On June 8, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that there is sufficient funding available to fully meet USAC’s estimated demand for both Category One services (i.e., telecommunications and Internet access)...more
The FCC announced on May 31 that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved changes to the FCC Form 481 (Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection Form), which is due July 1.
The revised Form 481 includes a...more
On May 18th, 2016, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau released a Public Notice informing carriers with pending Lifeline compliance plans or applications for designation as an ETC that they must submit an “affirmative...more
As the communications industry anxiously awaits a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on the judicial challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet rules, the Commission is...more
On April 7, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (“NAL”) against a wireless Lifeline provider, Total Call Mobile, Inc. (“Total Call”). An investigation conducted by the Universal Service Administrative Company...more
On Friday, June 12 – barring a judicial stay – many of the FCC’s “Open Internet” rules will become effective. A significant consequence of the reclassification of retail broadband Internet access service (BIAS) as a...more
Data released by USAC in its 2014 Annual Report show an 11 percent decline in Lifeline disbursements from 2013 and a 27 percent decline from 2012 – the program’s peak funding year. These figures, illustrated in the table...more
Today, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau released a Public Notice seeking to refresh the record on a Petition for Reconsideration filed by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), COMPTEL, and tw telecom...more
As noted in our prior update, in November 2014, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau issued a Public Notice requesting industry comment on a Petition filed by TracFone Wireless regarding 911 fees charged to Lifeline...more
On July 14, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its latest Connect America Fund Order, which sets forth the parameters of its planned “rural broadband experiments” program. As detailed below, the...more
Last week, the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau issued an Order denying a request for waiver and review of an E-rate program decision made by USAC, which determined that a Texas school district violated the FCC’s competitive...more
On Wednesday, June 11, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its long-awaited order establishing a framework for competitors to obtain broadband subsidies (support) through Phase II of the Connect...more