Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission released the results of its ongoing nationwide performance study of consumers’ fixed broadband Internet access service in its sixth “Measuring Broadband America” report. The report furthers the Commission’s efforts to provide greater transparency about network performance to help consumers make more informed choices about their Internet Service Provider. 2016’s report highlights the following findings:

• Significant growth in advertised broadband speeds available to consumers, though the results are not uniform across technologies.
• Actual speeds experienced by most consumers meet or exceed advertised speeds.
• Consumers with access to faster services continue to migrate to higher service tiers.
• Latency and packet loss vary by technologies.

This report summarizes information about Internet access connections in the United States as of December 31, 2015 as collected by FCC Form 477. For purposes of this report, Internet access connections are those in service, over 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one direction. The total number of Internet connections increased by 11% between December 2014 and December 2015 to 355 million. Most of the growth in total Internet connections is attributable to increased mobile Internet access subscribership. The number of mobile Internet connections increased 13% year-over-year to 253 million in December 2015, while the number of fixed connections grew to 102 million – up 4% from December 2014.

On Oct 3, 2016, Sen Tom Udall (D-NM) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler urging the FCC to, "take additional steps to close the 'homework gap,' the digital divide facing too many students from rural areas and low-income families in New Mexico and across the nation." He called on the FCC to, "use its existing authority to allow E-Rate to support school bus Wi-Fi service in a manner that is both technically feasibly and economically reasonable." Sen Udall added, "If the Commission does not believe that such an initiative is possible under its current authority, I will seek legislation to provide the flexibility to do so."

On Nov 17, Chairman Wheeler responded by discussing the FCC's recent E-rate Modernization Orders, the modernization of the Lifeline program, and recent Wireline Competition Bureau petitions that raise issues regarding eligibility of off-campus use of E-rate supported services for education purposes.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2016:

1. Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology: The FCC will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to help achieve the transition from TTY technology to a reliable and interoperable means of providing real-time text communication over wireless Internet protocol-enabled networks and services. (CG Docket No. 16-145, GN Docket No. 15-178).
2. Improving the Nation’s Public Alert and Warning Systems: The FCC will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to enhance the Emergency Alert System (EAS) as a tool for community emergency preparedness. The Report and Order improves alerting organization at the state and local levels, builds stronger community-based alerting exercise programs, and protects the EAS against accidental misuse and malicious intrusion. The Further Notice seeks comment on proposals to leverage technological advances to improve alerting and additional measures to preserve EAS security. (PS Docket No. 15-94)

The following items that are currently on circulation may be considered, unless voted on circulation prior to the December Open Meeting:

• Update to Parts 2 and 25 Concerning Non-geostationary, Fixed-Satellite Service Systems and Related Matters, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
• In the Matter of Amendment of Part 0 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Public Information, the Inspection of Records, and Implementing the Freedom of Information Act
• Maritime Communications/Land Mobile, LLC, Order on Reconsideration and Memorandum Opinion and Order
• Improving the Resiliency of the Nation's Mobile Wireless Communications Networks, Order
• Preferred Long Distance, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order

I want to congratulate Senator Jeff Sessions on his prospective nomination by President-Elect Trump to serve as Attorney General of the United States. I had the honor of working for Senator Sessions on the Senate Judiciary Committee, when he chaired the Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Senator Sessions was and is a good man and a superb senator: honorable, thoughtful, devoted to the Constitution, and deeply committed to equal justice and the rule of law. He has long employed a diverse staff of attorneys—during my tenure, his staff consisted of an African-American man, two women, and me, a first-generation Indian-American—all of whom worked every day to fulfill his vision of a just and free America. I commend Senator Sessions’ nomination without reservation. The Department of Justice and the American people will benefit from his leadership.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau issues this Advisory to promote understanding of the clear limits on the use of autodialed text messages, known as “robotexts.” The FCC is committed to protecting consumers from harassing, intrusive, illegal, and unwanted robotexts to cell phones and other mobile devices. The FCC has stated that the restrictions on making autodialed calls to cell phones encompass both voice calls and texts. Accordingly, text messages sent to cell phones using any automatic telephone dialing system are subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). The term “automatic telephone dialing system” (or “autodialer”) covers any equipment that has the capacity to store or produce numbers to be dialed and dial them without human intervention but does not need to have the present ability to do so.

The TCPA places limits on autodialed calls and prerecorded- or artificial-voice calls to wireless numbers; emergency numbers; guest or patient rooms at hospitals, health care facilities, elderly homes, or similar establishments; and to any service for which the called party is charged for the call. The FCC’s corresponding rules restrict the use of prerecorded-voice calls and automatic telephone dialing systems, including those that deliver robotexts. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau will rigorously enforce the important consumer protections in the TCPA and our corresponding rules. We expect this Advisory will facilitate compliance with the law and rules by those who initiate robotexts to mobile devices

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the VoIP Symmetry Order on a partyline vote. As I said in my dissent, the order “alters our rules to mean something they’ve never meant before.” This morning, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that order, finding it unlawful. I welcome this latest reminder from the federal courts that neither the FCC nor any other administrative agency is above the law.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced a formal agreement, committing the two agencies to work together to combat unlawful robocalls. The Memorandum of Understanding represents the FCC’s commitment to working cooperatively with international regulators to combat robocalls and caller ID spoofing. Under the agreement, the two agencies agree to cooperate on enforcement matters related to unlawful robocalls and caller ID spoofing. These agencies have also committed to exchange information about investigations and complaints, share knowledge and expertise, provide information about legal theories and economic analysis, keep each other abreast of significant legal developments, and provide other appropriate assistance.

The Federal Communications Commission is alerting consumers to be on the lookout for callers pretending to be utility company employees demanding immediate payment, often by prepaid debit cards, credit cards, or gift cards. As American consumers prepare for winter months when many people would be endangered by an interruption to heating fuel, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau wanted to make consumers aware of this scam and prepared to protect themselves.

Key Consumer Tip: If consumers receive a call warning them of a balance they do not believe they owe their utility, they should hang up, independently look up their utility company’s phone number on a recent statement or legitimate website, and call that number to verify the legitimacy of the call.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, November 17, 2016:

Universal Service Reform – MobilityFund: The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would adopt rules for the second phase of the Mobility Fund, which would provide ongoing universal service support dedicated to expanding the availability of mobile broadband networks.

Roaming Obligations of Commercial Mobile Service Providers and Regulatory Classification of Voice over LTE Service: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment on proposals to implement a unified roaming standard and to classify Voice over LTE.

Business Data Services: The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would allow for lighttouch regulation of packet-based Business Data Services and retain and update price cap regulation for lower-bandwidth TDM-based Business Data Services to ensure that lack of competition does not unfairly harm commercial customers or the consumers who rely upon these services.

Video Description: The Commission will consider a Report and Order which addresses the amount of video described programming required to be made available to consumers.