Federal Communications Commission

California can keep enforcing its state net neutrality law after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements its own rules.

What would Jesus do about extending the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)? That may be the most important telecommunications policy question answered in 2024.

New customer sign-ups in the US broadband industry slowed down dramatically in the first quarter of this year, according to a pair of analyst groups.

Breezeline has begun to activate fiber internet in previously unserved areas of King William County, Virginia. The 132-mile fiber expansion will make fiber available to over 1,500 homes and businesses by August 2025. The initiative will enable homes and businesses in King William County to access Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology with Gigabit-speed internet for the very first time.

Ahead of the confirmation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the agency plans to vote to restore network neutrality on April 25, a top policy analyst weighed in to say that he doesn't expect a return of the rules to alter the way that broadband service providers operate. Like its 2015 predecessor, this version of the rules will again attempt to reclassify broadband as a more heavily-regulated "Title II" commu

Some smaller US telecommunications providers are toying with the notion of shutting down their copper networks, following years of pioneering efforts by bigger network operators like AT&T and Verizon. According to the financial analysts at New Street Research, Frontier and TDS Telecom are eyeing the savings they might be able to derive from shuttering legacy network technology. To be clear, virtually all of the US market's telco operators are shifting from copper to fiber for their new network buildouts and upgrades.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the April Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 25, 2024:

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on April 25 to further expand the government’s power over the Internet. It will do so by implementing President Biden’s call for the FCC to impose utility-style “net neutrality” regulations on the Internet through Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. This decision follows the five-member FCC’s partisan, 3-2 vote last October to seek public comment on this action.

I’ve heard rumors for years that the policymakers in DC never expected the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to be permanent. The expectation of the original architects of the plan was that ISPs would bow to public pressure to fill the void when ACP ran dry. However, the giant ISPs are not likely to self-fund the discounts and smaller ISPs can’t afford to do so. I’ve seen some recent articles that argue that the Federal Communications Commission could employ the Universal Service Fund.

By restoring broadband as subject to the Commission's authority under Title II of the Communications Act, the FCC will assure that a handful of powerful telecommunications companies will not favor themselves and their business partners over consumers, non-profits and small businesses who also seek to speak and to receive information over the internet. However, this is about much more than blocking and throttling; it is also about public safety, national security and privacy.