Public Notice

The Federal Communications Commission announces the anticipated rechartering of the Consumer Advisory Committee and solicits nominations for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter on or before October 16, 2022. Nominations for membership are due on August 1, 2022. The Committee’s mission is to make recommendations to the FCC regarding topics of particular interest to consumers, to be specified by the Commission, and to facilitate consumers’ participation in proceedings before the Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the release of Data Specifications for Bulk Fabric Challenge Data, which sets forth the requirements for filing bulk challenges to broadband serviceable location (BSL) data in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric. The Bulk Fabric Data Specification is available here. The FCC also provides further details on which locations are considered BSLs in the production version of the Fabric.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced—effective on August 31, 2022—the counties in which conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies, pursuant to the FCC’s 2016 Lifeline Order. This forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support (high-cost/Lifeline ETCs), and not to Lifeline-only ETCs. The FCC granted forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ obligation to offer an

The Federal Communications Commission granted the applications SpaceX Services to operate consumer and enterprise Ku-band Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM) and the application of Kepler Communications to operate unlimited Ku-band Earth Stations on Vessels (ESVs) in the territorial waters of the United States and aboard US-registered vessels throughout international waters worldwide. Both SpaceX and Kepler propose to use the 14.0-14.5 GHz band to transmit (Earth-to-space), and the 10.7-12.7 GHz band, including 12.2-12.7 GHz (generally known as the 12 GHz band), to receive (space-to-Earth).

The Broadband Data Task Force announced the opening of the inaugural Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window. Facilities-based broadband service providers may begin to file in the BDC system data that reflects where they make mass-market internet access service available as of June 30, 2022. Such data must be filed no later than September 1, 2022.

The Federal Communications Commission modified the cost recovery rules for funding two forms of Internet-based telecommunications relay services (TRS)—video relay service (VRS) and Internet Protocol Relay Service (IP Relay). The FCC expanded the Interstate TRS Fund contribution base for support of those services to include intrastate as well as interstate end-user revenues of TRS Fund contributors, ensuring fair treatment of intrastate and interstate communications services and users in the funding of relay services.

Pedro Sánchez Pérez Castejón, the President of the Government of Spain, and President Joseph Biden, on the occasion of President Biden’s visit to Spain on June 28-30, 2022, reached a number of understandings including boosting digital, scientific, and technological cooperation. The United States and Spain defend a digital transformation based on a shared respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and democratic values, on reducing the digital divide, on preventing and addressing the disproportionate effects of online forms of violence and abuse on women, children, and other marginali

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Crosby Kemper, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly promote public awareness of federal funding opportunities for broadband. Through this MOU, the FCC and IMLS will focus on communities where broadband access is particularly challenging, such as rural areas and Tribal lands. The joint effort will include commitments to:

The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Task Force (Task Force), Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), and Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) announce that the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) that will be used for the inaugural Broadband Data Collection (BDC) is now available for broadband service providers and governmental entities to access. Broadband availability data as of June 30, 2022 can be submitted in the BDC beginning on June 30, 2022, and initial filings are due no later than September 1, 2022. 

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on a petition filed by the National Lifeline Association (NaLA) seeking clarification of the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) Chiefs’ authority to suspend a participating provider’s Affordable Connectivity Program enrollments and hold a participating provider’s funding based on the “adequate evidence” standard , or in the alternative, reconsideration of the removal rule (47 C.F.R. § 54.1801(e)(2)).