Federal Communications Commission

The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 was passed by the House of Representatives and is headed to the President’s desk. This historic victory comes a decade after Color Of Change, its members and partners pressured Securus, the largest prison telecom company, to publicly support the prison phone justice legislation after decades of opposing it. The legislation gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to establish maximum service rates in prisons for communication providers.

A bill that would free up more money for the Federal Communications Commission suspect tech rip-and-replace program — mandated by Congress — did not make it into the $1.7 trillion must-pass omnibus appropriations bill, according to an unhappy Competitive Carriers Association.

The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau started the 2022 Quadrennial Review of the FCC’s media ownership rules. The Bureau seeks comment on whether the media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.” Although the FCC has not yet adopted final rules in the 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding, it remains cognizant of the statutory obligation to review the broadcast ownership rules every four years.

What counts as a fiber passing, anyway? It seems the answer varies slightly by operator, though most consider a passing to be any location which can be connected to fiber running along the main road. A Consolidated representative said passings are locations that are in “close proximity” to its network.

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced the Amateur Radio Communications Improvement Act (HR 9664) to eliminate the current Symbol Rate Limit set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and replace it with a 2.8 kilohertz (kHz) bandwidth limit. The bill brings regulations up to speed with modern technology advances in amateur radio. This legislation eliminates the Symbol Rate Limit in 47 CFR part 97, and replaces it with the 2.8kHz bandwidth limit.

Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Todd Young (R-IN) applauded news that President Biden has signed their bipartisan Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act into law. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to identify areas where high rates of poor maternal health outcomes overlap with lack of access to broadband services in order to pinpoint where telehealth services can be most effective.

Twenty-six US senators—led by Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD)—sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlighting important next steps in ensuring that the National Broadband Map provides a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the country. The senators are calling on the FCC to:

"Today we move forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "This document builds on our earlier efforts. That means we now seek more targeted comment on how to define digital discrimination. We also propose reforms to our consumer complaint system to create a dedicated pathway for digital discrimination complaints. And we propose to adopt the model policies and best practices for states and localities that our Communications Equity and Diversity Council recently adopted.

Before the US can accomplish the important task of connecting all Americans, it is important to understand where broadband already exists in both rural and urban areas. Having accurate data about existing broadband networks will enable billions of federal and state funding and other resources to be dedicated where they are needed most (communities without service). The newly released Federal Communications Commission Broadband Map is just the first iteration and needs to be further refined through the challenge process.

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on next steps to promote and facilitate equal access to broadband internet service for everyone, with the goal of creating a framework for combatting digital discrimination that has caused harm to historically excluded and marginalized communities. Specifically, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on: