Join us for this virtual event, February 8-10, 2021, as we celebrate 25 years of the Telecommunications Act and bring together policy and business leaders to discuss the future of competition.
Cost to attend is $50 for members and $75 for non-members. Register here.
INCOMPAS and Other Tech Groups Urge Congress
to Fund Broadband
INCOMPAS joined 11 other leading trade associations in sending a letter to Congressional leaders calling for immediate action to support and fund critical broadband infrastructure and services that help connect all Americans during this time of great need.
The letter urges House and Senate leaders to support bipartisan legislation, before year-end, that provides funding for broadband service for families and students, that clarifies extension of the current CARES Act for network deployment through 2021, and that ensures that the FCC has funding to develop accurate broadband maps.
Those signing the letter include the nation’s leading associations representing the broadband, wireless, internet, streaming and tech industry: INCOMPAS, USTelecom – The Broadband Association, the Fiber Broadband Association, U.S. Chamber Technology Engagement, Rural & Agriculture Council of America, Computer & Communications Industry Association, WISPA, TechNet, Connect Americans Now, WIA – the Wireless Infrastructure Association, Internet Association, and NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.
Citing the industry’s commitment to keeping Americans connected during the COVID-19 crisis, the letter states, “America’s broadband, communications infrastructure, cloud, and application providers have kept our communities connected and provided tools to help us live remotely. Even as the global economy closed down, America’s internet has remained open, strong, and resilient, ensuring our nation and our families can continue to work, learn, and function.”
The letter notes that Congressional action will support schools and businesses as they close again, offering a lifeline to health services, continuing education, and skilling and employment opportunities.
Pandemic Relief Framework Provides $10 Billion for Broadband
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), and others announced a bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief framework to help students, families, businesses, workers and healthcare providers during the pandemic.
The Problem Solvers Caucus, made up of 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans in the House of Representatives, helped draft and endorsed the package. The framework includes, among other things, $10 billion for broadband.
GAO Provides Recommendations for 5G
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report entitled “5G Wireless:
Capabilities and Challenges for an Evolving Network,” which discusses how the performance goals and expected uses are to be realized in U.S., 5G wireless networks, challenges that could affect the performance or usage of 5G wireless networks in the U.S., and policy options to address these challenges.
Senate Confirms Simington to FCC
The Senate yesterday voted along party lines to confirm Nathan Simington as an FCC Commissioner. His term will expire on June 30, 2024.
FCC Sets Agenda for December 10 Open Meeting
The FCC announced the final agenda for its Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 10 at 10:30 a.m., which includes several new items:
Securing the Communications Supply Chain – A Report and Order that would require Eligible Telecommunications Carriers to remove equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of its people, would establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, and would establish the procedures and criteria for publishing a list of covered communications equipment and services that must be removed.
Allowing Earlier Equipment Marketing and Importation Opportunities – An NPRM that would propose updates to its marketing and importation rules to permit, prior to equipment authorization, conditional sales of radio frequency devices to consumers under certain circumstances and importation of a limited number of radio frequency devices for certain pre-sale activities.
Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991; Broadnet Teleservices LLC Petition for Declaratory Ruling; National Consumer Law Center Petition for Reconsideration and Request for Stay Pending Reconsideration of Broadnet Teleservices LLC Petition for Declaratory Ruling; Professional Services Council Petition for Reconsideration of Broadnet Teleservices LLC Petition for Declaratory Ruling - An Order on Reconsideration of its previous interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act that permitted certain government and government contractor calls without consumers’ prior express consent
Implementing Section 10(a) of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) - An NPRM that would begin the process of implementing section 10(a) of the TRACED Act, which directs the FCC, no later than June 30, 2021, to “prescribe regulations to establish a process that streamlines the ways in which a private entity may voluntarily share with the Commission information relating” to violations of section 227(b) or 227(e) of the Communications Act.
Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries - An Order that would amend the invoice filing deadline rule to enhance the efficient administration of the E-Rate Program and ensure program participants have sufficient time to complete the invoice payment process.
Amendment of Part 1 of the Commission’s Rules - An Order that would modify its rules to require the electronic payment of fees for activities delegated to the FCC’s Media Bureau.
