Telecommunication

Digital provisions in the revamped trade agreement among the US, Mexico and Canada will give the US economy a modest boost, with the technology and telecommunications sectors being the biggest beneficiaries, according to an independent analysis from the US International Trade Commission. The report, a key step before Congress votes on the deal, echoes several points tech lobbyists have long argued. Jordan Haas, the Internet Association’s trade policy director, urged Congress to quickly pass the deal.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2019:

The Consumer Federation of America joined a lawsuit challenging the decision of the Federal Communication Commission to extend the allocation of costs between federal and state jurisdictions that was adopted in 2000 for another six years. The consumer pocketbook impact of the misallocation of costs is huge, totaling $150-$250 billion ($200-$300 per household per year) over the next six years.

T-Mobile and Comcast announced a partnership to combat the industry’s growing robocall problem. Starting April 17, the companies will begin authenticating calls made between their networks in order to verify for consumers when the caller is an actual human being. Americans received over 26 billion unwanted robocalls in 2018, and after a few light pushes from federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, carriers are beginning to deploy an authentication system that’s meant to combat them, known as the SHAKEN/STIR protocol.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General has issued an advisory to alert Lifeline carriers, beneficiaries, and the public to a number of fraudulent enrollment practices found pervasive across the IG’s ongoing investigations targeting Lifeline carriers and the carriers’ sales agents. Many of these enrollment practices rely on identity fraud and the manipulation of personal information, including enrollee names, to evade the program’s safeguards. The advisory describes simple tricks used by fraudsters to create phantom enrollments.

It seems only appropriate to take this opportunity to discuss my involvement in just some of the substantive Federal Communications Commission issues that NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association and its members have cared deeply about:

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated a rule that would have imposed a nearly 50% increase in local telephone rates for many rural consumers on July 1. Known as the “rate floor,” the 2011 rule was aimed at limiting universal service support received by rural carriers whose rates are below a set minimum rate. However, the practical effect of the rate floor has been to artificially raise telephone rates for many rural Americans, including elderly and low-income Americans, and consumers who keep a phone for limited purposes, such as 911 calls.

The Federal Communications Commission granted certain telephone companies relief from regulations. In response to a petition filed by USTelecom, the FCC using its authority under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to forbear from enforcing rules and statutory provisions that are no longer needed to protect the public interest, the FCC therefore decided to:

The Senate Communications Subcommittee reviewed regulators' efforts to cut down on illegal robocalls during a hearing, which comes on the heels of the Federal Communications Commission's first-ever report on robocalls and as lawmakers push bipartisan legislation to crack down on the problem.  Senators heard from Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson who discussed the legal challenges in bringing robocallers to justice. "One of the challenges whether or not it is a civil penalty or criminal penalty is the ability to get our hands around these people...