

The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to update its leased access rules, which require cable operators to set aside channel capacity for commercial use by unaffiliated video programmers.

Reps Ted Lieu (D-CA), Mike Bishop (R-MI), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) reintroduced the Ensuring National Constitutional Rights for Your Private Telecommunications (ENCRYPT) Act. The legislation would preempt state and local government encryption laws to ensure a uniform, national policy for the interstate issue of encryption technology.

Internet Association announced that [former Benton Foundation Headlines writer!] Jon Berroya joined the organization as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to lead IA’s legal and regulatory efforts. Berroya joins IA from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), where he was Vice President, Legal Affairs. At ESA, Berroya was responsible for managing all aspects of the organization’s efforts to enforce its members’ intellectual property rights and counseled the association on cybersecurity and privacy issues.