An update on news - April 15 - 23, 2021
All tagged Broadband
May 2020 News Update
An update on news from May 2020
News Update - September 2019
An update on news stories from September 2019.
Death Blow: Texas Court Strips ISP Grande Communications Of DMCA Safe Harbor Defense
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has ruled that Texas-based Internet service provider Grande Communications Networks, LLC may not use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbor as part of its defense against a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a group of record labels. The case is now set to move to trial, where the record companies are seeking to hold Grande secondarily liable for over one million instances of direct copyright infringement by Grande broadband subscribers.
CAF II Auction Winners Redwire and Viasat Petition FCC For ETC Designation
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on two separate petitions for designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier filed by CAF Phase II auction winners Redwire, Inc. and Viasat Carrier Services, Inc.
FCC Says Digital Divide Has Narrowed Substantially – DRAFT 2019 FCC Broadband Deployment Report Concludes Broadband Is Being Deployed At A Reasonable And Timely Rate
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft of the 2019 Broadband Progress Report to his fellow commissioners. It is the second such report under the Pai administration, and for the second consecutive year, the report concludes that advanced telecommunications capability (broadband service) is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. The FCC is expected to vote on the report in the coming weeks.
FCC Replaces Rate-Of-Return Competitive Overlap Process With Reverse Auction System
The Federal Communications Commission has approved and released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that revises many universal service fund rules that apply to rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers. Among other things, in the order the FCC replaces the existing overlap process that applies to legacy rate-of-return service areas that are served by unsubsidized competitors with competitive auctions.
FCC Asks How National Defense Authorization Act Applies To Proposal To Ban Suppliers That Pose A National Security Threat To U.S. Communications Networks
The FCC is seeking comment on the applicability of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 to the FCC’s “national security” rulemaking. The FCC wants input on how Section 889 of the NDAA may impact the FCC’s proposal to prohibit the use of Universal Service Fund support to purchase equipment or services from suppliers that pose a national security threat.
(Draft) Order Forbearing From USF Contributions Will Level The Playing Field (Somewhat) For RLEC Broadband Service
The Federal Communications Commission has released a draft version of an order that grants a petition requesting the FCC forbear from applying universal service fund contribution rules to broadband Internet access transmission services provided by rural local exchange carriers. NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association and US Telecom filed the joint forbearance petition in June 2017. The forbearance provided in the order eliminates the current disparate treatment of certain RLEC broadband providers under the FCC’s USF contribution rules.
The A-CAM, A Brave New World: Rate-Of-Return Carriers Have Option To Move To Cost Model Regulation
On March 30, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission released a Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that make significant changes to the universal service rules governing rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers. One of the most significant changes in the order gives some, but not all, rate-of-return ILECs the option to move to cost model regulation.