CommLaw Monitor

News and analysis from Kelley Drye’s communications practice group

FCC Proposes Protections for 5G Infrastructure Hub and Relay Antennas to Spur Deployment

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) for consideration at the agency’s next open meeting on April 12, 2019 to expand protections for over-the-air reception devices (“OTARD”) to…

Battle Over Collection of Robocall Fines Illustrates Broader Enforcement Issues, Not a Lack of Willpower on TCPA

A new report from the Wall Street Journal on FCC robocall enforcement set off a minor scrum over the effectiveness of the FCC’s TCPA efforts under Chairman Pai. The report claimed that, despite recent eye-popping…

FCC Plans to Eliminate Rural “Rate Floor,” Heading Off Potential Price Hikes

The FCC plans to adopt an order eliminating the controversial rural “ rate floor ” that restricts the amount of Universal Service Fund (“USF”) support received by some carriers to build and maintain networks in…

In a Prelude to its TCPA Ruling, the FCC Votes to Create a Database to Identify Reassigned Numbers

With speculation running rampant that Chairman Pai intends to bring a remand order from ACA International v. FCC in January 2019, the FCC took a related step to reduce misdirected calls. At the December Open Meeting,…

FCC Plans to Classify Texting as an Information Service, Take Action on Robocalls, Spectrum, and Rural Broadband at December Meeting

The FCC plans to take aim again at unwanted texts and robocalls at its next meeting scheduled for December 12, 2018. Unwanted robocalls and texting consistently top the list of complaints received by the FCC and that…