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

Today, as part of its continuing open, transparent, and deliberative process to adopt a cost model for Phase II of the Connect America Fund, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces the availability of the next version of the Connect America Cost Model (CAM v4.1). CAM...Learn More

The average rate paid for local voice service in urban areas is $20.46, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Communications Commission. And according to rules established a few years ago, rural carriers that charge less than that amount are required to raise rates...Learn More

An FCC workshop today was organized with the goal of offering insight on how the commission should allocate funding for rural broadband trials and ultimately, how a broadband Connect America Fund for rate of return carriers would be structured. The workshop drew on a wide...Learn More

U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) had the right idea when he named the bill he introduced last week. The bill aims to help prevent long-distance carriers from blocking or disrupting calls to rural areas. But rather than giving the bill a name such as “Rural...Learn More

Almost 1,000 entities want to participate in rural broadband trials planned by the Federal Communications Commission, according to a blog post published by the FCC yesterday. An FCC spokesman told Telecomptetitor that the commission has received about 950 expressions of interest in participating in the...Learn More