In January 2017, newly inaugurated President Trump appointed Commissioner Ajit Pai as the Chairman of the FCC. With a Republican majority, Chairman Pai appointed new FCC leadership and began to make policy changes on issues previously decided by a majority Democratic FCC under Chairman Thomas Wheeler. Given the many issues were decided on party lines
The Making – and Unmaking – of an FCC Commissioner
On Monday, August 3rd, the White House withdrew its (re)nomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly for another term. This unusual White House action has sparked discussion about the process and rationale for the withdrawal.
FCC Composition. The full slate of FCC leadership includes five Commissioners. The Chair and two Commissioners are of
Another 5G Infrastructure Win for the Wireless Industry – Part 3
If you missed the first two blog posts about the FCC’s most recent 5G Declaratory Ruling, please check out Part 1 and Part 2. This third and final entry focuses on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking portion of the Commission’s release.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
In addition to the pro-industry decisions set forth
Another 5G Infrastructure Win for the Wireless Industry – Part 2
If you missed the background, please check out Part 1 of this series of blog posts on the FCC’s most recent 5G Declaratory Ruling. This entry focuses on the key issues addressed by the Commission’s Ruling.
Commencement of Shot Clock
Current rules provide for a 60-day shot clock for local authorities to review requests
Another 5G Infrastructure Win for the Wireless Industry – Part 1
The FCC has made another ruling that will expedite the wireless industry’s deployment of 5G infrastructure. In September 2018, the Commission released its order on “small cells” allowing for the proliferation of 5G transmitters on lights, poles, and other structures located in municipal rights-of-way (“ROWs”) across the country (for more on that, see our previous
The Increasing Importance of Broadband and Federal Funding in Uniting the Country
The Covid-19 crisis is highlighting the importance of broadband connectivity for all Americans. High capacity broadband service enables essential connectivity supporting telemedicine, distance education, telework, e-commerce, and essential social interactivity. During this pandemic, it is more important than ever that critical broadband services are available to all Americans. Primarily through programs administered by the Federal
FCC Decision on 900 MHz LMR Band Expected Soon
About a year ago, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to subdivide the 900 MHz band into a broadband segment and two narrowband segments. The broadband segment would be 3 MHz x 3 MHz from 897.5-900.5 MHz/936.5-939.5 MHZ. The two narrowband segments would consist of 1 ½ MHz x 1 ½
RDOF Phase 1 Auction (Auction 904): A Once in a Decade Opportunity
Introduction
On February 7, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order which established the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) under which up to $20.4 billion will be made available at auction to help bring high-speed broadband to the Nation’s unserved rural areas. $16 billion will be made available through the Phase
Old Limits and New Procedures for FCC RF Exposure Rules
In December 2019, the FCC finally took action in its open docket on radiofrequency (RF) exposure (RFE), adopting a Resolution of Notice of Inquiry, Second Report and Order, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Memorandum Opinion and Order. Therein, the FCC addressed many issues which had been pending since 2013 when the FCC issued a First
FCC Fines Companies for 911 Outage
Earlier this week, the FCC Fined CenturyLink $400,000 and West Safety Communications $175,000 for a multi-state 911 outage that occurred in August 2018. To resolve the dispute, both companies also entered into a Compliance Plan.
The outage stemmed from an inadvertent switch configuration change, which disrupted the delivery of 911 calls in nine states. The