Press Release

On April 18, 2017, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to postpone the vote on the Business Data Services (BDS) Report and Order that was scheduled for a vote at the April 20, 2017 FCC meeting.

On July 17, Chairman Pai responded by saying, "In your letter, you suggest additional protections for small businesses and the need for a reasonable transition as well as a delay of the Commission's vote. Although the Commission was unable to accommodate your every request, I note that the Commission did deny incumbent carriers a catch-up adjustment to their existing rates in non-competitive areas and implemented a staged transition: In newly deregulated areas, price-cap carriers cannot raise their tariffed rates for special access services for a period of six months and have three years to transition to de-tariff their services. The Commission also emphasized that incumbents may not use the de-tariffng process to disturb existing contractual or other long-term arrangements-a contract tariff remains a contract even if it is no longer tariffed. Finally, the Commission adopted downward pricing flexibility in still regulated areas to ensure that small businesses in rural America have the opportunity to receive the same discounts now available in urban areas."

On June 22,2 017, members of Congress from Missouri, Sens Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Reps Billy Long (R-MO), Sam Graves (R-MO), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Blaine Luetkemeyor (R-MO), Jason Smith (R-MO), and Ann Wagner (R-MO), wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai regarding completing the next steps under the Connect America Fund, and to state their opposition to any efforts or petitions to delay or alter implementation of the rules.

On July 18, Chairman Pai responded by saying, "The CAF 11 Auction Order adopted auction weights designed to give every bidder- no matter what technology they use-a meaningful opportunity to compete for federal funds, while ensuring the best value for the American taxpayer. With this Public Notice, we are seeking comment on the procedures to be used during this auction. Moving forward now will put us on track to conduct the auction in 2018."

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, August 3, 2017 for the subjects listed below:
Connect America Fund Phase II Auction (Auction 903) – The Commission will consider a Public Notice to initiate the pre-auction process for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction which will award up to $198 million annually for 10 years to service providers that commit to offer voice and broadband services to fixed locations in unserved high-cost areas. (AU Docket No. 17-182)
Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process – The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order that lays out a robust challenge process that will enable the Commission to direct Mobility Fund Phase II support to primarily rural areas that lack unsubsidized 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. (WC Docket No. 10-90; WT Docket No.10-208)
Form 477 - The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that takes a focused look at the Commission’s Form 477 to improve the value of the data we continue to collect. (WC Docket No. 11-10)
Expanding Flexible Use in Mid-Band Spectrum Between 3.7 GHz and 24 GHz – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry that explores opportunities for next generation services – particularly for wireless broadband – in the 3.7 GHz to 24 GHz spectrum range and asks about how we can increase efficient and effective use of this spectrum for the benefit of all services and users. (GN Docket No. 17-183)
Wireless License Renewal and Service Continuity Reform – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would adopt unified construction, renewal, and service continuity rules for the Wireless Radio Services, while seeking comment on a range of additional possible actions to increase the number of Americans with access to wireless communications services. (WTB Docket No. 10-112)
Transmitter Identification Requirements for Satellite Digital Video Uplink Transmissions – The Commission will consider a Memorandum Opinion and Order that waives the requirement that satellite news trucks, and other temporary-fixed satellite earth stations transmitting digital video, comply with the Digital Video Broadcasting-Carrier Identification (DVB-CID) standard if the earth station uses a modulator that cannot meet the DVB-CID standard through a software upgrade. (IB Docket No. 12-267)
Hearing Designation Order – The Commission will consider a Hearing Designation Order.

New legislation introduced by Reps David Price (D-NC) and Jared Huffman (D-CA) would protect local television markets across the country from corporate consolidation by permanently ending the so-called “UHF discount,” an obsolete Federal Communications Commission loophole that the Trump Administration wants to revive to benefit right-wing media conglomerates.

If the UHF discount is allowed to go into effect, a series of pending corporate mergers, including one with the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media, would dramatically reduce competition among local TV stations across the country. Specifically, the Local and Independent Television Protection Act:
Requires the FCC to act within 90 days to permanently end the UHF discount; and
Grandfathers any stations owned prior to September 26, 2013, which is commensurate with the FCC’s previous efforts to end the UHF discount.
The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Jackie Speier (D-CA).

