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State Broadband Funding Awards Announced; Another Step Toward Universal Broadband in the U.S.

In late June, the Biden administration took the widely anticipated step of announcing initial financial award amounts made under the auspices of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Broadband Equity, Access and...more

FCC Acts on Pending Reconsideration Petitions of its 2020 TCPA Exemptions Order

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) restricts many types of calls to residential and wireless telephone numbers if they are made without the prior express consent of the called party or a statutory exemption...more

FCC Acts to Curb Foreign-Originated Illegal Robocalls, Imposes Several New Requirements on Gateway Providers

Recently, on May 20, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Report and Order (“Order”), as well as a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (all available here), with a plain objective:  to “take further...more

“Internet for All” Notice of Funding Opportunity Released: Key Elements of NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Development...

Consistent with its implementation obligations under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency within the Department of Commerce...more

FCC’s Spectrum Management Role Leads to a New Proceeding on Receiver Standards

Spectrum management in the United States is a hydra-headed challenge — there are technical, policy, political and financial dimensions to the ongoing process of identifying spectrum bands where spectrum can be reallocated or...more

“The Number You Have Dialed Has Changed Subscriber” or the Advent of the Reassigned Numbers Database

After years of discussion and planning, the FCC’s Reassigned Numbers Database opened for commercial use on November 1, 2021. Now business callers can register for a paid subscription with the FCC’s designated Administrator,...more

US Broadband in 2021; Policies Promoting Infrastructure, Competition, National Security and Universal Access

During his presidential campaign, President Biden committed “to build back better in rural America” by “expand[ing] broadband, or wireless broadband via 5G, to every American.” Last month, President Biden renewed his focus on...more

New Year, New Rules: FCC Modifies Existing TCPA Exemptions, Adopts New “Call Blocking” Requirements, and Clarifies TCPA...

Some welcome the New Year with new goals and new plans while others – the FCC, in particular, welcomes the New Year by wrapping up TCPA rulemakings and issuing other rulings. As expected, a number of TRACED Act items were...more

FCC Votes to Repurpose L-Band to Boost U.S. Companies in 5G Race

On April 20, 2020, commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to approve a long pending and controversial application by Ligado Networks to repurpose parts of the L-band (1-2 GHz) to...more

Trump Administration Establishes the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications...

A federal interagency group commonly referred to as “Team Telecom” has been operating largely behind the scenes for years, advising the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the FCC’s review of the national security...more

U.S. Financial Institutions Petition FCC to Exclude Their Informational Calls from TCPA Liability During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 30, 2020, the American Bankers Association (“ABA”) and several other associations of banks and credit unions (together, “petitioners”) effectively asked the FCC to exempt all COVID-related calls and texts to...more

Congress Enacts the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act

On March 12, 2020, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act entered into force. This legislation is expected to make permanent the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) ban on the use of Universal Service Fund...more

FCC Signals It May Be Prepared to Greatly Expand Its Proposed Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment

As previously reported, the FCC’s ban of Huawei and ZTE equipment and services from projects subsidized by the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) became effective on January 3, 2020, following the publication of its December...more

TRACED Act Creates New FCC Implementation Timelines

As predicted, amendments to the TCPA – in the form of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (the “TRACED Act”) – were signed into law by the President of the United States on...more

Legislation Looking Likely on a Number of TCPA “Hot-Button” Issues

Senate Bill 151, now called “the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act” (the “TRACED Act”), has been reconciled with the House of Representatives’ bipartisan bill House Bill 3375 and...more

Current “Whole of Government” Approach to Perceived National Security Risks from Chinese Technology Reflected in the FCC’s Latest...

On November 26, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to ban Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation equipment and services from all projects subsidized by funding from the FCC’s...more

The FCC’s “Restoration of Internet Freedom Order” Largely Survives on Appeal; But Net Neutrality is Not Dead Yet

On October 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released a long awaited decision in Mozilla Corporation v. FCC that largely upheld most aspects of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2018 “Restoring Internet...more

New Petition Seeking FCC Clarification That Calls Using Soundboard Technology Are Not “Entirely Prerecorded Calls” Prohibited By...

The FCC’s TCPA docket now has two pending petitions for declaratory ruling on the question as to whether outbound telemarketing calls made through soundboard technology are prohibited communications if made without prior...more

Florida U.S. District Court Grants Victory for Defendant, Finds its Dialing Equipment Is Not an ATDS

In many TCPA cases, the sufficiency of a plaintiff’s allegations, particularly those concerning the defendant’s alleged use of an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”), are tested at the pleadings stage through a motion...more

Comment Cycle Begins for the FCC’s Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on “Call Blocking by Default” Regime And...

On June 24, 2019, the FCC’s adopted Declaratory Ruling and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Third FNPRM”) was published in the Federal Register, triggering the commenting period deadlines...more

TCPA Legislation on the Horizon?

While the FCC has a record open to adopt guidance and a new definition for what it considers as an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) and related TCPA matters, there appears to be growing consensus on “Robocall”...more

The Next Round of the FCC’s “Call Blocking by Default” Approach Kicks off with a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

By directing voice service providers to deal with “unwanted calls” as part of its anti-robocall policies, the FCC seems to have moved well beyond addressing “illegal and spoofed robocalls.” The text of the FCC’s new “Call...more

FCC Adopts Controversial Declaratory Ruling Encouraging “Call Blocking By Default”

Voice service providers soon may dictate which calls will reach you. The FCC honed in on “unwanted calls” when it voted at its Open Meeting yesterday to adopt a Declaratory Ruling and Third Further Proposed Rulemaking (the...more

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