On March 17, 2010, the FCC adopted an order to address the asymmetry in the Commission’s current rules governing the receipt of universal service high-cost local switching support (LSS) by small incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECs”). read more ...

As you are undoubtedly aware, on March 16, 2010, the FCC transmitted to Congress the National Broadband Plan (NBP) outlining its analysis and recommendations on a wide variety of issues related to improving broadband penetration and acceptance within the United States over the next several years. read more ...

Last week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) submitted a status report to Congress regarding the ARRA economic stimulus broadband loans and grants (BTOP or Broadband Technology Opportunities Program). In the report,the NTIA provided a new schedule which pushes back the original time frame. read more ...

On December 2, 2009, the FCC released an order regarding services eligible for funding under the E-Rate schools and libraries universal service support program. read more ...

On November 16, 2009, the NTIA provided their third quarterly status report to Congress on the BTOP broadband stimulus program. read more ...

NANC key recommendations read more ...

On May 13, 2009, the FCC released an Order which reduced the time interval for all carriers to complete Simple wireline and Simple intermodal ports from four business days to one business day. read more ...

On October 30, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Press Release announcing the extension of the enforcement of the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule from November 1, 2009, until June 1, 2010. read more ...

With the 2009 fourth quarter and holidays quickly approaching, GVNW wants to remind everyone about their CPNI and Red Flag Rules obligations. read more ...

On Monday, the NTIA and RUS website www.broadbandusa.gov posted a public notice that parties may file comments concerning the applications made for Federal Stimulus money for broadband deployment to unserved and underserved areas. The public notice and the Broadband USA Mapping Tool can be found by going to the www.broadbandusa.gov website and at the following address: http://broadbandsearch.sc.egov.usda.gov/DefaultARRA.aspx?program=ARRA read more ...

The FCC announced yesterday that it is soliciting input from the public in the development of a National Broadband Plan. The FCC announced dates and sites for the first three field hearings - September 21, 2009, in Austin, Texas; October 1, 2009, in the Washington, D.C. area; and October 6, 2009 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dates and locations for additional hearings will be announced later, as well as details for the next two meetings. read more ...

On September 9, 2009, the NTIA and RUS teams published a searchable database of all applications received for the first round of broadband stimulus loans and grants – NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) and RUS' Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). The list of applicants and a summary of their application can be found at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/applications/search.cfm. read more ...

On July 1, 2009, the NTIA and RUS teams published the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the first round of broadband stimulus grants – NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) and RUS' Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). They have also launched a new website, http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/index.htm, which provides more information, has a downloadable grant and loan application, and is the website through which parties will electronically file both NTIA and RUS grant and loan applications. read more ...

The FCC has scheduled Auction 86 of Broadband Radio Service licenses to begin on October 27, 2009. The auction includes 75 licenses that have been made available as a result of cancellation by the FCC of previously issued licenses, and not all parts of the country are covered. read more ...

On Wednesday, May 13, 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) issued an Order¹ that will reduce the Local Number Portability (“LNP”) porting interval for a simple port² (both wireline and intermodal) from four business days to one business day. The FCC also requested that the North American Numbering Council (NANC) recommend administrative changes in certain porting procedures within ninety days of the Order. read more ...

On Thursday, April 30, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) extended the enforcement of the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule until August 1, 2009. As you recall, the FTC’s Red Flags Rule was issued pursuant to Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) to reduce the risk and occurrence of identity theft. read more ...

This week, the USDA’s RUS issued a Notice of Funds Availability to announce its Community Connect Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year 2009. Under the Community Connect Grant Program, $13.4 million is available for grants. read more ...

On February 20th, the FCC released its Second Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the timeline for the transition to DTV. read more ...

Yesterday, February 23rd, the FCC released the new web-based Form 477 and it is now available on the Commission’s web page at http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html. The new Form 477 requires carriers to report their broadband data by Census Tracts and the report has expanded the categories of upload and download speeds following a new tiered approach. read more ...

On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The bill, which totals an estimated $787 billion, includes $7.2 billion dedicated to broadband deployment in unserved and underserved communities. read more ...

On January 30th, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) approved the FCC’s new revisions to the Form 477, Local Competition and Broadband Data Collection. All carriers are required to use this new form to report their data as of December 31,2008 and the reporting deadline is March 2, 2009. read more ...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has established Red Flag Rules, which are designed to prevent identity theft. Companies, including telecommunications carriers, must establish programs by November 1, 2008, that provide for the identification, detection, and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities – known as “red flags” – that could indicate identity theft. read more ...