The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding mechanism is unconstitutional. The full court, sitting en banc, rejected the framework established by the Federal Communications Commission...more
On September 9, 2024, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at an event in Washington, D.C. that the agency will be seeking Supreme Court review of a recent decision finding aspects...more
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
Our newsletter reflects the focus of Akin’s cross-practice autonomous systems and advanced mobility team on developments in the regulatory, policy, trade, intellectual property, and cybersecurity and privacy spaces....more
8/16/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Driverless Cars ,
Drones ,
FCC ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
SCOTUS ,
Technology Sector ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Waivers
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
Key Points - On Thursday, April 25, the FCC voted 3–2 to reinstate the Commission’s net neutrality framework by reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a Telecommunications Service, which is regulated under Title...more
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
Key Points - The FCC is seeking public comment on methods to enable access to currently unassigned spectrum in their auction inventory that can be used for wireless radio service. The Commission took this step because...more
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
The FCC released a declaratory ruling on February 8, taking action to make AI-generated robocalls illegal. The declaratory ruling follows the attempted disruption of the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary by...more
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
2/12/2024
/ China ,
FCC ,
Layoffs ,
NASA ,
Outer Space ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Satellites ,
Spending Cuts ,
Startups ,
Sustainability
2024 is shaping up to be a busy year in Washington for telecom, media and technology (TMT) companies. A number of notable topics will require public comment this year, including net neutrality, digital discrimination, data...more
2/9/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broadband ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
FCC ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
NDAA ,
Outer Space ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Spectrum ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
At the end of 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “the Commission”) adopted updates to its existing 16-year-old data breach notification rules (“prior rules”) designed to ensure that sensitive customer...more
Key Points -
On November 15, 2023, the FCC adopted rules aimed at preventing discrimination in access to broadband services. The FCC vote satisfies the Commission’s obligation under the IIJA, which requires the FCC to...more
11/27/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Broadband ,
Broadband Internet Access Services (BIAS) ,
Covered Entities ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
National Broadband Plan ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NTIA ,
OCR ,
Transparency
Key Points -
On November 13, the Biden administration released its National Spectrum Strategy through a Presidential Memorandum. The Spectrum Strategy, seeking to modernize spectrum policy and coordination and identify...more
On November 15, 2023—the statutory deadline—the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on rules to prevent so-called “digital discrimination,” i.e., discrimination in access to broadband services.
The proposed...more
Key Points -
In a 3-2 vote, the FCC moved to advance a proposal that would restore so-called "net neutrality" rules and allow the agency to regulate broadband internet access service as a utility. The vote marks the start...more
10/26/2023
/ Broadband ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Internet Streaming ,
Net Neutrality ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Social Media ,
Transparency
The legal battles over the constitutionality of Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions continue as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted a request for the full court to re-hear a challenge to the...more
Key Points -
The FCC has launched a new “Privacy and Data Protection” Task Force to coordinate rulemaking and enforcement across the agency.
Chairwoman Rosenworcel called on her fellow Commissioners to finalize...more
The Autonomous Systems & Advanced Mobility (ASAM) space is headed for more change in 2023, generating new opportunities and challenges for a growing list of industry players. The adoption of new, complex and connected...more
5/9/2023
/ Aerospace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Aviation Industry ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FCC ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Transportation Industry
Late last year, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) released a Report and Order (the “Order”) promulgating new disclosure requirements for broadband providers in the form of a label to be visible...more
Key Points - This morning, the FCC released a pre-production draft of the new nationwide broadband map, which will drive allocation of $42 billion in BEAD grants next summer. Interested parties have until January 13, 2023 to...more
Congress passed the Broadband DATA Act in 2020, directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect more granular data regarding broadband service availability in order to create a publicly accessible, nationwide...more
Key Points -
NTIA at the Department of Commerce has released its first report on federal broadband funding required under the ACCESS BROADBAND Act.
The report tracks broadband spending across the federal government...more
Last week, two organizations hosted a White House briefing on President Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan (the “Plan”). The organizations were Small Business for America’s Future and...more