Press Release

Comcast Corporation announced that its acclaimed Internet Essentials program, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program, has now connected more than four million low-income Americans, in one million households, to high-speed Internet service at home. The State of Florida is second to California with the most connected households in the country, having connected more than 120,000 low-income households benefitting nearly 500,000 Floridians.

The company also announced three key program enhancements:
For the fourth time in six years, Comcast will increase the program’s Internet service speeds, this time from 10/1 Mbps to up to 15/2 Mbps.
To help family members connect to the Internet on the go and save money on their wireless bills, Internet Essentials customers will now enjoy 40 hours of free out-of-home WiFi access per month to the company’s growing network of 18 million Xfinity WiFi hotspots.
Comcast is also expanding its pilot program for low-income senior citizens from five cities and metropolitan areas to 12, including today in Miami-Dade County (FL).

MacArthur announced $5.7 million in grants to seven organizations to support professional nonfiction media makers from diverse backgrounds. A total of $2.25 million will be re-granted directly to independent film projects over three years, with remaining funds providing support for fellowships, workshops, training programs, and professional development.

The grants include support to both interactive and feature documentary projects through the Sundance Documentary Fund's New Frontier and Native Programs; enable black filmmakers to experiment with non-linear digital storytelling through Black Public Media's 360 Incubator + Lab; provide a new stream of grant funds specifically for filmmakers in the U.S. South through the Southern Documentary Fund; and equip social movements with nonfiction short films created by filmmakers representing and accountable to affected communities through the Docs in Action project at Working Films. These organizations join eight other nonfiction multimedia storytelling institutions already supported by MacArthur, including Firelight Media, American Documentary, ITVS, Kartemquin, Tribeca, AIR, Chicken & Egg, and the recently launched IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund. Over the last two years, the Foundation has been steadily growing its investment in the documentary community through new partnerships with organizations that can provide comprehensive support to a growing number of filmmakers and new media artists.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that Jennifer Tatel will serve as the agency’s Acting General Counsel. Since 2011, Tatel has worked in the Office of General Counsel, most recently as chief of staff and deputy general counsel. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel, Tatel served as legal advisor to Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, advising the Commissioner on media and consumer protection issues. She began her FCC career as chief of the Media Bureau’s Industry Analysis Division. Tatel received a JD from The George Washington University Law School, an MS from Columbia University, and a BS from the University of Illinois.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced the appointment of four individuals that will serve in his office in acting capacities:

Nirali Patel, Acting Legal Advisor for Media, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement. Patel will advise Commissioner Carr on media, consumer protection, and enforcement matters. Patel is on detail from the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, where she serves as a Deputy Chief of the Competition Policy Division. Before joining the Commission, Patel served as Counsel in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practice of Hogan Lovells US LLP. Prior to that, she practiced communications law at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Sidley Austin LLP. Patel graduated summa cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law and received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kevin Holmes, Acting Legal Advisor for Wireless and Public Safety. Holmes will advise Commissioner Carr on wireless and public safety issues. Holmes joins the office from the FCC’s Office of Legislative Affairs, where he worked on spectrum, mobile broadband, and public safety issues. Previously, Holmes worked in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, both as an interim Legal Advisor in the Office of the Bureau Chief and as an Attorney Advisor in the Broadband Division. Earlier in his career, Holmes was a legislative aide to Senator Spencer Abraham. Holmes holds an LL.M. in Law and Government from the American University Washington College of Law, a J.D. from the DePaul University College of Law, and a B.A. from Kalamazoo College.

Nathan Eagan, Acting Wireline Legal Advisor. Eagan will advise Commissioner Carr on wireline issues. Eagan joins the office from the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, where he most recently served as a Legal Advisor in the Telecommunications Access Policy Division. He came to the Commission through the agency’s Attorney Honors Program, and he has worked on a variety of issues, including universal service and broadband deployment. Eagan received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a George Washington Scholar and an Articles Editor for the Federal Communications Bar Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Natalie Martinez, Acting Confidential Assistant. For the past three years, Martinez has served as the Confidential Assistant to three successive General Counsels of the FCC. Before that, she served as the Confidential Assistant to the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau for four years. She began her career at the FCC in 2001 as an Office Automation Clerk in the International Bureau.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced FY 2018 fees for telemarketers accessing phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The annual fees will increase slightly from FY 2017, and are set forth in a Federal Register notice. All telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the Do Not Call Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free, and organizations that are exempt from the Do Not Call rules, such as some charitable organizations, may obtain the entire list for free.

Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers. The FY 2018 Registry access fees will increase slightly based on a reevaluation, as required by the Do‑Not‑Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007. Under the Act’s provisions, in FY 2018 telemarketers will pay $62 for yearly access to Registry phone numbers in a single area code (an increase of $1 from FY 2017), up to a maximum charge of $17,021 for all area codes nationwide (up from $16,714 in FY 2017). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will increase to $31.

I congratulate Brendan and Jessica on their swearing in and welcome them to the FCC as Commissioners. I’m pleased that the Commission is once again at full capacity. They will be valuable assets to the FCC, and I look forward to collaborating with them to close the digital divide, promote innovation, protect consumers, and improve the agency’s operations.

It is a tremendous honor and privilege to serve as a Commissioner of the FCC. I am grateful to President Trump for nominating me and to the United States Senate for confirming me to serve the American public in this capacity. I have had the privilege of working at the agency for over five years, and that experience has instilled in me a deep appreciation for the FCC’s work and its talented staff. Whether it is promoting broadband deployment, maintaining the United States’ leadership in wireless, or advancing public safety, I look forward to hitting the ground running and working with my colleagues at the Commission to serve the public interest.

I am honored and humbled to enjoy the privilege and responsibility of returning to serve as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. I firmly believe that the future belongs to the connected. No matter who you are or where you live, you need access to modern communications to have a fair shot at 21st century success. That’s why the Commission’s work is so important and I thank the President and the United States Senate for this opportunity. I pledge to fight to make sure that the public interest is served and everyone across this country has access to the best, most reliable communications in the world. I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners and the exceptionally talented staff of the Federal Communications Commission.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to stay the effect of the Commission’s reform of its rules governing business data services. Chairman Pai issued the following statement:

“The court’s decision to let our modernization of our business data services rules take effect is an important—though unsurprising—affirmation that the Commission thoroughly analyzed our massive data collection to establish a robust, forward-looking competitive framework. These reforms will encourage vigorous investment in next-generation networks, which is critical if we are going to bridge the digital divide in our country."

The Senate approval by unanimous consent of the (S. 19), a bill they introduced to boost the development of next-generation gigabit wireless broadband services, including 5G, by ensuring more spectrum is made available for commercial use and by reducing the red tape associated with building broadband networks. Elements of :

Making 500 megahertz available: A 2010 executive order set a goal of making available 500 MHz of federal spectrum for private sector use by 2020. The makes that goal the law.
Speeding up 5G infrastructure: Next-generation gigabit wireless services, like 5G, will rely on smaller and more numerous antenna and infrastructure systems than current cellular technology. Federal agencies would have a new obligation to make decisions on applications and permit requests for placing wireless infrastructure on federal property in a timely and reasonable manner.
Spectrum assessments: The bill directs the Federal government to conduct assessments of spectrum in the 3 GHz band and in the millimeter wave frequencies to determine whether authorizing licensed or unlicensed wireless broadband services in those bands is feasible, and if so, which frequencies are best suited for such operations. Frequencies totaling more than 13 gigahertz of bandwidth will be studied, most of which are in the millimeter wave frequencies that will be critical for next-generation wireless networks, including 5G mobile networks.
Dig once: The Act facilitates adoption of safe and efficient “dig once” policies by states. Dig once is the idea that a single conduit through which all broadband wires can be run should be laid in the ground at the same time as other below-ground infrastructure work, like highway construction. Dig once can reduce costs for deployment of broadband infrastructure.
National broadband facilities asset database: The bill creates a central, online inventory of federal government property assets available or appropriate for private-sector deployment of broadband facilities. Such information includes the location of buildings and points of contact for siting applications. State and local governments would be permitted to voluntarily submit information about their assets to the inventory.
Reallocation incentives: The Commerce Department would be directed to issue a report within 18 months on additional legislative or regulatory proposals to incentivize Federal entities to relinquish or share their spectrum with non-federal spectrum users.
Immediate transfer of funds for agencies: The accelerates the relocation of Federal entities by allowing existing Spectrum Relocation Fund balances to be transferred to agencies for transition efforts immediately upon completion of an auction, rather than after the actual receipt by the Fund of auction proceeds. By immediately executing their transition plans, agencies would reduce their timelines to vacate, potentially increasing auction proceeds due to the value of accelerated access to the auctioned bands.