The FCC proposed imposing a fine of $120 million against one person who it’s said made made nearly 100 million spoofed robocalls. The alleged robocall scam violates the Truth in Caller ID Act, which makes it illegal to deliberately falsify caller ID information so as...Learn More

There are ongoing reductions in the total amount of funding provided by the Universal Service Fund (USF) to regulated telcos due to federal budget control mechanisms that are chilling rural broadband investment, according to a survey by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. The average reduction in...Learn More

Local Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI featured a story recently on ‘cord cutting’ of wireline telephone service that highlights the challenges of the current rural broadband regulatory framework for small, rural telcos. The report is somewhat misleading, in that it doesn’t provide a full explanation....Learn More

Stakeholders today urged the U.S. Senate to address a funding shortfall in the Universal Service Fund estimated at approximately $210 million annually, with the goal of spurring broadband deployment to rural areas by covering a portion of deployment costs. In a hearing conducted by the...Learn More

The ability to send text messages to 911 anywhere in the U.S. could enhance public safety answering points’ (PSAPs’) ability to respond to emergency situations – and could be particularly important when the person contacting the PSAP is unable to place a traditional phone call....Learn More

Two telco organizations filed a joint petition with the FCC yesterday asking the commission to temporarily reverse a previous decision that requires rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) to make contributions into the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on broadband as well as voice revenues. The...Learn More

Some states, including Colorado, are not relying solely on federal programs to help bring broadband to unserved rural areas. Telecompetitor recently interviewed Tony Neal-Graves, associate director of the Colorado Broadband Office, about Colorado broadband policy and about the $2.1 million in grant funding that will...Learn More

A filing made last week urges changes to the FCC rural healthcare-broadband programs, arguing that the Universal Service Fund (USF) rural healthcare, telecom and e-rate schools and libraries programs would be more effective if they did not operate as isolated silos. The filing came from...Learn More

As expected, the FCC today took steps toward broadband reclassification as a Title I information service, rather than a Title II telecommunications service – a move that would represent a return to the regulatory approach used prior to 2015 and that could also be a...Learn More

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission today stopped a federally mandated rate increase for certain rural phone customers, pending review of an FCC policy known as the “rate floor.” The FCC froze the current minimum rate for local voice services at $18...Learn More

Introduced by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R–W.Va.) yesterday, the Gigabit Opportunity Act, also known as the GO Act, aims to spur gigabit broadband deployment by using a range of tax breaks. In a statement, Capito said the GO Act “gives states flexibility, streamlines existing regulations...Learn More

Despite a 2014 appeals court ruling to the contrary, Net Neutrality and Title II broadband are not like “love and marriage” in the vintage song: you can have one without the other – at least that’s what the FCC is hoping. When FCC Chairman Ajit...Learn More