The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding mechanism is unconstitutional. The full court, sitting en banc, rejected the framework established by the Federal Communications Commission...more
On September 9, 2024, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at an event in Washington, D.C. that the agency will be seeking Supreme Court review of a recent decision finding aspects...more
Key Points - On Thursday, April 25, the FCC voted 3–2 to reinstate the Commission’s net neutrality framework by reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a Telecommunications Service, which is regulated under Title...more
Key Points - The FCC is seeking public comment on methods to enable access to currently unassigned spectrum in their auction inventory that can be used for wireless radio service. The Commission took this step because...more
The FCC released a declaratory ruling on February 8, taking action to make AI-generated robocalls illegal. The declaratory ruling follows the attempted disruption of the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary by...more
2024 is shaping up to be a busy year in Washington for telecom, media and technology (TMT) companies. A number of notable topics will require public comment this year, including net neutrality, digital discrimination, data...more
2/9/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broadband ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
FCC ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
NDAA ,
Outer Space ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Spectrum ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
Key Points -
On November 15, 2023, the FCC adopted rules aimed at preventing discrimination in access to broadband services. The FCC vote satisfies the Commission’s obligation under the IIJA, which requires the FCC to...more
11/27/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Broadband ,
Broadband Internet Access Services (BIAS) ,
Covered Entities ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
National Broadband Plan ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NTIA ,
OCR ,
Transparency
Key Points -
On November 13, the Biden administration released its National Spectrum Strategy through a Presidential Memorandum. The Spectrum Strategy, seeking to modernize spectrum policy and coordination and identify...more
On November 15, 2023—the statutory deadline—the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on rules to prevent so-called “digital discrimination,” i.e., discrimination in access to broadband services.
The proposed...more
Key Points -
In a 3-2 vote, the FCC moved to advance a proposal that would restore so-called "net neutrality" rules and allow the agency to regulate broadband internet access service as a utility. The vote marks the start...more
10/26/2023
/ Broadband ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Net Neutrality ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Social Media ,
Transparency
The legal battles over the constitutionality of Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions continue as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted a request for the full court to re-hear a challenge to the...more
Key Points - This morning, the FCC released a pre-production draft of the new nationwide broadband map, which will drive allocation of $42 billion in BEAD grants next summer. Interested parties have until January 13, 2023 to...more
Congress passed the Broadband DATA Act in 2020, directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect more granular data regarding broadband service availability in order to create a publicly accessible, nationwide...more
- NTIA presents framework to accommodate commercial use of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band, including reduced federal use and limited exclusion zones around military installations.
- NTIA states that unlicensed operations and...more
- Congress and federal agencies are taking action to ensure that Americans stay connected during the COVID-19 crisis, including the CARES Act. The CARES Act provides $200 million to the FCC for telehealth services and...more
4/6/2020
/ Broadcasting ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
FCC ,
Financial Stimulus ,
New Guidance ,
Relief Measures ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth
On October 1, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) largely upheld the “light-touch” approach to net neutrality regulation adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the...more
10/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Broadband ,
Classification ,
Common Carriers ,
FCC ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Net Neutrality ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Remand ,
Telecommunications ,
Vacated
On March 12, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or “Commission”) released the full text of its Open Internet Order (“Order”). The rules adopted in the Order will become effective 60 days after publication in the...more
Regulators and legislators focused on the communications and technology sectors have fertile ground for issues consideration in 2015. In this forecast, the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP team shares its views on issues to...more
2/10/2015
/ Aviation Industry ,
Broadcasting ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Drones ,
E-Rates ,
FCC ,
Internet ,
Net Neutrality ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
VoIP