The Net Neutrality debate is heating up once again. What was reported by numerous news media yesterday as a move by the FCC away from the Open Internet  is actually quite the opposite, said senior FCC officials on a conference call with reporters this morning....Learn More

High-tech and telecom companies continue to spend ever-greater amounts to win friends and influence people in the U.S. government, hoping to push their agenda, according to the latest analysis of lobbying disclosure forms by Consumer Watchdog. At $3.82 million and up 14 percent from $3.35...Learn More

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission today took steps to provide more spectrum for general consumer use, carrier-grade small cell deployments, fixed wireless broadband services, and other innovative uses, through the creation of a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service. The Commission proposed rules for...Learn More

Small rural telecom network operators got several pieces of good news from the FCC today. At today’s monthly meeting, the commission reversed the quintile regression analysis benchmarks that reduced Universal Service Fund support for some of those carriers. The commission also said it would allow...Learn More

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler late last week gave the other FCC commissioners a draft of rules that would govern the upcoming incentive auction of TV broadcast spectrum, which will be re-purposed for mobile broadband. Wheeler said the rules were created with rural areas in mind....Learn More

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler envisions offering two classes of licenses in the upcoming auction of TV broadcast spectrum, reports technology news website Re/code. These would include restricted and unrestricted licenses, with restricted licenses reserved for “companies that don’t currently hold a lot of nearby airwaves,”...Learn More

The Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to crack down on abusers of the Universal Service low-income Lifeline program seem to be paying off. Late last week the FCC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice announced that three Florida...Learn More

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission has launched a database designed to eliminate waste from duplicative subscriptions in the Lifeline phone service subsidy program nationwide. The National Lifeline Accountability Database, a cornerstone of the FCC’s comprehensive efforts to combat waste fraud and abuse in...Learn More

Although most are not known outside their local — primarily rural — communities, small cable companies offer advanced communications services to 14% of U.S. homes, according to a report issued today from the American Cable Association. The ACA advocates for more than 800 small cableco...Learn More

Long-distance service providers that have been complaining about rural call completion reporting requirements may find that task simplified now that vendors have stepped in to address that need. At least one major network operator has invested in a third-party product that automates rural call completion...Learn More

Gigabit WiFi services based on the 802.11ac standard should see broader deployment now that the FCC today freed up 100 MHz of spectrum for gigabit WiFi or other unlicensed use. In addition the commission today detailed plans for the upcoming AWS-3 auction of 40 MHz...Learn More

The number of residential customers taking broadband service from the nation’s smaller rate of return carriers more than doubled between December 2010 and December 2012 – increasing 114%, according to a report released from the FCC this week. In comparison, the number of residential customers...Learn More