Telecommunication

On Dec 12, 2017, Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission to urge the FCC to ensure that the Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II Auction has sufficient safeguards to ensure a fair auction and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. On May 10, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai responded by writing, "I agree that safeguards in any broadband funding program are critical to ensure success in getting Internet access to as many unserved Americans as possible and in preventing waste and fraud.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the June Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 7, 2018:

[Press release] May 15 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s new Business Data Services (BDS) regime.

The internet age has become an identity crisis as they face increasing competition from Silicon Valley, an uncertain merger landscape and global pressures in the race to 5G networks. It's no longer enough to power the pipes and cell towers that send internet traffic coursing around the world. The services that ride on top of that traffic, -- Google, Facebook and Amazon -- now dominate the internet ecosystem.

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission is pushing forward with changes to the Lifeline program, which would hamper recovery efforts and cut off hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans — who are also US citizens — from vital telecommunications services. The Trump administration’s FCC has proposed changes that would sharply alter the purpose and scope of the program, further antagonizing hurricane victims who are still struggling to rebuild. Before the catastrophic 2017 hurricane season, over 500,000 island households relied on the Lifeline program to stay connected.

President Donald Trump pledged  to help Chinese telecom giant ZTE return to business, days after the company said it would cease “major operating activities” because of the US government’s recent trade restrictions, a dramatic shift in tone for a president who has long accused China of stealing US jobs. “President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” President Trump tweeted. “Too many jobs in China lost.

[Speech] I believe that the networks that we rely on should be totally free of discrimination, and should reflect our greatest democratic ideals. I believe that our networks are more valuable to all of us when they connect all of us. I believe that public resources should be deployed primarily on behalf of the public. I believe that we have a moral obligation to serve the unserved and close existing gaps, while allowing existing prosperity to continue, so long as it does not cause undue disadvantage to anyone else.

USTelecom has filed a forbearance petition with the Federal Communications Commission, asking the commission to eliminate a requirement for larger, incumbant telephone companies to offer unbundled network elements (UNEs) at regulated prices. USTelecom President and CEO Jonathan Spalter said telecom unbundling regulations currently enable competitive carriers to lease network elements – typically the copper connection between the customer and the telco central office – at “extremely low rates.” INCOMPAS, an association that represents competitive carriers, sees it differently.

Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led 47 Members of Congress in writing to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging the commission to preserve the Lifeline program. Lifeline is a federal assistance program under the FCC that provides communications services to low-income consumers. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, nearly 20 percent of Puerto Rico’s population has relied on Lifeline for essential telecommunications services.

The Federal Communications Commission is already taking steps to nix the dead enrollees in the agency’s low-income subsidy program known as Lifeline following a revelation from Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) that 47,942 deceased individuals were signed up between 2014 and October 2017. In July 2017,  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed the Universal Service Administrative Company, the nonprofit that manages the subsidies, “to take specific, immediate steps to mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program, including enrollment and subscribership of the deceased,” a FCC spokesman said.