Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are experiencing rapid growth throughout the world. In the United States, the FAA expects the recreational UAV fleet to reach almost 1.5 million units by 2024. Significant growth is also expected in commercial drones used for safety, delivery, and service operations, with the number of such aircraft expected to
FCC
FCC Proposes New NG911 Rules


Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to help facilitate the nationwide transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911). The Commission will vote on this NPRM at its Open Meeting on June 8th.
Background
In October 2021, the National Association of State 911 Administrators …
Keller and Heckman Webinar: Navigating the FCC’s Universal Service Program: Compliance Requirements for Service Providers



On March 9, 2023, Keller and Heckman attorneys Greg Kunkle, Casey Lide, and Jason Chun presented a webinar titled “Navigating the FCC’s Universal Service Program: Compliance Requirements for Service Providers.”
The FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) program is one of the most significant regulatory issues faced by service providers. The USF assessment amount is substantial…
With Billions of Dollars of Broadband Funding at Stake, the Timing of the Challenge Process to the FCC’s Broadband Map Under Increasing Scrutiny


Just over a month ago, the FCC released its pre-production draft of its new Broadband Maps. The initial map is based on service availability data collected from broadband providers through the ongoing Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) and reflects services available[1] as of June 30, 2022.[2]
The release of the Broadband Map initiated…
FCC Proposes Updated Network Outage Rules


The FCC adopted a Second Report and Order at its Open Meeting on November 17, promulgating rules requiring service providers to deliver more timely and actionable information to 911 facilities during network outages. The Commission hopes the new rules will streamline the network outage notification process and align the requirements imposed on different service providers.…
Overview of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection Bulk Fabric Challenge Process


The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) completed its first Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) on September 1, 2022.[1] The Commission is now accepting and evaluating bulk challenges to the FCC’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (“Fabric”), which serves as the foundation for the FCC’s upcoming broadband data map. To ensure the most accurate broadband map…
911 Network Reliability Deadline Approaching

Earlier this month, the FCC announced that its 2022 911 Reliability Certification System is now open for Covered 911 Service Providers to file annual reliability certifications. The filings are due on October 17, 2022. Failure to submit the certification may result in FCC enforcement action.
Background
In 2013, the FCC adopted rules aimed at improving…
Overview of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection Resources


The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) launched its Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program on June 30, 2022. As we have previously discussed in the first and second blog posts of our BDC series, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access that have one or more end user connections in service are…
The Who, What, When, and Where of the FCC’s New Broadband Data Collection


As discussed in our initial post in this series, the FCC is about to launch its new Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program. Starting this summer, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access services will be required to submit broadband data on a biannual basis.
In this post, we delve into the who,…
The FCC’s New Broadband Data Collection is About to Launch


The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) is poised to implement a comprehensive overhaul of its existing broadband data mapping and collection process with a new Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program. Under the BDC, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access services will be required to submit broadband data on a biannual…