"FCC"
Statement of Commissioner Michael J. Copps Announcing His Departure from the FCC
December 7, 2011“Yesterday, I submitted to the President notice of my intention to resign my post as Commissioner effective January 1, 2012,”…
Read full articleGovernors Praise Subcommittee Reallocation of D Block
November 30, 2011WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association (NGA) today issued the following statement regarding the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and…
Read full articlePublic Safety Declares Major Progress in Reaction to Release of Walden Discussion Draft
November 30, 2011WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 30, 2011 – The Public Safety Alliance (PSA) today welcomed House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman…
Read full articleFCC Announces CSRIC Meeting
November 29, 2011SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice advises interested persons that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC)…
Read full articleFCC WORKSHOPS ON THE PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK IN TRANSITION
November 21, 2011The Federal Communications Commission is holding two workshops to examine the transition from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to new technologies. Circuit-switched wireline voice technology has created a high standard for reliability, accessibility, and ubiquity. Consumers will continue to expect and demand these qualities, even as they shift from PSTN services to services provided over different networks. The transition away from the PSTN is already occurring, and is likely to accelerate. Through these workshops, the Commission will seek input on the technical, economic, and policy issues that must be addressed to minimize disruption during this transition, and to protect consumers, public safety, competition, and other important interests.
Read full articleTIA Webinar: Enabling Compliance – the FCC’s New Disability Access Rules
November 19, 2011Washington, D.C. – On October 7, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released two sets of final rules that will…
Read full articleCarper Seeks Answers on State’s 9-1-1 Funds
November 17, 2011Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper wants to know why the state diverted nearly $4 million in 911 fees last year from counties to state programs and agencies. West Virginia is one of seven states that divert money from 911 fees on wireless phones away from 911 call centers, according to a recent Federal Communications Commission report.
Read full articleThis Is Only A Test!
November 8, 2011Cops are preparing for a blitz of panicked 911 calls during a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, blanketing every TV and radio station coast-to-coast, that experts fear could produce a Orson Welles-like fear frenzy.
Boston and state police said they’re both staffing extra 911 dispatchers to answer calls at 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the 30-second alert from the Federal Communications Commission will interrupt regularly scheduled programming on all TV and radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Read full articleAPCO Advocates Sustainable Funding of Emergency Communications
November 8, 2011Today, The Federal Communications Commission today released its third annual report regarding states that have diverted any portion of the 911 fees they collect for purposes other than 911 programs. APCO International strongly believes that tapping 9-1-1 fees jeopardizes public safety’s ability to acquire and implement existing, as well as new and emerging, technologies necessary to continue receiving and responding to emergency situations and providing essential emergency services to citizens.
“We must ensure that public safety has the funds it needs not only to answer 9-1-1 calls, but to take action and dispatch emergency services to calls for help in critical situations,” said APCO International President Gregg Riddle.
Read full articleFCC Set to Unveil Rules for Rural Broadband Fund
November 3, 2011Federal regulators are set to reveal their plan for an overhaul of the $8 billion fund that subsidizes phone service in rural areas and for the poor, with the goal of redirecting the money toward broadband expansion. The Federal Communications Commission is also preparing to disclose new rules for the byzantine system that governs how phone companies pay each other for phone calls. It’s a system that, virtually everyone in the industry agrees, is outdated and leads to perverse schemes by carriers to stimulate certain kinds of phone traffic.
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