Federal Communications Commission

5G, and the technologies it can enable, are not promised to us. As those in rural America well know, 5G is not an inevitability, or simply a function of time and technological development. It is the product of purposeful effort and long-term planning. The capitalintensive 5G transition has been a decade in the making and we are poised to fully deploy 5G in C-Band spectrum, with the auction of the 3.45 GHz band in sight. But much work remains.

On September 21, 2022, representatives from the USTelecom – the Broadband Association, CTIA, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, and ACA Connects – America’s Communications Association met with staffers in the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics to offer recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of the Affordable Connectivity Program’s (ACP) data collection and to keep it simple, streamlined, and efficient for the benefit of consumers and providers alike.

States have begun to produce their own mapping data for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant allocation.

Common Sense and Public Knowledge recommend that the Universal Service Administrative Company make additional types of data available through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Enrollment Claims Tracker. The tracker is the main source of publicly-available data on the ACP. However, the tracker currently lacks key types of data to precisely measure the effect of these campaigns or understand the quality of the services and devices purchased.

Orange Group CEO Christel Heydemann and Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, called on technology giants to contribute a “fair” share to broadband infrastructure costs, arguing such companies are driving a need for continued upgrades and have disproportionately benefitted from telecommunications investments to date. Regulators in the US, EU, and South Korea are weighing rule changes that would force the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Netflix to pay telecom companies for the large amounts of traffic they generate.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Denise Bambi Kraus will serve as the Chief of the Office of Native Affairs and Policy. As Chief,  Kraus will further the FCC's efforts to bring the benefits of modern communications to all Native communities. The Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) assists the FCC in developing policies and programs to address the lack of adequate communications services on Tribal lands nationwide.

SpaceX sent the message to the Federal Communications Commission after Globalstar—which is powering the iPhone 14’s satellite connectivity—urged the FCC to reject SpaceX's request for access to the 1.6/2.4GHz spectrum, which it also uses for its own satellite services. SpaceX plans on using the radio bands to power a mobile version of its Starlink satellite internet service capable of beaming data to cellular dead zones.

The next update of the Federal Communications Commission broadband map, expected in late November or early December, is likely to have a considerable number of errors, according to sources familiar with the broadband data collection initiative on which the map will be based. The new map will be based on data collected from broadband providers. Those providers were required to enter broadband availability data on a per-location basis into an FCC-provided database.

When I launched Broadcom in the early 1990s with the goal of revolutionizing digital connectivity, it was necessary to work closely with governments around the world, starting with cable set-top boxes.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) — which is a federal benefit intended to help more people get high-speed Internet at home — is yet to enroll more than 40 percent of households nationwide that are eligible for it. In fact, as of this writing, enrollment was at 37.4 percent. What this means, essentially, is that many in the U.S. who don’t have high-speed Internet at home are missing out on government money intended to change that.