CCMI Press & News

With Brendan Carr in Charge, FCC Changes are Coming

On November 17, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump selected Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to be the next chairman of the FCC.  Trump stated that Carr “is a warrior for Free Speech and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms and held back our Economy. He will end the regulatory onslaught that […]

FCC Opens Inquiry into Customer Service Provided by Broadband, Phone and Cable Providers

Like a broken record, the FCC continues to try to micromanage every aspect of the telecommunications industry. The latest effort is a 3-2 split decision to begin an Inquiry into the customer service of the telecommunications and cable industries. The Notice of Inquiry (Notice) in Docket 24-472 was released on October 23, 2024, with industry comments due […]

FCC Opens Notice of Inquiry into Data Caps in Consumer Broadband Plans

On October 15, 2024, the FCC began a Notice of Inquiry (Notice) in Docket 23-199 into the data caps that exist for some consumer broadband plans offered by broadband Internet access service (BIAS) providers.  According to the Commission, Data caps are restrictions set by BIAS providers on the volume of bits that a consumer can […]

The 2021 Infrastructure Bill Hits the Real World

In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law.  It promised that all Americans would have equal access to reliable, high-speed broadband services without discrimination.  This, as I’ll soon explain, is a myth.  Once you leave the bigger cities and their prosperous suburbs, your broadband choices are a complete crapshoot. The infrastructure […]

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 […]