Telecommunication

The Federal Communications Commission reached a settlement to resolve its enforcement action against Lingo Telecom, a voice service provider that transmitted spoofed robocalls that used generative AI voice cloning technology to spread disinformation in connection with a presidential primary election in New Hampshire.  The calls were directed by a political consultant named Steve Kramer in an attempt to interfere in the 2024 New Hampshire primary election.

Starting February 2025, Canada’s largest telephone companies, led by BCE and Telus, must provide smaller rivals with wholesale access to their fiber-optic networks in a bid to foster affordable access to high-quality internet services. The order from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, in essence, makes permanent a temporary order issued in November 2023. At the time, BCE responded with plans to curtail planned capital expenditures for the current fiscal year.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed new consumer protections against AI-generated robocalls and robotexts.

How much power may Congress hand off to the Washington bureaucracy? That’s a live question, so grab the popcorn to read a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 9-7 en banc ruling, it invalidated a “universal service” surcharge added to cellphone bills.

The Federal Communications Commission intends to recharter the Disability Advisory Committee for a period of two years. The FCC is seeking nominations for membership. The mission of the Committee is to make recommendations to the FCC regarding disability issues specified by the Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced updated minimum service standards for Lifeline-supported services as required by the 2016 Lifeline Order. The 2016 Lifeline Order established minimum service standards for certain Lifeline-supported services and established annual increases in those standards either in the FCC’s rules or pursuant to calculations set out in the Order and the FCC’s rules.  Accordingly, the Bureau announced the newly calculated minimum service standard for fixed broadband data usage allowance, which is the same as the curren

A definitive agreement has been signed by which AccessPlus will acquire Crocker Communications, a third-generation, renowned telecommunications leader based in Greenfield and Springfield, Massachusetts. The closing of the transaction will follow Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2024. The acquisition includes Crocker Communications’ assets and its robust customer base, encompassing approximately 2,000 government, education, and residential clients.

In a ruling that quickly caused shock waves in the U.S. telecommunications industry, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, 9-7, that the Universal Service Fund (USF) is unconstitutional as currently administered. The Court explained its ruling by saying that the USF is a “misbegotten tax” that violates Article I, § 1 of the Constitution, which states that all legislative powers are given to Congress, which is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

After the Fifth Circuit ruled, 9-7, that the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional as currently administered, we've seen the following responses.

The period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s saw the transformation of information and communication infrastructure. In the same period, TPRC evolved from a narrower focus on conventional telecommunications and information policy to “The Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy.” Through the lens of interdisciplinary work on Internet policy and intersecting TPRC activity, this retrospective describes an arc of change that began at the 1994 TPRC and continued for about a decade.