In 1992, 98 percent of American homes relied on cable to watch subscription TV. There were no satellite TV options or telco-provided TV options. There certainly weren’t internet streaming options because, among other reasons, broadband wouldn’t be launched for another four years. It would be a full decade after that before a video streaming service would be made available. 25 years later, the TV marketplace is undeniably different. Technologies like cloud DVRs, apps, and TV Everywhere have transformed the way we watch television. Many of the best content creators are choosing TV to tell their stories. But perhaps most noticeably, the marketplace has become robustly competitive.

According to the FCC, 99 percent of U.S. homes have access to at least three multi-channel subscription TV services. Cable’s historic dominance has dissipated into a market where 54 percent of homes with multichannel video services are cable video customers, 34 percent are satellite video customers, and 12 percent are telco TV customers. Not so coincidentally, as fast broadband networks have become ubiquitous throughout America, additional pay TV competition has emerged from new players who use the internet to deliver programming. The dominant player is Netflix, a premium streaming service that has become an entertainment powerhouse. It has 50.9 million U.S. subscribers, more than the entire cable industry. The next largest video service provider, AT&T/DirecTV has less than half that, 25 million. And Comcast, the largest cable video provider has 22.5 million customers.

The Federal Communications Commission today issued a $2.88 million fine against a New Mexico-based company, Dialing Services, for facilitating unlawful robocalls. Robocallers used Dialing Services’ calling technology platform to make millions of illegal robocalls to mobile phones without express prior consent from consumers.

To provide you with a complete picture of mobile network performance in the first half of 2017, we’re offering a three-part, complementary series of special reports to show you how the networks fared across the entirety of the United States, within each of the 50 states, and across the 125 most populated metropolitan markets.

Verizon’s performance on the national stage was outstanding in all test categories in the first half of 2017. AT&T, meanwhile, offered strong competition, finishing second in five out of six performance categories and earning a share of the Text RootScore Award with Verizon and Sprint. Sprint showed improvement at the national level, delivering particularly strong text results and earning a share of the United States Text RootScore Award. T-Mobile’s rankings at the national level remained unchanged compared with those in our previous test period.

On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became the law of the land. This landmark legislation gave the Federal Communications Commission a mandate to ensure access to telecommunications by Americans with hearing and speech disabilities.

Title IV of the ADA requires the FCC to ensure that nationwide telecommunications relay services are available for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or who have a speech disability to communicate with other individuals in a manner that is functionally equivalent to people who use voice telephone services. In 2010, with passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), Congress authorized the distribution of free communications equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind. The FCC used this authority to develop the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, also known as "iCanConnect." Since 2012, iCanConnect has provided the equipment needed to make communications services accessible to low-income individuals who have both significant vision loss and significant hearing loss. Among other things, this program has enabled people who are deaf-blind and were unable to access telecommunications relay services to now do so. Although iCanConnect started as a pilot FCC program, it became permanent as of July 1, 2017. Through iCanConnect, relay service programs, and other accessibility initiatives under the ADA and CVAA, the FCC is working to ensure that all Americans have equal access to essential telecommunications services so that everyone can take full advantage of all the latest life-enhancing innovations.

The Open Technology Institute team did a technical experiment at this Spring’s March for Science in Washington (DC) to try and answer these questions and explore new ways of detecting when your cell phone is being surveilled. The increasingly broad use of cell site simulators by law enforcement is controversial for many reasons. As a general matter, the devices themselves indiscriminately invade the privacy of everyone around them because they connect to, and can capture data from, all phones within their range. But the devices have also been used in controversial ways. In particular, they have been deployed disproportionately in areas made up predominantly of people of color.

We decided to conduct an experiment to see whether and how one might be able to detect the use of cell site simulators during a large protest. In particular, OTI conducted a spectrum survey at the March for Science in April 2017 to experiment with ways to identify these devices. Although our results were inconclusive, they gave us new insights into how best to tackle this problem, insights that we and others can apply to future experiments with the same goal: developing tools that give us the power to watch the watchers.

After House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) announce that he had invited the CEOs of both Internet-based companies and broadband internet access service providers to a September hearing on network neutrality, the committee’s Democratic leadership wrote to him saying, “In your announcement of the hearing, you said the Chief Executive Officers from eight of the largest corporations in the world with a combined market capitalization of nearly $2.5 trillion had been invited to testify. Although you stated the hearing was an inquiry into the ‘internet ecosystem,’ you once again failed to recognize how important the internet is for consumers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, political organizers, public interest groups, and people looking for work. We therefore ask that you make sure that any hearing has sufficient witnesses to represent the diversity of real people who will be affected by the FCC’s efforts to roll back net neutrality,”