The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio,television,wire,satellite,and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access,fair competition,radio frequency use,media responsibility,public safety,and homeland security.
The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19,1934 and codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code,47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. The Act replaced the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It also transferred regulation of interstate telephone services from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the FCC.
Michael Kevin Powell is an American attorney and lobbyist who served as the 24th chair of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Since leaving office,Powell has since worked as the president of the National Cable &Telecommunications Association (NCTA),a broadband industry trade association.
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA),also known as the "Digital Telephony Act," is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994,during the presidency of Bill Clinton.
James Henry Quello was a broadcaster and government official who notably served as acting Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1993. Described as a "conservative Democrat",Quello was first appointed to the FCC by Republican president Richard Nixon. Quello's term as acting chairman ended when Reed Hundt was confirmed by the Senate,and he stepped down from the FCC entirely in 1998.
A video relay service (VRS),also sometimes known as a video interpreting service (VIS),is a video telecommunication service that allows deaf,hard-of-hearing,and speech-impaired (D-HOH-SI) individuals to communicate over video telephones and similar technologies with hearing people in real-time,via a sign language interpreter.
Wiley Rein LLP is one of the largest law firms in Washington,D.C.,United States. With 240 lawyers,the firm represents clients in complex regulatory,litigation,and transactional matters. Many of the firm's lawyers and public policy advisors have held high-level positions in the White House,on Capitol Hill,and in federal agencies,including the U.S. Department of Defense,the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,and the U.S. Department of Justice. The firm operates in industries including energy,manufacturing,defense,aerospace,intelligence,information technology,professional services,telecommunications,health care,architectural and engineering (A&E),and construction.
The Universal Service Fund (USF) is a system of telecommunications subsidies and fees managed by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intended to promote universal access to telecommunications services in the United States. The FCC established the fund in 1997 in compliance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FCC is a government agency that implements and enforces telecommunications regulations across the U.S. and its territories. The Universal Service Fund's budget ranges from $5–8 billion per year depending on the needs of the telecommunications providers. These needs include the cost to maintain the hardware needed for their services and the services themselves. The total 2019 proposed budget for the USF was $8.4 billion. The budget is revised quarterly allowing the service providers to accurately estimate their costs. As of 2019,roughly 60% of the USF budget was put towards “high-cost”areas,19% went to libraries and schools,13% was for low income areas,and 8% was for rural health care. In 2019 the rate for the USF budget was 24.4% of a telecom company's interstate and international end-user revenues.
Alfred C. Sikes is a Republican,former U.S. administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from August 8,1989,to January 19,1993. He received a B.A. degree for political science from Westminster College in 1961 and an L.L.B. degree from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1964. In 2000,Sikes founded the non-profit Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation and served as chairman of the Trinity Forum's board of trustees.
Richard E. Wiley served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from March 8,1974 –October 12,1977;where he advocated increased competition and lessened regulation in the communications field. Wiley played a pivotal role in the development of HDTV in the United States,serving from 1987 to 1995 as chairman of the FCC's Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service.
The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management &Law is a research center at Michigan State University in East Lansing,Michigan. Part of the Department of Media and Information at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences,the Quello Center is dedicated to original research on issues of information and communication management,law and policy. It is named for former Federal Communications Commission chairman James H. Quello.
In the United States,net neutrality,the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all data on the Internet the same,and not discriminate,has been an issue of contention between network users and access providers since the 1990s. With net neutrality,ISPs may not intentionally block,slow down,or charge money for specific online content. Without net neutrality,ISPs may prioritize certain types of traffic,meter others,or potentially block traffic from specific services,while charging consumers for various tiers of service.
Robert Malcolm McDowell is a lawyer and lobbyist who served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from June 1,2006 to May 17,2013. He is currently a partner in the law firm Cooley LLP.
Connecting America:The National Broadband Plan is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to improve Internet access in the United States. The FCC was directed to create the plan by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,and unveiled its plan on March 16,2010.
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable,broadcast,and satellite television platforms;the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors of such content. It has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones,with which all communications are charged as data,avoiding monopolistic competition,or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner,including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software.
Direct lobbying in the United States are methods used by lobbyists to influence United States legislative bodies. Interest groups from many sectors spend billions of dollars on lobbying.
The Federal Communications Commission Open Internet Order is a set of regulations that move towards the establishment of the internet neutrality concept. Some opponents of net neutrality believe such internet regulation would inhibit innovation by preventing providers from capitalizing on their broadband investments and reinvesting that money into higher quality services for consumers. Supporters of net neutrality argue that the presence of content restrictions by network providers represents a threat to individual expression and the rights of the First Amendment. Open Internet strikes a balance between these two camps by creating a compromised set of regulations that treats all internet traffic in "roughly the same way". In Verizon v. FCC,the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated portions of the order that the court determined could only be applied to common carriers.
Ajit Varadaraj Pai is an American lawyer who served as chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2017 to 2021. He has been a partner at the private-equity firm Searchlight Capital since April 2021.
The Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services also known as the Section 706 Joint Conference on Advanced Services was created by the FCC in 1999,pursuant to section 410(b) of the Communications Act of 1934,with endorsement by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Section 706 refers to the Telecommunications act of 1996. In this section the code states that the FCC is to "encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans." The Joint Conference is intended to serve as a forum for ongoing dialogue among the FCC,state regulators,and local and regional entities about the deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities,and to identify a set of "Best Practices" that promote rapid deployment,particularly to benefit the underserved. The Joint Conference has held a series of field hearings across the country and has conducted Broadband Summits.
Brendan Thomas Carr is an American lawyer who currently serves as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He previously served as an aide to FCC member Ajit Pai and as the FCC's general counsel. Carr also worked as a telecommunications attorney at the law firm of Wiley Rein. He has a reputation for opposing net neutrality protections and supporting changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
