Level of Government

The Federal Communications Commission lawfully fined U.S. facilities-based wireless carriers nearly $200 million for selling highly intrusive location data about subscribers without their “opt-in” consent. In Section 222 of the Communications Act, Congress comprehensively specified how the carriers bore an affirmative duty of care not to disclose clearly defined Customer Proprietary Information (“CPNI”).  The Act explicitly required the FCC, and no other agency, to protect telecommunications consumers.

Many state broadband directors are keeping their fingers crossed that all the areas eligible for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rural broadband funding receive bids. But it’s a particularly big challenge for New Mexico, as the state’s broadband director Drew Lovelace explained. “New Mexico hits a trifecta of challenges in geography, size, and rurality. A lot of states have one or two of these, we have all three,” said Lovelace. New Mexico is the fifth largest state in land mass, but only 36th in population.

A backlash against internet data centers has triggered a wave of laws around the country to restrain the rapidly growing industry that uses massive amounts of energy to make cloud computing and smart technology possible. In Northern Virginia, home to the world’s largest concentration of data center buildings, Prince William County increased its tax rate on the equipment inside data centers by 72 percent, a response in part to complaints about too many of the football-field-sized facilities being built there.

Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and Adrian Smith (R-NE)  introduced H.R. 8151, bipartisan legislation that would permanently expand the list of practitioners eligible who provide telehealth services to include qualified physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists. Currently, these practitioners do not have permanent authorization to deliver electronic or virtual care to their patients. Families have come to rely on telehealth since the COVID-19 pandemic.

 There are several important changes to the broadband industry that came out of our collective pandemic experience.

Reps Greg Murphy (R-NC-3), Michael Burgess (R-TX-26), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03), and Troy Nehls (R-TX-22) reintroduced legislation to permanently extend telehealth services for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Current Medicare telehealth flexibilities for FQHCs and RHCs, previously extended by Congress under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, expire on December 31, 2024. 

Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY-22) led a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in support of replenished funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP is in the process of winding down in the absence of congressional funding, and beneficiaries will completely lose their discount after May 2024. In light of the widespread, positive impact that the ACP has had on expanding access to this vital tool, the representatives urge immediate action to secure short-term funding for this program. 

The rural broadband industry has such a great success story to tell. In the face of transformative technologies, regulatory challenges and increasing competition, you have embraced that change, stayed committed and looked to close the digital divide by delivering the robust and high-quality services that you do every single day. Your commitment to sustainable networks and affordable services is what really has made rural communities fertile ground for innovation. We’ve seen that in so many ways, and this innovation contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every single year.

The Federal Communications Commission fined the nation’s largest wireless carriers for illegally sharing access to customers’ location information without consent and without taking reasonable measures to protect that information against unauthorized disclosure. Sprint and T-Mobile—which have merged since the investigation began—face fines of more than $12 million and $80 million, respectively.

Associations representing large and small broadband providers are presenting a united front in opposition to New York’s requirement that providers offer a low-income internet service for $15 a month. In a prepared statement, six telecommunications provider associations said they support efforts to connect all Americans to broadband and that they are “committed to providing affordable options and a variety of plans to meet every family’s needs.” They added, however, that they are “disappointed” by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold New York’s mandatory $15-a-month offerin