Telecommunications Act of 1996

Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has played a recurring supplemental role in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) efforts to reclassify Broadband Internet Access Services as a Title II common carrier telecommunications service under the auspices of Net Neutrality. Section 706 instructs the Commission to encourage the “reasonable and timely” deployment of broadband services to all Americans.

Likely seeing the re-regulatory handwriting on the wall, cable internet service providers have told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just how it should reclassify broadband as a Title II service and what it should and shouldn’t do when it reimposes new net neutrality rules, as it is expected to do after a suitable timespan following the public comment period on its reclassification proposal. NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, joined by over a half-dozen state associations, said if the FCC goes ahead with the plan, it should do the following:

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition along with the Open Technology Institute at New America (OTI), filed comments responding to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in support of E-Rate support for off-campus internet access. The NPRM proposes to allow schools and libraries to apply for funding from the FCC’s E-Rate program for Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless internet access services to be used by students and library patrons in need.

In December 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines for two internet service providers that the FCC says defaulted on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations. RDOF was the FCC subsidy program where broadband subsidies were awarded by a reverse auction that ended in December 2020. The first fine was to Etheric Communications for $732,000 for 244 locations. Etheric was one of the largest RDOF winners, having won $248.6 million to cover 64,463 locations.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel informed Congress that without an additional $6 billion in funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the program will run out of funds by mid-2024. The program, created with over $14 billion, is less than 2 years old.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) – which financially supports several of the Federal Communications Commission's high-cost and low-income broadband programs, at roughly $8 billion annually – has been going through a tough time. This past year saw the USF dragged before federal court in cases brought by a conservative public interest group questioning the fund's legality. The Fifth and Sixth Circuit courts initially ruled against the petitioners, but the Fifth Circuit then agreed to hear the case en banc in September and has yet to rule.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) met virtually with Federal Communications Commission staff on December 21, 2023 to discuss the Section 706 Report Notice of Inquiry. NTIA expressed its strong support for the FCC’s important work to assess whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, and offered its assistance as the FCC works to identify appropriate methodologies and data sources for use in conducting this assessment.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics announced revised 2024 reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed broadband services for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are subject to broadband public interest obligations.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), in conjunction with the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), announced the conclusion of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction (Auction 904) long-form application review.

It is clear that nobody at the Federal Communications Commission has used the Starlink service. We have a cabin in the woods in rural South Carolina that is in an internet desert. It gets no wired internet, no wired telephone service and weak and spotty cellphone service, with no prospect of improvement. I recently subscribed to the Starlink standard service. The equipment arrived promptly, setup was quick and easy, and the signal is rock solid, with no weather interruptions. Download speed is as fast as the wired internet service at our home in town.