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FCC estimates it'll cost carriers $1.8 billion to replace Huawei, ZTE hardware
Restrictions on the companies' equipment have put small providers in a tough spot.
FCC wants to fine CBS for using fake emergency alert in 'Young Sheldon'
The Federal Communications Commission is cracking down on the use of emergency alerts unless there's a legitimate crisis. Its latest target is a Young Sheldon episode broadcast in April 2018. CBS said "sound producers modified a version of the EAS [emergency alert system] codes and Attention Signal downloaded from YouTube," which the FCC claims "resembled actual EAS tones."
FCC chairman Ajit Pai endorses T-Mobile / Sprint merger
The proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile is inching ever closer to being complete, after the Department of Justice gave its conditional endorsement last month. Now, Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai is formally recommending that the agency's commissioners approve the deal. Pai said that after the FCC reviewed the details of the merger, "the evidence conclusively demonstrates that this transaction will bring fast 5G wireless service to many more Americans and help close the digital divide in rural areas."
FCC approves another $137 million to expand rural broadband access
The Federal Communications Commission has approved another $121 million in funding to bring broadband access to rural homes and businesses. It's the fourth round of support following last year's Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction. The funding, which will be doled out over the next ten years, will help expand high-speed internet access to 36,579 homes and businesses across 16 states.
Elizabeth Warren reveals $85 billion rural broadband plan
Millions of Americans don't have access to high-speed internet connections and despite efforts to bolster rural broadband, there's still a lot of work to be done. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has the issue in mind, and she revealed a proposal to narrow the digital divide.
FCC announces 5G airwave auction and $20 billion rural broadband fund
The FCC has announced a spectrum auction and a $20.4 billion rural broadband fund to bolster connectivity across the US. The auction is scheduled to start December 10th, and it will be the largest slice of airwaves the FCC has auctioned for commercial use at one time, with 3,400 megahertz in three different spectrum bands up for grabs. Providers have been urging the FCC to open mid-band airwaves that can project signals over greater distances, which should bolster connectivity in rural areas.
Senators demand investigation into carrier location-selling scandal
Several senators are calling on the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how carriers share customers' real-time phone location data, following a Motherboard report this month suggesting it's a cinch for bounty hunters to snag that information. A group of 14 Democrats (including Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, who are running for their party's presidential nomination) and independent senator Bernie Sanders signed a letter addressed to the agencies.
FCC offers $67 million more per year for rural broadband programs
The Federal Communications Commission announced today additional funding to its Connect America Fund dedicated to expanding broadband internet service to rural communities. The agency will make available $67 million more per year than originally earmarked for the project. The funds could bring high-speed internet connections to more than 100,000 additional households and businesses, per the FCC.
FCC believes mobile carriers may have lied about coverage
Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that one or more major mobile service providers are being investigated for potentially lying about their coverage maps. While the agency undergoes the inquiry, it is suspending its Mobility Fund reverse auction that will allocate subsidies meant to help companies build out high-speed broadband networks in rural areas.
Senators urge FCC to preserve neutrality protections for text messages
A group of Democratic senators led by Ed Markey of Massachusetts is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to keep text messages classified as a telecommunications service. Doing so would extend net neutrality protections to the messages, rather than give carriers the ability to block them based on content. The FCC will vote December 12th on a declaratory ruling that would classify SMS and MMS messages as information services.
FCC chairman admits Russia meddled in net neutrality debate
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has admitted that around 500,000 comments submitted during the net neutrality public comment period were linked to Russian email addresses. Pai noted in a court filing that most of the comments were in favor of net neutrality, which the FCC repealed last December.
Senators want answers from mobile carriers on video app throttling
If you have ever had a suspicion that your carrier might be slowing down your internet speeds while streaming videos, you aren't alone. Three US Senators -- Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- are pressing the four major carriers about alleged throttling practices documented on the Wehe testing platform.
FCC gives cities 90 days to process 5G carrier applications
The FCC is enacting an order that limits how long cities have to review the rollout of 5G and how much they can charge carriers for deploying the technology. Cities will have a 90-day "shot clock" to approve or deny carriers' applications to install small wireless facilities (cell sites that connect your devices to their networks) or 60 days if the companies want to attach 5G equipment to existing infrastructure. If cities can't meet those deadlines, the carriers have grounds to sue.
Lawmakers demand answers after Verizon throttled firefighter data
Lawmakers have asked Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai to investigate after Verizon throttled the data of firefighters who were tackling wildfires in California. The company was criticized this month for throttling Santa Clara County Fire's unlimited data plan to the point that it made the service essentially useless, hampering the department's response to the Mendocino Complex Fire. Verizon later removed speed caps for first responders on the West Coast and in Hawaii.
FCC vote likely dooms Sinclair-Tribune merger
The FCC has voted to send the proposed sale of Tribune Media properties to Sinclair to a hearing, effectively hammering the second-to-last nail in the coffin on the buyout. The agency's commissioners unanimously agreed on a Hearing Designation Order (HDO), which re fers the matter to a judge -- at which point mergers usually die.
FCC creates hurricane task force to aid recovery in Puerto Rico
Days after the agency pledged $77 million to fix communications on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, newly-reconfirmed FCC Chair Ajit Pai announced the creation of the Hurricane Recovery Task Force. It's dedicated to repairing damage caused by the entire season's slew of storms, but will focus on fixing the communications networks on the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the latter of which was so damaged that almost 90 percent of its cell towers were downed by Hurricane Maria.
FCC waiver helps Jewish community centers ID bomb threats
Following a string of more nearly 70 anonymous bomb threats made to Jewish community centers in 27 states since the start of the year, the Federal Communications Commission issued an emergency order on Friday. The order, which takes effect immediately, waives the telecommunications restriction that prevents phone carriers from sharing the calling party number (CPN) with the call's recipient.
FCC approves first LTE-U devices
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that as a way to help alleviate network congestion, his organization has approved devices that tap into the LTE-U spectrum. Specifically, allowing devices to access the less-trafficked, unlicensed parts of the 5GHz frequency band. In layman's terms this means that as demand for Wi-Fi networks increases, LTE-U backs off a bit. And when the reverse happens, customers can take advantage of some of the unused network capacity for their LTE gizmos. T-Mobile will be among the first carriers to do so, and allow its customers to co-opt the first 20MHz of "underutilized unlicensed spectrum" in the 5GHz band.
Net neutrality foe Ajit Pai tapped to take over the FCC
FCC commissioner and outspoken critic of net neutrality Ajit Pai will reportedly be promoted to the agency's top post when Chairman Tom Wheeler steps down today. Pai, who was nominated by President Obama and served as the senior Republican commissioner, would not require Senate approval and his new position could be announced as early as Friday afternoon, Politico reports.
FCC Chair proposes new data privacy rules for consumers
Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler made his case for an ambitious plan to better defend consumer data privacy on Wednesday. His proposal would effectively govern how ISPs can leverage user data for marketing and advertising purposes in the same way that that the FCC already regulates data collected by your phone company.
