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I'm not in the US, and I don't follow the FCC's news briefs. What I do tend to hear (yes, from Reddit, and also other tech news) tends to be the more controversial things.

Perhaps you could enlighten us with examples?




Recent highlights sourced from https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/headlines

* FCC Improves Access to 911 and Timely Assistance from First Responders - This is more-or-less explicitly requiring that phones in hotels, campuses, office buildings, etc be able to directly dial 911 without having to do any sort of prefix, that could be unknown or confusing in an emergency.

* FCC Bans Malicious Spoofing of Text Messages & Foreign Robocalls - This makes it easier for the FCC to pursue action against scammers who spoof caller ID (previously there were loopholes so that they couldn't take action if it was a text, or if the call originated from outside the US, or if it's a one-way VOIP call.

* FCC Authorizes $121 Million In Rural Broadband Funding In 16 States - Pretty self-explanatory

* FCC Reaches $550,000 Cramming Settlement with CenturyLink - This was in response to CenturyLink placing "unauthorized third-party charges and fees onto consumers' bills"

* Chairman Pai Recommends Approving T-Mobile/Sprint Merger - This one's more controversial, but you can make a strong case that allowing T-Mobile/Sprint (two relatively small providers) to merge would allow for them to compete at a higher level against Verizon and AT&T, increasing consumer choice and competition for most Americans. It also requires for them to sell off Boost Mobile to address competition concerns at the lower level, and to also invest a lot into pushing 5G technology.

So, in short, the FCC has been focusing on the following to improve the consumer experience with communications in the US:

* Pushing 5G tech

* Fighting back against robocalling and scams

* Increasing access to broadband in rural areas


I don't really understand why they're trying to push 5g. 4g is pretty fast, and it's still not available everywhere. I'd much rather have more 4g than start another arms race for faster cell towers.

If the FCC pushes anything for wider access to fast internet, I think it should be in low orbit satellites, which offer alternatives for everyone instead of just people who live in cities (5g) or people who live in rural areas ($121M investment you talk about).

Are they doing anything related to satellite internet? I know SpaceX and OneWeb are developing tech in this space, and I would absolutely love an alternative to cellular networks for internet outside my house, and I think it's reasonable to invest in it in exchange for allowing ISP competition with a shared set of satellites.


At least you are aware that your news source choices bias you toward only hearing about bad things.




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