Shelbi Lien FCC seeks further comments; Upcoming OMB approval will start compliance countdown. With Friday’s publication in the Federal Register of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Order), the cycle for further comments on additional information to be included on the broadband label begins. Importantly, Internet service … Read more
FCC Order released December 9, 2023. On December 9, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an Order announcing the sunset of the FCC Form 477 effective immediately upon publication of the Order in the Federal Register. The FCC will continue to collect broadband and voice subscription data, but it will be collected via the … Read more
Data Collection requirements identified by FCC. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released the Fourth Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making identifying the ACP Transparency Data Collection rules as required by Congress. All service providers participating in the ACP with enrolled subscribers will be required to participate. The information collected will be … Read more
Recent updates and reminders for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) transitioned to the ACP in January 2022. Since inception, the program has enrolled over 14.9 million households. Unfortunately, there is still a digital divide and gap between those who are eligible and those receiving the benefit. To ensure those eligible … Read more
ISPs Required to Display Broadband “Nutrition” Labels. In the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Report and Order dated November 17, 2022, the FCC adopts rules requiring broadband Internet service providers (“ISPs”) to display certain information regarding their Internet access service plans. In 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “Act”) … Read more
The pre-production draft of the new broadband map will be available on November 18, 2022. On November 18th, the FCC will be making available the pre-production draft broadband map (Broadband Map) depicting Broadband Serviceable Location (BSL) availability as of June 30, 2022. The availability information will reflect the maximum advertised download and upload speeds available … Read more
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has started to release Public Notice Filings (PNFs) on the recently submitted ReConnect Round 4 applications. As in previous ReConnect Funding Rounds, once a PNF is released, there is a 45-day response window allowing broadband providers the opportunity to challenge Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA) of an individual … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the pre-production draft of the new broadband map will be available on November 18, 2022. Additional information is available in the News Release. The pre-production map is the first release of the map required by the Broadband DATA Act. The broadband availability will be based on data submitted by … Read more
All Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were required to complete the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) by September 1, 2022. The filing required ISPs to identify Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) from the Fabric, a common dataset of all locations developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vendor CostQuest. The Fabric was developed utilizing multiple data sources but … Read more
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an advisory on August 1, 2022, concerning a potential vulnerability in certain Emergency Alert System (EAS) encoder/decoder devices that have not been updated to most recent software versions. It is FEMA’s observation that unauthorized actors could issue false alerts over Internet-accessible EAS infrastructure, if the devices are not … Read more
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released the highly anticipated details for the fourth (4th) round of funding for the ReConnect Program. The ReConnect Program will provide up to $1.15B in loan and grant funding to assist with building broadband infrastructure in areas of America lacking sufficient access to broadband. This program was … Read more
The FCC released an Order on July 1, 2022, hitting the pause button on (1) the support phase-out of Lifeline voice services, and (2) the data capacity increase for mobile broadband for an additional year. Therefore, the basic lifeline benefit will remain at $5.25 for eligible voice-only service and the minimum service standard for mobile … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Declaratory Ruling and Limited Waiver regarding the requirement for a Certified Professional Engineer to certify Broadband Data Collection (BDC) Maps in DA 22-733. In January 2021, the FCC released the Third Report and Order providing that in addition to the corporate officer certification, each mobile and fixed service … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the BDC Production Fabric (Fabric) is available in DA 22-668. Service providers are encouraged to access their fabric and start the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing early. Accessing the Fabric will be different depending on your activity with the preliminary Fabric data. Download the full memo for additional information. … Read more
Affordable Connectivity Program Rules are in Effect. The ACP has significant service provider and subscriber requirements. To participate, service providers must have an accepted USAC election and subscribers must have an approved application. Approved ACP providers and subscribers must follow all program rules. Download the checklist for reminders regarding ACP Service Provider Compliance Activities and … Read more
As a follow up to the VPS April 20, 2022 Memo, the FCC has the initial production version of the Serviceable Location Fabric available and each FCC Form 477 Certifying Officer (as identified on the June 30, 2021 477 filing) should have received an email from nbfsupport@costquest.com or support@costquest.zendesk.com with instructions on how to register … Read more
Public Notice released April 14, 2022. Vantage Point released a Memo on March 15, 2022, providing information on the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Broadband Data Collection (BDC) that will be due semi-annually September 1 and March 1. All facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband internet access service must submit their first BDC filing … Read more
Effective April 4, 2022, the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number is no longer being used to identify entities registered in the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) System for Award Management (SAM). Instead, entities will be assigned a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) that is generated directly in SAM.gov. All Federal Communications Commission (FCC) programs that … Read more
All broadband providers must file by May 5, 2022. The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 established the requirement for providers of Advanced Communications Services to report and certify annually information regarding purchasing, renting or leasing any equipment from the FCC’s covered list of equipment or services that are deemed to pose a … Read more
Data Specifications for Biannual Submission. On March 4, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a guide for the Data Specifications for the Biannual Submission of Subscription, Availability, and Supporting Data for the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) Filing. All facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband internet access service must submit a biannual Broadband Data … Read more
