Shelbi Lien Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Update Public Notice released March 4, 2021. Summary The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously adopted an Order on February 25th establishing the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB). The $3.2 Billion appropriated by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 will lower high-speed Internet costs for eligible households during the COVID-19 … Read more
FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Overview of FCC Report and Order. Summary The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously adopted an Order on February 25th establishing the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB). The $3.2 Billion appropriated by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 will lower high-speed Internet costs for eligible households during the COVID-19 … Read more
FCC Seeks Outreach Partners for Emergency Broadband Benefit Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the FCC is seeking outreach partners to help share information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit – an FCC program developed to provide relief to households that are struggling to pay for Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCC … Read more
Published February 2021 In the recent auction, RDOF funds were awarded to fixed wireless technologies at the Gig tier. But can fixed wireless technology deliver Gigabit performance in Rural America? Vantage Point CEO Larry Thompson authored a widely renowned whitepaper examining that exact question. This whitepaper was submitted to the FCC as part of the … Read more
STIR/SHAKEN – Originating Robocall Mitigation Plan Services Summary STIR/SHAKEN requirements were initially slated to go into effect June 30, 2021. However, voice providers with fewer than 100,000 access lines were granted an automatic extension until June 30, 2023, to implement STIR/SHAKEN on the IP portions of their network. Note that action is still required to … Read more
Reassigned Numbers Database FCC Public Notice released on February 8, 2021. Summary The FCC released a Public Notice on February 8, 2021, announcing the compliance date for service providers to report information to the Reassigned Numbers Database. Beginning April 15, 2021, and on the 15th of each month thereafter, service providers must report permanently disconnected … Read more
Reassigned Numbers Database Update Summary The FCC released a Public Notice on January 15, 2021. The Reassigned Numbers Database administrator, SomosGov, Inc., has been selected and reporting processes have been outlined for all carriers that receive numbering resources directly from the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). If you recall, the FCC released an Order on … Read more
HUBB Filing Carriers must file by March 1, 2021. Summary A reminder that all carriers participating in modernized Connect America Fund (CAF) programs must file High-Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) deployment data via USAC’s HUBB portal by March 1, 2021. Below are the programs and the reporting timeframes: Download the full memo for additional detail. VPS … Read more
Protecting Aerial Fiber In the opening days of hunting season, we received several questions about how to protect aerial fiber from shotgun pellets. Eric Rajchel, PE shares three options in the video below. Additional Information For more information on this issue or if you would like VPS guidance, please contact these members of the Vantage … Read more
Caller ID Authentication Second Report & Order Also known as STIR/SHAKEN. Summary The FCC released its Second Report and Order on caller ID authentication requirements also known as STIR/SHAKEN on October 1, 2020. A few of the Order highlights are the extension of the STIR/SHAKEN implementation deadline from June 30, 2021, to June 30, 2023, … Read more
Fiber Supply Constraints: Be Prepared Over the last year, fiber lead times have been increasing as broadband deployments ramp up nationwide. VPS anticipates these lead times increasing even further as many federal and state grant and support programs come to fruition. Additionally, there are more yet-to-be-announced funding programs on the horizon that will further exacerbate … Read more
8YY Access Charge Reform Transition of 8YY Access Charges & Caps on Tandem Switched Transport & Database Query Charges. Summary On October 9, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Report and Order relating to 8YY Access Charge Reform. The Report and Order announced a transition of 8YY originating end office access charges to … Read more
FCC Designation of 988 – 3-Digit Dialing for Suicide Prevention Effective for all carriers July 16, 2022. Reminder As a follow up to the August 13, 2020, Vantage Point Memo, we would like to remind carriers of their obligations to implement 988 3-digit dialing effective July 16, 2022. All service providers will be required to … Read more
911 Reliability Certification The Annual 911 Reliability Certification is due October 15, 2020. Beginning October 15, 2015, all “Covered 911 Service Providers” are required to certify annually that they have taken reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service related to (1) 911 circuit diversity, (2) central office backup power, and (3) diverse network monitoring. The … Read more
Why Password Length is More Important than Complexity In today’s digital world, we access sensitive information and systems frequently. Administrators protect sensitive systems from unauthorized access by implementing some form of authentication mechanism, which requires users to prove their identity before being granted access. There are three primary methods of authentication: something you know, something … Read more
PsyberSecurity: Where Computer Security Meets Psychology We have all heard stories of computers being hacked, but did you know that your brain can also be hacked? High-tech computer hacking can be difficult, especially when the target organization has invested many resources into cybersecurity technologies. Because of this difficulty, many cyber-attackers have discovered that it is … Read more
We hear so much about data breaches and cyber-attacks these days. Learning that hackers exposed millions of credit card numbers or other pieces of personal information seems to happen more and more. Even large companies with well-funded security such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Equifax suffer at the hands of malicious cyber attackers. Considering how these … Read more
Lifeline Supported Services Minimum Standards New standards take effect December 1, 2020. On July 31, 2020, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing the new Lifeline Minimum Standards that will take effect on December 1, 2020: Download the full memo for additional detail. VPS Memo – Lifeline Minimum Standards Additional Information For information on this … Read more
TRS Fund Modifications Contributions will be modified for 2020-2021 fund year. The FCC released a Report and Order in November 2019 to broaden the support mechanism for Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) and reduce the current burden put on Interstate Telecommunications providers. The FCC launched IP CTS many years ago with an interim … Read more
Performance Measures Module The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has developed a Performance Measures Module (PMM), which will be the reporting system used for performance measures testing. The PMM will: For USAC to generate a random sample of actively served locations, beginning with the testing start dates and biannually thereafter, carriers will need to download … Read more
