A November FCC order establishing the Alaska Connect Fund (see 2411050002) is effective Jan. 30, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. “While the original Alaska Plan and other Alaska support mechanisms have helped make significant progress in Alaska, many areas in the state remain unserved or underserved,” the notice said: “An estimated 51,000 Alaskans still receive 3G service -- an outdated technological standard -- or worse.”
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The House voted 366-34 Friday evening to pass a revised version of the American Relief Act (HR-10545), likely averting a government shutdown that was otherwise set to occur at midnight. The Senate was viewed as likely to pass the measure later Friday, and the White House said President Joe Biden would sign it. The House had voted 174-235 Thursday night against the previous HR-10515, which combined a stripped-down CR and two-year debt ceiling suspension (see 2412190070), receiving President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement. HR. The approved measure jettisons the debt-ceiling suspension but preserves a farm bill extension through Sept. 30, 2025, and disaster relief funding. Trump had demanded immediate debt ceiling action, along with his criticism of congressional leaders’ initial, more expansive CR proposal earlier last week (see 2412170081).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FCC’s remaining extensions on the implementation of call authentication standards “remain necessary to avoid undue hardship for the limited number of providers that require them,” the Wireline Bureau said in a public notice announcing its annual evaluation of extensions. The extensions of Stir/Shaken standards apply to small voice service providers originating calls via satellite using North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbers and providers that cannot obtain a service provider code token. Retaining the extensions “does not present a significant barrier to the Commission’s goal of full participation in STIR/SHAKEN,” the PN said. The Wireline Bureau’s annual evaluation of the extensions is required by the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act, the PN said.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New cases since the last update are marked with a *.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a draft version of his Secure American Communications Act Tuesday in a bid to strengthen U.S. networks’ cybersecurity amid the fallout from the Chinese government-led Salt Typhoon hack (see 2411190073). The measure would require that the FCC implement security conditions for telecom carriers that Congress originally mandated in the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. Lawmakers called in CALEA Section 105 for the FCC to require that telecom companies secure their systems against unauthorized intrusions, but the commission has never fully implemented this provision, Wyden’s office said. The draft bill would, in part, require carriers to annually test whether their networks and systems are vulnerable to cyberattack or other unauthorized intrusions. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a draft declaratory ruling last week to commissioners finding that Section 105 requires that telecom carriers secure their networks against cyberattacks (see 2412050044). “It was inevitable that foreign hackers would burrow deep into the American communications system the moment the FCC decided to let phone companies write their own cybersecurity rules,” Wyden said. “Telecom companies and federal regulators were asleep on the job and as a result, Americans’ calls, messages, and phone records have been accessed by foreign spies intent on undermining our national security. Congress needs to step up and pass mandatory security rules to finally secure our telecom system against an infestation of hackers and spies.” Wyden’s release of the draft came hours before Rosenworcel and federal intelligence officials were scheduled to brief House lawmakers on the Salt Typhoon hack. They briefed senators last week.
Many questions remain about how the U.S. Supreme Court will decide FCC v. Consumers’ Research, lawyers involved in the case said Tuesday during an FCBA webinar. The USF case is expected to be heard in the spring. SCOTUS decided last month to hear a challenge to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision, which found the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” Consumers' Research challenged the contribution factor in the 5th Circuit and other courts.
Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and some other congressional leaders are objecting to a compromise version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) released Saturday night with language allocating $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412070001). The leaders’ concerns complicate plans for HR-5009's passage. House leaders are eyeing a vote on the measure this week. Meanwhile, some lawmakers want to attach the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) and permanently lift some telehealth restrictions via other end-of-year measures.
The House and Senate Armed Services committees released a compromise version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) Saturday night with language allocating $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, as expected. The measure also provides up to $500 million through 2033 to the Commerce Department for regional tech hubs. The language in HR-5009, originating from the Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act (S-4207), would give the FCC $3.08 billion in Treasury Department borrowing authority for rip and replace reimbursements.