Press Release

[Press release] As consequential as the Federal Communications Commission can be in communications policy, it is critical for those in leadership positions to acknowledge that its authority and reach is inherently limited. In fact, current law prevents the Commission from having any role or oversight over numerous modern technologies central to many Americans' communications habits.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr wrapped up his weeklong trip through the Great Plains with stops in Brookings and Sioux Falls (SD). With Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Gov Dennis Daugaard (R-SD), Commissioner Carr attended a ribbon-cutting for the opening of a tower climber training facility. Commissioner Carr learned firsthand about the skill required to climb towers for a living when Sioux Falls Tower & Communications led the Commissioner up a 60-foot cell tower.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, June 7, 2018: 

Congress recognized the deficiencies of the current broadband data collection process when it directed National Telecommunications and Information Administration to update the national broadband availability map. Congress asked us to acquire third-party datasets to augment the information that is already available, in order to more accurately identify regions with insufficient capacity.

A Q&A with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. 

Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Steve Daines (R- MT) have introduced the bipartisan Reprioritizing Unserved Rural Areas and Locations for Broadband (RURAL Broadband) Act of 2018, which will prioritize federal funds that are used to provide broadband access to areas that are unserved with no access, before they are used to upgrade areas with existing service. Their bill is a significant step toward prioritizing unserved rural areas in Vermont and other states.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the successful completion of the transition to the new Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA), Telcordia Technologies, doing business as iconectiv. The LNPA operates the system that allows consumers to keep their telephone numbers when they switch communications service providers, thereby promoting consumer choice and competition among those companies. It also provides critical services to our nation’s law enforcement and public safety communities.

The Federal Communications Commission approved additional immediate funding to accelerate the restoration of communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands that were damaged and destroyed during the 2017 hurricane season. The FCC is also seeking comment on injecting almost $900 million in medium- and long-term funding into expanding and improving broadband access on the islands. To accomplish these goals, the Commission created the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund (Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund) and the Connect USVI Fund.

Sens Tom Udall (D-NM) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced a bill to put wireless internet on school buses in order to help students without broadband access at home get online to study and do homework.

Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the “Mobile Accuracy and Precision Broadband Act” (MAP Broadband Act) (S 2955). If enacted, the bill would help improve the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mobile broadband coverage map and ensure that federal resources are targeted to unserved communities that do not have access to reliable mobile broadband service. The legislation would address problems with the FCC’s Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) presumptive eligibility maps.