On May 28th, 2024, T-Mobile announced as part of its acquisition of UScellular operations, it would “enter into a new long-term Master License Agreement on a minimum of 2,015 incremental towers owned by UScellular and extend...more
Background on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act - Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991 to address the growing number of uninvited marketing calls, including calls made by local...more
Local Governments Eligible To Compete for These Funds -
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress created the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP provides eligible households...more
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) recently released Notices of Funding Opportunity for several programs adopted as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act...more
Local Government Voices Have Been Heard -
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted a Report and Order to establish rules for the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP provides eligible...more
Franchise Requirements Should Not be Treated as Franchise Fees and Cable Operators Can be Charged Fees on Non-Cable Services, Cities Argue -
Three coalitions of cities filed briefs with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of...more
Oversight of Satellite Dishes and Certain Antennas Curtailed -
The FCC’s over-the-air reception devices (known as OTARD) rules (47 C.F.R. §1.4000) limit local governments’, homeowner associations’ and condominium boards’...more
Public Agencies Using Robocalls Have New Limitations/Obligations -
The FCC issued two new orders placing additional limits on robocalls and outlining phone companies’ obligations to help in that effort. The orders,...more
Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Public Agencies -
The FCC approved an Order on Reconsideration on Monday that clarifies that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition against robocalls applies to...more
Don’t Surrender Your Property Rights -
Cell tower operators will soon have the regulatory right to deploy generators and other communications equipment up to 30 feet outside of their current site under rule changes adopted...more
Ninth Circuit Takes on FCC Small Cell Orders -
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed local governments some wins in a decision last week arising from the court’s consolidation of five appeals from three FCC 5G...more
8/18/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Cell Towers ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Local Aesthetic Regulations ,
Municipalities ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Telecommunications Act ,
Wireless Industry
How Communities Can Respond -
The FCC adopted a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("Order" and "NPRM," respectively) related to Section 6409 modification requests (eligible facilities requests) on June...more
When the FCC’s Cable Franchise Order became effective on Sept. 26, it upended 35 years of common understanding on what a local government could obtain in cable franchise negotiations, which could cost local governments...more
The FCC released its third Section 621 Report and Order late Friday, which has the potential to cost local governments hundreds of millions of dollars in cable franchise fees. Also, unlike FCC cable orders in the past 10...more
The Federal Communications Commission has proposed an expansion of its rules for Over-the-Air Reception Devices in what it says is an effort to spur the deployment of 5G infrastructure.
The FCC’s recommended changes have...more
5/7/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Broadband ,
Comment Period ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Public Health ,
Public Property ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Facilities ,
Wireless Industry ,
Zoning Laws
The Federal Communications Commission is once again seeking to usurp local authority as part of its agenda for 5G deployment. Last week, the FCC requested comments on a proposal to expand its Over-the-Air Reception Devices...more
A pair of orders by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the litigation over the FCC’s controversial small cell order were issued Thursday. ...more
The FCC today released a Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if adopted, would allow cable operators to deduct the value of in-kind contributions from cable franchise fee payments, and would limit the authority of...more
The FCC is poised to issued two orders: a $2 billion unfunded mandate “Small Cell” order that imposes rules akin to state small cell laws (such as SB 649 vetoed in 2017 by California Gov. Jerry Brown)....more
The FCC has banned moratoria related to wired and wireless telecommunications equipment deployment. In a party-line vote Aug. 2, the FCC adopted its Third Report and Order and Declaratory Ruling, which also creates a...more
Recently, H.R. Bill 582, known as “Kari’s Law” became federal law. Kari’s Law amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require most multi-line telephone systems to be pre-configured so users may call “911” without dialing any...more
When San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo resigned from a FCC advisory committee last week, it was a move that should alert communities around the country that they are facing the imminent prospect of new federal regulations (and...more
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s resignation from the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee last week signals that communities around the country are facing the imminent prospect of new federal wireless regulations (and...more
An FCC order that local governments, schools and the public have opposed for almost a decade was reversed by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The case is Montgomery County v. FCC, which had its genesis in an FCC...more
An FCC order that local governments, schools and the public have opposed for almost a decade was reversed today by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals....more