Tag: FCC
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A Federal Program to Bring Internet & Phone Service to Rural America Is Fialing to Connect Customers After Spending Billions
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a federal program designed to expand broadband access in underserved rural communities, is facing further setbacks as Mercury Broadband defaults on funding for over 800 Census Block Groups across multiple states. These census block groups represent areas of the contrary with poor internet and phone service. The program is…
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The FCC’s Broadband Lable Rules is Making it Easier To Know the True Cost of Your Home Internet & Is Now Manditory For All Providers
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered broadband providers to roll out “nutrition-style” labels that spell out the fine print on the prices of their plans and the speeds they really offer. This rule makes it far easier for their customers to quickly know the price, speed, and fees of the service they offer. This rule…
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FCC Unanimously Passes New Set of AI Robocall Rules
Are you tired of getting annoying spam robocalls? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is trying to crack down on them after passing a new set of rules during their August 7 opening meeting that you can watch here. The FCC voted unanimously in favor of Strengthening a Key Tool for Combatting Robocalls (PDF), which improves…
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FCC’s New AI Robocall Rules: A Big Win for Consumers or Just Another Tech Headache?
Robocalls – those irritating interruptions that make you wish you want to abandon your phone plan – might finally be on their way out, thanks to the latest move by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). On August 7, the FCC voted unanimously to pass a new set of rules aimed at putting the brakes on…
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The FCC Is Making It Harder for AT&T & Others to Block Fiber Competition
For years one of the main things slowing down the expansion of fiber competition was access to utility poles that would allow them to run on current poles. At issue was the need to get permission from companies already using the poles on the street by your house to run new fiber to you. In…
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The FCC Is Blocked from Using the Universal Service Fund to Give Cheap Internet to Low-Income Families
This week the fifth circuit court ruled that the FCC cannot use the Universal Service Fund to pay for FCC programs that help offer cheap internet to low-income families. At issue here is whether the Universal Service Fund allows the FCC to use the money for internet. Many have argued that when the fund was…
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The FCC’s Broadband Lable Rules is Making it Easier To Know the True Cost of Your Home Internet Hopefully, this Rule Comes to TV Services Soon
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered broadband providers to roll out “nutrition-style” labels that spell out the fine print on the prices of their plans and the speeds they really offer. This rule makes it far easier for their customers to quickly know the price, speed, and fees of the service they offer. “This is…
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Should Big Tech Pay More for Internet Service? Internet Providers Think So
One of the biggest debates among Internet providers is whether major tech companies should be forced to pay more to help build out Internet services. Once again a lobby group called USTelecom, which represents AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, and other companies, has asked the FCC to force major tech companies to pay more for Internet service…
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The FCC Can Continue to Spend $8 Billion On Rural Internet & Other Needs—The Supreme Court Rules
This week the US Supreme Court ruled that the Universal Service Fund that raises $8 billion annually by putting a fee on all phone plans is legal. The fund was created in early 1996 to help expand phone service to everyone in the United States. Recently it has been used to bring Internet to rural…
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Internet Service Providers Try to Stop Net Neutrality in Court
Earlier this year the FCC passed a new rule that would bring back Net Neutrality. This was followed by the FTC and FCC announcing a partnership to enforce Net Neutrality and regulate the Internet in April. For years, the argument has been about who has what control over the Internet to regulate it: the FTC…