Telecommunication

Gov Rick Scott (R-FL) and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai have not taken responsibility for how their radical deregulation of telephone service has contributed to the slow pace of repairs for FL's communications services. In 2011, Gov Scott signed the “Regulatory Reform Act of 2011,” which eliminated virtually all oversight of FL’s residential telephone service.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018:

The Kansas congressional delegation called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to restore sufficiency and predictability to the Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost program’s budget. The letter was signed by every member of the delegation, including Sens Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Reps Roger Marshall (R-KS), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Ron Estes (R-KS).

Data from the Federal Communications Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System shows that Hurricane Michael caused substantial communications outages along its destructive path.

The Federal Communications Commission should let phone companies get more aggressive in blocking robocalls, 35 state attorneys general told the commission Oct 9. The FCC in 2017 authorized voice service providers to block more types of calls in which the Caller ID has been spoofed or in which the number on the Caller ID is invalid. But the FCC did not go far enough, and robocallers have "evolved" to evade the new rules, the 35 attorneys general wrote in an FCC filing.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018:

Four telecommunication groups have come together to urge the Federal Communications Commission to increase the Universal Service Fund (USF) budget to at least $2.4 billion for 2018 for the high-cost portion of the program. The request took the form of a letter from ITTA – The Voice of America’s Broadband Providers, USTelecom – The Broadband Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association and WTA – Advocates for Rural Broadband.

The Federal Communications Commission's October agenda will address three issues critical to advancing the 5G FAST Plan—creating more opportunities for unlicensed innovation in the 6 GHz band, expanding spectrum opportunities for 5G in the 3.5 GHz band, and updating our business data services rules for smaller, rural carriers in order to promote fiber deployment.

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced the Truth-In-Billing, Remedies, and User Empowerment over Fees (‘TRUE Fees’) Act, legislation that requires phone, cable and Internet providers to include all charges in the prices they advertise for service, and provides remedies for consumers when they have been wrongfully charged. Specifically, the True Fees Act requires cable and Internet providers to include all charges in the prices they advertise for service; allows customers to end their contract without early termination fees if the provider increases fees during the term of the contract; prevents a