Intelligent Telecom Data Solutions
With the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution factor at 37.6 percent of interstate end user telecommunications revenues for the first quarter of 2026 and rising, there is industrywide agreement the Fund’s contribution methodology must be modified as quickly as possible. The Fund is already under review in a Congressional working group and is also reviewed […]
The first big issue of 2026 began on September 30, 2025, when the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 25-276 seeking industry comments on ways it could accelerate the buildout of wireline infrastructure including cell phone towers. According to the Commission, it plans on updating its rules to “supercharge the deployment, […]
When looking back at 2025, there is no doubt that historians will say that it was the beginning of the end of the telecommunications regulatory state. Whether it was the end of 1996 ILEC interconnection rules, the enhanced phaseout of time division multiplexed wireline networks, the loosening of broadband regulations or the end of Net […]
On December 18th the FCC is planning on adopting a Third Report and Order (Order) and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 13-97 to better control access to telephone numbers for all VoIP providers who directly interconnect to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). This is the Commission’s latest attempt to control […]
At its November 20, 2025, meeting the FCC voted to begin a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Further Notice) in Docket 03-123 to modernize Telephone Relay Service (TRS). Telephone Relay Service is a free, nationwide public service that allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls, making the telephone network accessible to everyone. The service uses an operator, known as a Communications […]
In 1996, the FCC changed the face of our industry forever by opening the local telephone market historically dominated by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to competition. It accomplished this through the 1996 Telecommunications Act (Act) by requiring ILECs to interconnect with other telecommunications providers called competitive local exchange carriers (ILECs) so these competitors could […]
Section 253 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 prevents state and local governments from enacting laws that prohibit any entity from providing telecommunications services but allows for regulations that are competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory to manage public rights-of-way. It was intended to remove barriers to market entry and promote competition. However, how states and local […]
With 42 years of industry experience, I rarely see services that are actually new rather than repackaged ones already available, albeit with newer technology. Recently, however, a small company called Tin Can has developed something new, and one that clearly has a market need. As the founder of Tin Can Chet Kettleson notes, Tin Can is […]
In June, the FCC requested the industry to refresh the record regarding a 2020 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 20-71 in which it proposed to eliminate ex ante (forecasted) pricing regulation of end user Telephone Access Charges (TACs) and require incumbent and competitive LECs (ILECs and CLECs) to detariff these charges. In the […]
On August 8, 2025, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 25-50 to reexamine the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system to “explore whether fundamental changes could make these lifesaving systems more effective, efficient, and better able to serve the public’s needs.” According to the Commission, it […]