Good afternoon from Washington, DC! Below you will find this week’s Weekly Wireless Wrap-Up, your update on the wireless telecommunications regulatory landscape, important wireless decisions, and more! Of note this week, the FCC released the Agenda for tomorrow’s January Open Meeting and also released the Report and Order governing the Affordable Connectivity Program. Here’s your wrap-up:
FCC:
- Last Thursday, January 20, 2022, the FCC released the Agenda for the January Open Meeting. The FCC was set to consider 8 items, however 4 items were adopted prior to the meeting and were deleted from the agenda in this Deletion Notice. The meeting will be held tomorrow, January 27, 2022, at 10:30 AM and can be viewed virtually on the FCC’s website and YouTube channel. For more information and to view a copy of the Agenda, see our post here.
- Last Friday, January 21, 2022, the FCC released a Public Notice encouraging communications companies to review the Joint Cybersecurity Advisory Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure (“Advisory”) and take the recommended actions. The Advisory provides recommendations on how to protect networks from cyber threats and how to communicate with federal agencies in the event of a cyber-attack. For more information and to view a copy of the Public Notice and Advisory, see our post here.
- Also last Friday, Mediacom and the City of West Des Moines filed a Joint Motion to Withdraw Mediacom’s Petition for Declaratory Judgment Pursuant to Section 253. The parties had reached a settlement in the matter, rendering Mediacom’s Petition moot. The Wireline Competition Bureau released an Order granting the petition and terminating the proceeding on Tuesday. For more information on the Motion and to view a copy of it, see our post here; for more information on the Order and to view a copy of it, see our post here.
- Late last Friday, the FCC released the Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”). The ACP, which was adopted pursuant to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, allows eligible households to receive a monthly discount on internet services and a onetime reimbursement for a connected device. For more information and to view a copy of the document, see our post here.
- Yesterday, January 25, 2022, the FCC released a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on incorporating four new updated standards that are integral to the testing of equipment and accreditation of laboratories that test RF devices. The item was originally set for consideration at the January Open Meeting but was adopted prior to the meeting and deleted from the agenda. For more information and to view a copy of the NPRM, see our post here.
- Also yesterday, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Fourth Report and Order requiring small service providers that are most likely to be the source of illegal robocalls to implement STIR/SHAKEN on an accelerated timeline, thereby setting the effective date. The Report and Order will be effective February 24, 2022 and small providers affected by the Order are required to implement STIR/SHAKEN on or before June 30, 2022. For more information and to view a copy of the notice, see our post here.
For more information or assistance on telecommunications matters, please contact us.