Good afternoon from Washington, DC! Below you will find this week’s Wireless Wrap-Up; your update on the wireless telecommunications regulatory landscape, important wireless decisions, and more! Here is your wrap-up:
- MAY OPEN MEETING TENTATIVE AGENDA
- On 5/2, the FCC released the Tentative Agenda for the May Open Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 10:30 AM. The Commission is tentatively scheduled to consider six items, including a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would strengthen requirements and oversight relating to the telecommunications certification bodies and measurement facilities that participate in the FCC’s equipment authorization program. For more information and to view a copy of the Tentative Agenda, see our post here.
- NET NEUTRALITY
- On 5/7, the FCC released the Declaratory Ruling, Order, Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration reclassifying broadband Internet access service (“BIAS”) under Title II of the Communications Act, reinstating the 2015 blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization prohibitions and the general conduct standards, establishing new transparency requirements, and dismissing several petitions for reconsideration of the 2018 order abolishing net neutrality. The item was adopted at the April Open Meeting. For additional information and to view a copy of the item, see our post here.
- GEOROUTING
- On 4/26, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on a proposal to require wireless carriers to implement a georouting solution for calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (“988 Lifeline” or “Lifeline”). The item was adopted at the April Open Commission Meeting. For more information and to view a copy of the NPRM, see our post here.
- CUSTOMER PROPRIETARY NETWORK INFORMATION
- On 4/29, 2024, the FCC released four Forfeiture Orders imposing a total of nearly $200 million in fines against AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon for disclosing customer location information, without their consent, to a third party who was not authorized to receive it and for failing to take reasonable steps to protect their customers’ location information. For more information and to view a copy of the Orders, see our post here
- SCS
- On 4/30, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopting a Supplemental Coverage from Space (“SCS”) framework, which will enable satellite-to-device connectivity. For additional information and to view a copy of the Notice see our post here.
- SAFE CONNECTIONS ACT
- On 4/23, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) seeking comment on whether to extend the rules implementing the Safe Connections Act (“SCA”) to connected car services to further protect domestic violence survivors. Comments are due by May 23, 2024; reply comments are due by June 24, 2024. For more information and to view a copy of the Notice, see our post here.
- COMMUNICATIONS MARKETPLACE
- On 4/22, the Office of Economics and Analytics (“OEA”) released a Public Notice seeking comment on the state of competition in the communications marketplace for its biannual Communications Marketplace Report. Comments are due June 6, 2024 and reply comments are due July 8, 2024. For more information and to view a copy of the Public Notice, see our post here.
- 70/80/90 GHZ
- On 4/29, the FCC published in the Federal Register the Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopting new rules and updating existing ones that govern the 71–76 GHz, 81–86 GHz, 92–94 GHz, and 94.1–95 GHz bands (collectively, the “70/80/90 GHz bands”) and seeking comment on accommodating additional services in the bands. For more information and to view a copy of the Notice, see our post here.
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