FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is stepping down after eight years

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is stepping down from his role after eight years at the US telecoms regulator.

Pai was appointed to the FCC as commissioner in 2012 by President Obama and was promoted to chairman in 2017 by President Trump. Pai has now served notice that he will be stepping down when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th.

“It has been the honour of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Chairman of the FCC...

30 November 2020 | Legislation & Government

FCC moves to regulate social media after Trump’s executive order

The FCC has announced that it will move to regulate social media following President Trump’s executive order earlier this year.

Trump’s executive order followed fact-checking by Twitter which highlighted inaccuracies in his tweets. Despite the tweets remaining public, Trump argued that it amounted to censorship by Twitter.

Under the proposed changes, social media platforms could be sued for anything which could be deemed censorship such as fact-checking. This itself...

16 October 2020 | Legislation & Government

Chinese telecoms equipment removal will cost the US around $1.8bn

US telecoms regulator the FCC has estimated the removal of Chinese equipment will result in a fairly substantial bill.

On Friday, the FCC released a report (PDF) which highlighted that operators in the US have already applied for around $1.6 billion in reimbursement funds as part of the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act of 2019.

However, Congress is yet to approve the much-needed funds to support the predominantly small operators.

Ajit Pai, Chairman...

9 September 2020 | Legislation & Government

FCC chairman used known bad data from ISP now facing a fine

FCC chairman Ajit Pai cited data from BarrierFree to boast of improved rural broadband access, despite warnings that it was overinflated.

The FCC has been on a mission to improve broadband access for rural Americans with the launch of the $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund last year.

On its website, the FCC highlights the scale of the issue:

“In urban areas, 97% of Americans have access to high-speed fixed service. In rural areas, that number falls...

7 September 2020 | Legislation & Government

Critics weigh in as Section 230 proposals threaten free speech

Critics have weighed in on proposals to change or scrap Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online companies from being sued for what users share.

Section 230 was thrust into the limelight after President Trump claimed it’s being used to silence voices after some of his tweets were flagged as containing misinformation.

However, Section 230 consists of just 26 words and is designed to protect free speech:

“No provider or user of an...

3 September 2020 | Legislation & Government

FCC tells China Telecom it will share confidential docs with other agencies

The FCC has notified China Telecom that it will share documents the operator issued in confidentiality.

State-owned China Telecom has been authorised to operate in the US since 2001, but has found itself subject to increased scrutiny in recent months.

The US Justice Department and other federal agencies have recommended that the FCC revokes China Telecom's license due to concerns including "inaccurate public representations by China Telecom concerning its cybersecurity...

20 August 2020 | China Telecom

FCC greenlights Amazon’s Kuiper 3,236 satellite broadband constellation

The FCC has greenlit Amazon's plans to deploy a constellation of 3,236 broadband satellites into the night sky.

Amazon is calling its project Kuiper (named after the belt in the outer solar system which extends from the orbit of Neptune at 30 AU, to approximately 50 AU from the Sun.)

“We have heard so many stories lately about people who are unable to do their job or complete schoolwork because they don’t have reliable internet at home,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice...

31 July 2020 | Legislation & Government

The FCC officially designates Huawei and ZTE as national security threats

The FCC has officially designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats in a further escalation of disputes between Washington and Beijing.

Successive US administrations have been wary of Chinese telecoms vendors and advised operators against the use of their equipment, but have never outright designated them a national security threat until now.

In a statement, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said:

“With today's Orders, and based on the overwhelming weight of...

1 July 2020 | Legislation & Government

FCC commissioners chime in on Trump’s order to censor social networks

FCC commissioners have given opposing takes on Trump’s executive order which aims to prevent social networks from fact-checking.

President Trump signed an executive order this week to change Section 230, a federal law that protects tech companies, to regulate social media platforms after his tweet was fact-checked.

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that mail-in ballots would be "substantially fraudulent," which has no factual basis. Twitter decided to warn users that the...

29 May 2020 | Legislation & Government

Over 2,000 complaints were sent to the FCC relating to COVID-19

FCC chairman Ajit Pai has revealed that the telecoms regulator has received over 2,000 complaints relating to COVID-19.

Speaking to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Pai said the FCC has received around 2,200 complaints relating to the pandemic. Of the complaints, around 1,400 have received a response so far.

Approximately 500 of the complaints were specifically filed under the Keep Americans Connected pledge which the FCC announced in response to the...

20 May 2020 | Legislation & Government