News & Analysis as of September 18, 2024

The United States Federal Communications Commission › Native American Issues

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The United States Federal Communications Commission is an independent federal agency established by the Communications Act of 1934. The Commission is charged with regulating interstate and international... more +

FCC Seeks Nominees for the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee

Best Best & Krieger LLP on 2/16/2023

IAC Addresses Issues for State, Local and Tribal Governments Under FCC Jurisdiction - The Federal Communications Commission has announced the reauthorization of the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC or Committee)...more

Eligible Households on Tribal Lands Can Enroll in FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

Holland & Knight LLP on 5/3/2021

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on April 29, 2021, that starting May 12, 2021, eligible households will be able to enroll in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) through an approved...more

Update on Tribal Broadband Funding Opportunities

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 3/30/2021

The past several months have seen a number of new funding opportunities for the deployment, adoption and affordability of broadband services on tribal lands. This alert provides a quick update on these various opportunities....more

FCC Unassigned Spectrum Rights Opportunity for Tribal Communities

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC on 7/20/2020

Background Details on 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Window - The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is presenting federally recognized Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages with a unique opportunity to directly access...more

Apply for 2.5 GHz Spectrum License Over Your Tribal Lands

Holland & Knight LLP on 4/28/2020

Tribal governments in rural areas, with a population of 50,000 or less, have until Aug. 3, 2020, to apply for a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to directly access unassigned spectrum over their lands....more

Procedures Announced for Tribes to Apply for 2.5 GHz Spectrum

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 1/9/2020

We have previously issued several alerts regarding the ability of eligible tribal entities to apply for certain airwave licenses that can be used for wireless internet access and other services. The window for applying for...more

Priority Filing Deadline Set for Tribes’ Access to Spectrum

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 12/4/2019

As we previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will provide rural tribes with an opportunity to apply for free wireless airwaves in the 2.5 GHz band. The FCC has now set the window during which...more

FCC To Assess Tribal Engagement Process

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 10/31/2019

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on ways to improve the dialogue between tribes and carriers that provide subsidized telephone and broadband services to tribal areas using federal universal...more

Government Urges Tribes to Apply for Free Access to Spectrum

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 9/26/2019

On Sept. 18, 2019, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on tribal access to spectrum. Spectrum are slices of airwaves used to send signals to wireless devices like smartphones. One of the key messages was...more

FCC Sets Aside Airwaves for Rural Tribal Areas

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 7/23/2019

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an order making available certain airwaves for broadband wireless services on rural tribal lands. These airwaves, in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band, were previously set...more

FCC Report Concludes Broadband Deployment Still Lagging in Indian Country

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 5/10/2019

As directed by Congress in last year’s RAY BAUM’s Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delivered to the House and Senate Commerce committees its evaluation of broadband coverage in Indian country. The FCC’s bottom...more

The Challenge of Increasing Broadband Access on Tribal Lands

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 12/5/2018

The Federal Communications Commission has made closing the “digital divide” a top priority, particularly on tribal lands. Despite this lofty goal, and millions of federal dollars theoretically available to subsidize building...more

Opportunities for Indian Tribes to Bridge the Digital Divide

WilmerHale on 7/3/2018

There is no question the issues facing rural communities nationwide are magnified on most Indian reservations. Infrastructure and access to basic utilities lead the list of long-standing issues. ...more

Ending the Twilight Saga: FCC Proposes Slashing Regulations to Speed Broadband Deployment

Hogan Lovells on 1/23/2018

The FCC has proposed to exclude so-called “Twilight Towers” from routine historic preservation review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) and its regulations. ...more

FCC Vows Its Never Gonna Give Up On Bridging Digital Divide: Opens Rulemakings To Promote Access To Broadband Infrastructure

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/24/2017

At the end of March, new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai branded April “Infrastructure Month.” He paired this declaration with the announcement of a comprehensive agenda aimed at tackling a host of infrastructure-related challenges...more

FCC Delays Effective Date of Oklahoma Tribal Lifeline Change to June 8

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 2/8/2016

This past Tuesday, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau issued an Order delaying for 120 days the effective date of the agency’s new interpretation of “former reservations in Oklahoma” for purposes of delineating the area in...more

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The United States Federal Communications Commission › Native American Issues

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