In a letter yesterday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, 18 wireless carrier CEOs urged the Commission to revise its Mobility Fund II (MFII) plan to ensure sufficient, predictable support for the preservation and deployment of wireless networks. Competitive wireless carriers depend on Universal Service Funding (USF), in addition to their own capital resources, to provide comparable service to their …
Municipal representatives unveil Georgia’s ROW agreement with Mobilitie
After meeting with representatives of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau last week, city and town leaders from Massachusetts, Georgia and Minnesota, as well as a representative of the National League of Cities, presented them with what they believe could be a model template for telecom installations in public rights of way. During the meeting, they urged the Commission to avoid …
WUSF-TV is one of the first casualties of incentive auction
After 50 years of broadcasting, WUSF-TV has announced that it will go off the air later this year, now that the University of South Florida has sold its public broadcast license for more than $18.75 million during the FCC’s incentive auction. According to university officials, the price was far below what they anticipated receiving. Last week, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai …
Commissioner O’Rielly tackles questionable waste in backup network funding
The adage, any publicity is good publicity, may have backfired on the Arlington, Virginia Public Schools (APS) after an article in ARLnow.com was read by FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly and he dashed off a letter to the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) that could possibly kayo funding for APS’s backup fiber network because he believes that “ratepayer dollars are being …
FCC gavels in $19.6 billion in auction, CTIA is already lobbying for another one
Bidding in the clock phase of the FCC’s incentive auction ended last week with wireless companies and others ponying up $19,632,506,746 for 70 MHz of new broadband spectrum, and although it was lower than a number of analysts’ projections, it was still the second largest auction ever. The U.S. Treasury will get approximately $7.6 billion and trade group CTIA is …
FCC head handcuffs his Enforcement Bureau chief in issuing settlements
Newly minted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai instituted a process reform measure yesterday that will handcuff his Enforcement Bureau chief so that Commissioners will become more fully involved in the agency’s enforcement activities. One of the ways in which the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau resolves an investigation is by entering into a consent decree, in which the party being investigated agrees to comply with certain …
FCC Commissioner Clyburn trashes newest Chairman’s actions in news dump
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the remaining Democrat on the Commission, went head to head on the keyboard with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Friday, clashing over whether his actions were legal when he reversed a decision made late in the Obama administration to let consumers apply their telecommunications subsidies to broadband services. Clyburn, who served as the acting Chairman in 2013 …
FCC Commissioner contends more broadband subsidies may not be the best route
Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been open to the idea of spending $20 billion in broadband funding as part of a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, as recently reported by Wireless Estimator, but one Republican Federal Communications Commissioner is arguing that the approach has “serious potential drawbacks.” “For the sake of efficiency and soundness, if new government money has to be …
FCC chief takes first step to increase transparency of rulemakings by releasing documents
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced a pilot program designed to dramatically increase the transparency of Commission rulemakings. For the first time, the Chairman is releasing to the public the full text of documents he circulated to his fellow Commissioners for a vote at the FCC’s next Open Meeting on Feb. 23. Traditionally, these documents, and the draft proposals contained …
Chairman Pai forms broadband deployment committee to close digital divide
At Ajit Pai’s first open meeting as the Federal Communications Commission’s Chairman, he emphasized the need to close the digital divide, and he believes the creation of a broadband deployment advisory committee that will be active for two years will assist in that effort. However, he didn’t discuss how he would proceed on key rules that he opposed under the …
GCI mourns death of company co-founder and communications pioneer Bob Walp
General Communication Inc. (GCI) has announced the passing of Bob Walp, one of the company’s co-founders and its first president. He was 89 years old. A steadfast advocate of competition in the Alaska telecommunications industry, Walp, along with Ron Duncan, founded GCI in 1979. Initially they operated the company from Bob’s small apartment in Anchorage. After battling regulatory and business obstacles, …
U.S. broadband infrastructure spending consensus is at $20 billion
With President Donald Trump’s “America’s Infrastructure First” policy calling for $1 trillion in new investment to improve the nation’s infrastructure, broadband will play a critical role in connecting the country’s citizens, communities and businesses, and according to an all-star panel brought together by USTelecom that spoke before the National Press Club in Washington yesterday, that need will most likely require …
FCC chief appoints a new top cop and other staff leaders
Michael Carowitz, who has been deputy chief of the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, was named by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as his acting chief of the Enforcement Bureau, which had been headed by Travis LeBlanc. FCC observers expected that LeBlanc would be replaced since Pai has oftentimes complained about the enforcement group’s management. The enforcement bureau is the …
Reports were correct, President’s pick is Pai to head the FCC
UPDATE: January 23, 2017 – In sync with his new boss’ Twitter affection, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Tweeted today, “This afternoon, I was informed that #POTUS @realDonaldTrump designated me the 34th Chairman of the @FCC.” Pai, 44, a Republican, steps into Tom Wheeler’s position. Wheeler stepped down from his chairmanship on Friday. The industry came out in force to congratulate Pai, with …
FCC’s forward auction clears $10 billion threshold, allowing spectrum transfer
The FCC’s forward auction to reallocate broadcasters’ spectrum licenses to wireless providers marginally cleared its $10 billion clearing target Wednesday, setting the stage to transfer broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband use and the development of new wireless technology. With the results of yesterday’s rounds of the FCC’s forward auction, the bidding has satisfied the requirements of the incentive auction’s Final …
The U.S. ends the year with 1,365 additional broadcast stations
According to the FCC’s latest report, ending Dec. 31, 2016, there were 15 fewer AM broadcast stations in the past year. However, there has been an increase of 1,365 broadcast stations during 2016. FM commercial stations added 45 to their ranks with the nation’s count totaling 6,746, compared to an AM station total of 4,669. (View full details below) Commercial TV …
President Obama renominates FCC Democrat in his final days
After her term expired and her reappointment was not confirmed by the Senate, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel authored her farewell message on Dec. 30, 2016, stating that “No matter who you are or where you live in this country, you need access to modern communications to have a fair shot at 21st century success.” Rosenworcel may also have a fair …
FCC spreads the bad news to ‘silent’ Pennsylvania gospel radio station
The FCC has notified Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation, owner of AM gospel radio station WGBN, on Dec. 29, 2016 that it is liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $25,000 for willful and repeated violations of not cleaning or repainting their antenna structures, failing to maintain antenna structure lighting and failure to file a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). Pentecostal …
Corrupt owner dipped into $27 million of FCC broadband funds to support his lavish lifestyle
While the FCC announced Tuesday that it is freeing up an additional $51 million annually in subsidies for 35 companies to build out broadband infrastructure in rural areas, it was also anxious to see if Sandwich Isles Communications, Inc., (SIC) of Hawaii had paid its $50 million fine due by Jan. 4, 2017 for receiving $250 million in funding with “substantial amounts of that …
Wheeler to step down as FCC chief when Donald Trump is sworn in
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has announced that he will leave the agency on Jan. 20, 2017 when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn-in. The change will give President Trump an immediate 2-1 majority on the Commission. “Serving as F.C.C. Chairman during this period of historic technological change has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Wheeler said in …
