Public Knowledge
Hurricane Michael Aftermath ‘Wake Up Call’ On Deregulating Telecommunications Services
Gov Rick Scott (R-FL) and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai have not taken responsibility for how their radical deregulation of telephone service has contributed to the slow pace of repairs for FL's communications services. In 2011, Gov Scott signed the “Regulatory Reform Act of 2011,” which eliminated virtually all oversight of FL’s residential telephone service.
Advocates Ask FCC Chairman Not To Take Away 5G Spectrum From Rural America
Public Knowledge joined 20 rural advocacy organizations, rural healthcare providers, rural network operators, and public interest advocates (including the Benton Foundation) in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to preserve the existing Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) rules that enable small providers to offer service in rural areas.
Public Knowledge Applauds Eshoo for Truth-in-Billing Legislation to Empower Consumers (Public Knowledge)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 09/28/2018 - 15:46Public Knowledge Urges Court Not To Hang Up On Consumers in FCC Lawsuit
Public Knowledge, joined by Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), filed a petitioners’ brief in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit requesting the Court vacate the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 Technology Transitions Order, which rolled back consumer protections established in the agency’s 2015 Order.
The New Music Modernization Act (Mostly) (Finally) Gets It Right (Public Knowledge)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 09/26/2018 - 17:25Rather Than Advance 5G Deployments, FCC Power Grab Will Likely Spur Lawsuits (Public Knowledge)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 09/26/2018 - 15:43FCC Action on Wireless Infrastructure Hamstrings Cities but Won’t Spur More 5G Deployment
While the Federal Communications Commission is correct to take steps to promote broadband deployment (like its recent Order promoting a one-touch-make ready regime for pole attachments), its proposal to limit state and local oversight of wireless deployments on public property is likely to have little success in promoting deployment, and instead is little more than a brazen wealth transfer of $2 billion from state and local taxpayers to the nation’s largest wireless companies.
Public Knowledge Welcomes House Passage of Revised Music Modernization Act (Public Knowledge)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 09/26/2018 - 11:04Could a Faster Communications Recovery in Puerto Rico Save Lives?
Sept 20th, 2018, marks the one-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Maria on the American island of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island as it devastated homes and infrastructure, and caused nearly 3,000 deaths. The original death toll of Puertoriqueños was 64 victims according to the US government. Could the failure of the island’s communications infrastructure be to blame for the death undercount?