Welcome to the Tech & Telecom Weekly, an e-newsletter keeping you apprised of the latest developments in the telecommunications and high-tech industries.

FCC Policy

The FCC has alerted consumers to a fake website called “WiFi Freedom USA” that pretends to administer the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB). Upon learning of the website, the FCC ensured that the site was disabled and contacted law enforcement authorities. Consumers are reminded that the official EBB website is www.GetEmergencyBroadband.org. For more information, please contact Stephanie Joyce.

Compliance Alerts

FCC Form 477 is due September 1, 2021, reporting data through June 30, 2021. Telecommunications carriers, broadband providers, and interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol providers are among those required to file Form 477, which reports broadband and voice connections by census tract and census block. As previously reported, the FCC Office of Economics and Analysis has updated the Form 477 database interface to require individual Commission Registration System (CORES) user names and passwords in order to log into the system.
 
The Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on two petitions related to individual number pooling, one filed by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), requesting the FCC to direct the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) to determine the operational, technical, and cost requirements to implement individual number pooling for the 207 area code. The MPUC, together with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC), would then ask that NANPA implement a trial for individual number pooling. Comments are due September 17, 2021, with reply comments due October 4, 2021.

For more information about compliance issues, please contact Katherine Barker Marshall.

FTC Items

The FTC has increased the fees for accessing the National Do Not Call Registry effective October 1, 2021. The new fees are $69 per area code, with a maximum fee of $19,017. All telemarketers are required to retrieve and download the Registry regularly in order to ensure compliance with the Telemarketing Sales Rule. These fee increases are authorized by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007. For more information, please contact Stephanie Joyce.

Telehealth

The FCC has awarded $41,980,345 in funding to 62 health care providers in Round 2 of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Telehealth Program. The Program was established in the CARES Act that Congress enacted in March 2020. The funding recipients serve all 50 U.S. States, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories. Monies will be distributed in two phases. For more information, please contact Stephanie Joyce.

Note: This publication is distributed with the understanding that the author, publisher and distributor of this publication and/or any linked publication are not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters and, accordingly, assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Pursuant to applicable rules of professional conduct, portions of this publication may constitute Attorney Advertising.

Media Contact

Marlene Laro
mlaro@potomaclaw.com
703.517.6449

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