Telecom Alert: Providers Support 10-10.5 GHz NPRM; FCC Blocks Student Loan Robocalls; CPF Grants for Colorado, New Mexico; ECF Funding [Vol. XIX, Issue 50]

Broadband Providers Support 10-10.5 GHz Band NPRM

Last week, over 200 commercial broadband providers filed an ex parte letter with the FCC supporting a Petition for Rulemaking which requests that the Commission open up the 10-10.5 GHz band for shared point-to-point use (Vol. XIX, Issue 41).  The Petition seeks to allow 500 megahertz of the band to be licensed on a non-exclusive basis for non-federal point-to-point communications.  The providers stated that the Petition’s proposal would help meet the increasing demand for fixed broadband access and noted that the FCC has allocated thousands of megahertz of licensed and unlicensed spectrum for last-mile use over the past decade.

FCC Orders Blocking of Student Loan Scams Calls

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued an Order last week instructing telecommunications companies to stop accepting robocalls related to known student loan scams.  The Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to Urth Access, LLC on November 10th requiring it to investigate and mitigate potential robocall traffic.  After failing to respond to the letter, the Commission is now ordering companies to immediately cease carrying calls from Urth Access, LLC, Fire Data, LLC, US Acquisitions LLC, Dawood & Dawood, Dawood and company, and all associated entities. 

CPF Grants for Colorado, New Mexico

Last week, the Department of the Treasury announced the award of approximately $288 million in funding for Colorado and New Mexico for broadband projects through the Capital Projects Fund (the “Fund”).  The Fund provides $10 billion to states, territories, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring.  The plans approved by Colorado and New Mexico will support broadband infrastructure designed to deliver reliable internet service that meets or exceeds download and upload speeds of 100 Mbps. 

Nearly $54 Million in ECF Funding

Last week, the FCC announced that it is committing nearly $54 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program (the “Program”).  The commitment will support applications from all three funding windows and will support approximately 100 schools, ten libraries, and two consortia.  To date, the Program has provided support to approximately 10,000 schools, 900 libraries, and 100 consortia.

Casey Lide, Thomas Magee, Tracy Marshall, Kathleen Slattery Thompson, Sean Stokes,  and Wesley Wright also contributed to this article.