CCMI Press & News

FCC Begins Latest Inquiry into National Broadband Deployment

Comments are due on October 7, regarding the FCC’s Eighteenth Section 706 Report Notice of Inquiry (Notice) in Docket 24-214. Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act requires the Commission to conduct an annual inquiry regarding the deployment of “Advanced Telecommunications Capability (i.e., broadband) to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion.” In last year’s […]

FCC Targets Illegal Calls and Text Messages

The FCC continues its never-ending battle against illegal robocalls. In its upcoming September 26, 2024, meeting, the Commission is set to adopt its Eighth Report and Order in CG Docket No. 17-59, and Third Report and Order in CG Docket No. 21-40 (Proposed Order), establishing new rules for voice providers to try to stop unwanted and […]

FCC Seeks Improvement to the Robocall Migration Database

In its continued attempt to regulate every aspect of telecommunications, the FCC latest missive is a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) in Docket 24-213 seeking to improve the effectiveness of the Robocall Migration Database (RBD). The agency created this Database in 2021 to implement provisions of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence […]

Net Neutrality Stalls in the Courts

When the FCC released the Net Neutrality Order on April 25, 2024, reinstating Net Neutrality, it had been repeatedly warned that it was facing an uphill battle. The Order would give the Commission total control over the Internet behavior of ISPs by reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a Title II telecommunications service, forbidding blocking, throttling […]

Fifth Circuit Court Finds Universal Service Fund Unconstitutional

We just had a court decision that shook the telecom industry.  In an Opinion in Case No. 22-6008 titled “On Petition For Rehearing En Banc” released on July 24, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans by a 7 to 5 vote found the Universal Service Fund (USF) unconstitutional.  The Court, which […]

FCC Sets Transition to Next Generation 911 Services

In a Report and Order (Order) in Docket 21-479, to be voted on July 18, 2024, the FCC is expected to adopt the first nationwide Next Generation 911 (NG911) transition rules that will define the responsibilities and set deadlines for originating service providers (OSPs) to implement NG911 capabilities on their networks and deliver 911 calls […]

Net Neutrality Order Heads to the Courts

On April 25, 2024, the FCC adopted an Order in Docket 23-230, reinstating Net Neutrality as the law of the land.  Unless it is stayed by a court, the Order will take effect on July 22, 2024. In the Order, the Commission reclassifies broadband Internet access service as a Title II telecommunications service, forbids blocking, throttling […]

With No Additional Funding, Affordable Connectivity Program Ends

The FCC announced that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) officially ended on June 1, 2024, after the Republicans in Congress failed to approve additional funding. The agency had already imposed an enrollment freeze in early February to help with the accurate forecasting of the funding draw-down and to smooth the administration of the ACP’s end.  Here […]

FCC Proposes New Obligations on ISPs to Mitigate Risk at Border Gateways

In the forty years I have been covering the telecommunications industry there has never been a year filled with more new regulations propagated by the FCC than this year. Between treating ISPs as public utilities, fighting so-called broadband discrimination, and lately requiring broadband labeling, the Commission continues to hamper investment in the Internet and stymies […]