Wireless Telecommunications

As the Federal Communications Commission begins to explore potential changes to its regulations for rate-of-return carriers, we both wholeheartedly support action to curb impermissible expenditures.  The public trust is violated, if or when bad actors take extensive leeway in defining what is acceptable for reimbursement by the FCC and ratepayers.  Past stories highlight spending on personal mansions, fancy boats, lavish parties, and country club memberships, just to name a few.

The Federal Communications Commission announced a settlement with AT&T’s FiberTower that involves the company returning hundreds of millimeter wave spectrum licenses to the agency. The settlement essentially means AT&T won’t get access to those spectrum licenses, and it paves the way for the agency to reauction those licenses at some point in the future.  Specifically, as part of the agreement, FiberTower is abandoning all of its 24 GHz spectrum licenses (around 121 total) and roughly the same number of 39 GHz spectrum licenses.

Apparently, The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Apple violated securities laws concerning its disclosures about a software update that slowed older iPhone models. The government has requested information from the company. The inquiry is in early stages, apparently, and it’s too soon to conclude any enforcement will follow. Investigators are looking into public statements made by Apple on the situation.

The Federal Communications Commission took the final actions required to launch its innovative Connect America Fund Phase II auction, which will provide up to nearly $2 billion over the next decade to expand fixed, high-speed Internet service in unserved rural areas. In a Public Notice adopted Jan 30, the FCC scheduled the auction to begin on July 24, set a March 30 deadline for applications to participate, and set out detailed procedures for the auction. The FCC also adopted an Order on Reconsideration resolving all pending challenges to earlier FCC auction implementation decisions.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to improve the geographic targeting of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), a system that delivers critical warnings and information to the public on their wireless phones. The updated rules are intended to promote the wider use and effectiveness of this lifesaving service, especially for state and local authorities to convey critical messages to their communities.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) appeared at the State of the Net conference for a wide-ranging discussion with former Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Robert McDowell on broadband infrastructure, Net Neutrality, 5G, and more. Chairman Walden said, “A government that can’t protect the data of its own employees, I struggle with the notion it’s going to run a complete architecture and network that will be hack-free.

[Commentary] When the outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cyber experts met with the Trump FCC and National Security Council (NSC) transition teams, they expressly informed them that a FCC retreat from ongoing cybersecurity activities would have dire consequences for 5G and the future of the nation’s critical communications infrastructure.

The Trump administration labored to clarify on Jan 29 that it currently has no plans to build its own ultra-fast 5G wireless network, despite publication of a memo that suggested the idea was under consideration. At issue is a proposal put forth by an unnamed official at the National Security Council, a White House-based body that advises the president on critical U.S. and foreign policy matters. The document called for the U.S. government to effectively nationalize a portion of the telecom sector — a radical departure from current policy — in a bid to combat Chinese influence.

[Commentary] Many officials, from California’s US senators to state public safety representatives, believe that the system for sending emergency alerts to phones needs to be improved. I agree. That’s why, on Jan 30, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on making the wireless emergency alert system more effective. 

In the latest in a legislative flurry of broadband-related items, a bipartisan bill has been introduced in both the House and Senate to promote rural broadband deployment and identify fallow broadband fields in key agricultural sectors.