Telecommunication

On June 20, 2018, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly wrote to Gov Eddie Calvo (R-Guam) regarding 911 fee diversion. "I am writing to follow-up on my Feb 20, 2018 letter inquiring on your territories' 9-1-1 fee diversion practices....As of today, four months later, my office has not received a response from you or your office...The citizens of Guam rely on the 9-1-1 system to work in their most dire times of need. It is beyond disappointing to learn that your territory has made a habit of diverting these funds for other purposes.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier database (National Verifier) is now operational in Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. 

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), advanced bills to the full committee that improve the nation’s broadband infrastructure and strengthen public safety communications.

An overhaul of Europe’s telecoms laws, aimed at stimulating investment in new networks, has been branded a missed opportunity for the industry. The new European electronic communications code, the biggest shake-up in the sector’s governance since 2009, was approved on June 6. The agreement coincided with the release of a European Court of Auditors report that showed the European Union’s goal of connecting half of the region’s households to ultrafast broadband with speeds of 100 Mbps by 2020 was well behind target.

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on reforms to increase efficiency and fairness in the system governing intercarrier payments for toll free calling, and to eliminate the financial incentive for abusive calling practices, including fraudulent or otherwise unnecessary robocalling to toll free numbers. The FCC is seeking comment on transitioning the toll free intercarrier compensation system to a “bill-and-keep” regime. Under bill-and-keep, each carrier recovers revenues from its own subscribers rather than other carriers.

The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules to help protect consumers from the illegal and harmful practices of slamming, which is the unauthorized change of a consumer’s preferred telephone company, and cramming, which is the placement of unauthorized charges on a consumer’s phone bill.  With the action, the Commission’s rules now include a clear ban on misrepresentations made during sales calls and provide that such material misrepresentations invalidate any authorization given by a consumer to switch telephone companies.

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated regulations for carriers seeking to move from the networks of yesterday to the networks of tomorrow. The Order:

The Federal Communications Commission today approved an item to reform Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), a form of telecommunications relay service (TRS) that allows individuals with hearing loss to both read captions and use their residual hearing to understand a telephone conversation.

The item approved by the FCC:

More than half of US households — 53.9% — rely entirely on cellphones, according to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2006, only 15.8% of survey respondents said they didn’t have a landline telephone. The iPhone and its Android counterparts launched the next year, and the rate of landline abandonment has since steadily climbed. “There are countries in Europe where 80 to 90% of households are wireless only, so this trend could continue for some time,” said Stephen J.

The following items have been adopted by the Federal Communications Commission and deleted from the list of items scheduled for consideration at the June 7, 2018 Open Meeting: