FCC

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden made it official Tuesday, announcing he wants Jessica Rosenworcel, who has been acting FCC chair since January, to be his permanent head of the agency. If Rosenworcel is confirmed, she would be the first woman... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission continues efforts to close the homework gap, announcing another $1.3 billion in funding requests were received during the second application window of the Emergency Connectivity Fund program today. This second funding round is poised... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission announced on Wednesday it is set to approve a total of $554,150,641 for the third round of funding in deployments of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The FCC previously announced over $1 billion in... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission is poised to consider an application from Boeing to launch and run an array of broadband satellites. Acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a proposal for voting on Boeing’s application last week. Industry watchers... Read More

The Federal Communications Commission is allocating over $1.2 billion in the first round of funding of the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program with the aim of connecting more than 3.6 million students across the U.S., according to a release... Read More

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for AT&T and a host of utility providers and public safety officials squared off against the FCC in a District of Columbia courtroom on Friday in a battle over a Trump-era regulatory change that expanded the use... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission announced today it is seeking another round of comments regarding exclusivity arrangements between multi-tenant buildings and broadband providers.  The filings preceding the announcement show the tug-of-war remains between those who think the competitive landscape... Read More

WASHINGTON - In a world where the cost of almost everything seems to go up for everybody, broadcasters got something of a treat last week. When the FCC officially set its Fiscal Year 2021 regulatory fees last week, commissioners did... Read More

WASHINGTON -- More than five million households have enrolled in the emergency broadband benefit program since its launch in mid-May, the Federal Communications Commission said Friday. Coinciding with this milestone, the agency also began releasing more granular enrollment data to... Read More

Are you on the map? The Federal Communications Commission map showing where broadband coverage is reaching, that is. Last week the FCC launched its first data map as required by Congress under the 2020 Broadband DATA Act.  The voice and... Read More

The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday that it is ready to release more than $311 million in funding for high-speed broadband deployment across 36 states through its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.  Working to clean up the RDOF “waste” such as... Read More

A panel representing the last five decades of Federal Communications Commission leadership took the helm at Monday’s Multicultural, Media, Telecom and Industry Council’s FCC symposium discussing broadband for the nation.  Despite a pending $65 billion infrastructure plan to fund further... Read More

Boston, Massachusetts and Raleigh, North Carolina could become the nation’s next designated innovation zones and test beds for advanced wireless technologies, under a proposal put forward Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission. The designations, if advanced, would help spur the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Legislation intended to prevent China from threatening U.S. telecom networks was front and center Wednesday during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Introduced by House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. and... Read More

Congressional leaders and a media advocacy group are urging the Federal Communications Commission to examine how policy decisions and programs have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the acting FCC... Read More

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $7.2 billion toward a new Federal Communications Commission program, the Emergency Connectivity Fund. Starting Tuesday, June 29, and ending Aug. 13, the ECF will accept applications from schools and libraries to receive... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday unanimously adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry intended to secure the nation’s communications networks against cyberattacks. With seven ransomware attacks per hour in 2020, a total of 65,000,... Read More

A small community in Lincoln County, Maine, was recently denied a broadband deployment grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as satellite service provider ViaSat had already won the area in a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction by the Federal... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission announced today that 2.3 million households have enrolled in its Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, not even a month after its launch.    The subsidy program provides eligible households with discounted, high-speed broadband service as well... Read More

The Federal Communications Commission must be more “forward-looking” as the agency thinks of spending billions on high-speed broadband deployment, said Austin Bonner, wireline legal advisor for FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, at a Federal Communications Bar Association lunch-and-learn event Wednesday. In... Read More

WASHINGTON - Carolyn Roddy, a legal advisor at the Federal Communications Commission, knows all about the ins and outs of making changes to one’s telephone service. But she admitted even she was surprised by the jump in rates her 96-year-old... Read More

As talks resumed between the White House and GOP lawmakers on Friday over President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a new coalition announced its intention to push hard for a key element of the plan -- expanding broadband access... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a decision by the Federal Communication Commission to relax media ownership rules. The unanimous ruling, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, is a major win for broadcasters. The petitioners in the case, the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Five Chinese companies are producing telecommunications equipment and services that pose "an unacceptable risk" to national security and the security and safety of U.S. citizens, the Federal Communications Commission announced Friday. The companies include Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE... Read More

WASHINGTON - In the near future, cellular networks, particularly in advancing 5G, need to evolve away from their previously hardware-driven functions and become more virtual or software-based, the acting head of the Federal Communications Commissions believes. To advance those beliefs,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday established a task force to implement long-overdue improvements to the agency's broadband and mapping tool. Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also named Jean Kiddoo as chair of the new Broadband Data Task... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications, including wireless companies, cable and internet providers, and broadcast stations. Of particular note, due to the prevalence of remote work and school in 2020, the agency also guides the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., recently helped the Nisqually and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in her district fulfill a long time dream. They are two of eight tribes in the state to receive first-of-their-kind licenses... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear oral arguments in a challenge to the FCC's efforts to loosen rules that limit media ownership. The underlying case was brought by Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, a coalition of low-power... Read More

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program to be included in any upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. The FCC established the program in April 2020 to better provide health care... Read More