Public Notice

The Federal Communications Commission seeks nominations for the following positions on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for a three-year term.

Bidding in the Connect America Fund Phase II auction concluded on August 21, 2018. There were 103 winning bidders in the auction, with the 10-year support amount totaling $1.488 billion and covering 713,176 locations in 45 states. Of the 974,223 locations in the 30,033 eligible census block groups (CBGs), approximately 73 percent of the locations are covered by winning bids. While winning bids are for a range of performance tiers, winning bids for downstream speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps) cover 53 percent of these locations.

In response to requests from Congress made on November 13 and November 15. 20! 7, the Federal Communications Commission Oflice of Inspector General (OlG) conducted an investigation into whether FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Chairman Pai "has taken actions to improperly benefit Sinclair Broadcast Group and "is executing his leadership of the FCC free from influences that compromise his objectivity and impartiality," especially with regard to the proposed merger of Sinclair and Tribune Media." 

By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission announces the anticipated renewal of its Disability Advisory Committee (Committee) and solicits applications for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter. Applications for membership are due by 11:59 P.M. EST on September 21, 2018. The mission of the Committee is to make recommendations to the Commission regarding disability issues specified by the Commission.

In this Order, we extend the previously announced deadline for the close of the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge window by an additional 90 days. Challengers will have until November 26, 2018, to submit speed test data in support of a challenge. We adopt this extension to ensure that interested parties can initiate and submit speed test data for areas they wish to challenge. In addition, given this extension, we propose to make modifications to the speed test data specifications regarding the relevant timeframes for valid speed tests.

In this notice, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announces that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) estimated demand for category one and category two requests for E-Rate supported services for funding year 2018. 

The Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development is seeking applications to support regional economic development planning efforts in rural communities under the Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative. This funding opportunity will be administered by the Rural Development Innovation Center, in partnership with the Rural BusinessCooperative Service. The agency is announcing up to $750,000 in competitive cooperative agreement funds in fiscal year (FY) 2018. Rural Development Agency may select one, multiple, or no award recipients.

Across the country, Americans depend on reliable phone service to stay in touch with friends and family, conduct business, and access vital public services. Although all Americans should have confidence that calls made to or by them will be completed, for those living in rural or remote areas, too often this is not the case.

Notice that a proposed Final Judgment, Stipulation, and Competitive Impact Statement have been filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in United States of America v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., Civil Action No. 1:18–cv–05800.

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules for the 3550-3700 MHz band (3.5 GHz Band), opening the path to new commercial wireless use of this band. Now the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology of the Federal Communications Commission seek comment on the results of those rule changes, as directed by Congress in the Spectrum Pipeline Act. The FCC is required to give notice and provide an opportunity for public comment before submitting to Congress no later than November 2, 2018 a report containing: