FCC Action Designed to Thwart One-Ring Robocalls

The FCC recently took action in an attempt to deter one-ring robocalls.

Under the ruling invoking a portion of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act), carriers may block the one-ring calls.

Though most robocalls are annoying (some are appointment reminders for medical and other appointments), the ones that can be the most costly for consumers are one-ring robocalls. The scam is not designed for the consumer to answer the call, but instead to trick the consumer to call back, incurring overseas charges. The robocalls appear to come from the U.S., but they aren’t.

A variant of the scam involves leaving a call-back number for a package delivery, for information on a sick relative or another enticing reason for the consumer to call a particular number, which again appears to be in the U.S., but is a toll call.

“Today the FCC acts decisively to protect consumers from a particularly pernicious type of robocall: the one-ring scam,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a prepared statement. “In response to a spike in one-ring scam activity, we proactively targeted this problem over a year-and-a-half ago with a consumer advisory and have taken other action to combat this scam.  Today’s action is just the latest step to stop illegal calls before they reach consumers’ phones.  We are sending bad actors a clear message:  We will use all available tools, including those in the TRACED Act, to protect American consumers.”

FCC Unveils New E-Rate Funding Window

Schools can now request additional E-Rate funding from the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau, which has opened an E-Rate funding window for a second funding round for 2020 to address increased demand on schools’ bandwidth needs.

In its announcement, the FCC pointed out that U.S. schools are continuing to face COVID-19-driven challenges, many school districts are relying on remote learning, either in whole or in part. With the additional reliance on remote learning and social distancing in schools providing in-person instruction, the demand on school networks has dramatically heightened demand on school networks, resulting in additional need for on-campus bandwidth.

E-Rate Funding Window

Schools will be able to buy additional bandwidth for the academic year to address needs resulting from the increasing shift to 1:1 student-to-device ratios in classrooms, live streaming of classroom instruction to students at home and expanding use of cloud-based educational tools and platforms.  The filing window will open upon publication of the Order in the Federal Register and close on October 16, 2020.

“Across the country, students have started a new school year where connectivity is proving to be more critical than ever before, and many schools require additional bandwidth to meet the increased demand,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a prepared statement.  “Providing a new E-Rate funding application window will help schools meet this demand and is another important step in our efforts to support our nation’s students and teachers.” 

Earlier this year, the FCC extended its E-Rate service implementation and filing deadlines to provide relief to program participants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The commission also waived the program’s gift rules to enable service providers to offer, and E-Rate program participants to solicit and accept, improved connections or additional equipment for remote learning during the coronavirus outbreak.  The FCC also partnered with the Department of Education to promote the use of $16 billion in available funding for remote learning from the Education Stabilization Fund that was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

FCC Boosts Rural Healthcare Budget to Largest in History Creating More Service Provider Opportunity

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced today that it will use nearly $198 million in unused funding from previous years to boost the FCC Rural Health Care budget in fiscal 2020.

Initially, the funding for the program was set at $604.76 million for the current fiscal year. With the additional funds from previous years, the total funding for 2020 will be $802.74 million, the most in the program’s history. 

The program aims to increase access to broadband for health care providers, particularly in rural areas, and foster the deployment of broadband health care networks. Funding is provided directly to these healthcare facilities, but rural broadband providers have had success in partnering with these facilities to help obtain funding. Interested parties can learn more here.

The FCC reports the program has gained interest in recent years with funding requests typically outstripping the funding cap. So in 2018, the FCC adopted rules to address this increasing demand:

  • Increasing the annual Program funding cap for the first time in the Program’s history
  • Adding a provision to adjust the cap for inflation
  • Establishing a process to carry-forward unused funds from past funding years for use in future funding years.   

“In 2018, the FCC took swift action to ensure that the Rural Health Care Program better reflected the needs of and advances in connected care,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a prepared statement. “And now, more than ever, our foresight is fortuitous, as telehealth is proving to be critical in our fight against COVID-19.”

FCC Eases Documentation for Low-Income Lifeline Program

Consumers who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic now can more easily qualify for the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline benefits. The Lifeline program gives monthly discounts on broadband and voice services to qualifying low-income consumers.

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau recently waived the requirement that consumers seeking to qualify for the program based on their income must provide at least three consecutive months of income documentation, through the end of June.

Under FCC rules, consumers can demonstrate eligibility for the Lifeline program by either showing that they participate in one of the established qualifying programs, such as Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or by showing that their household income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Individuals who have lost their jobs during the pandemic may not be able to verify their income-based eligibility for Lifeline with three consecutive months of income documentation since their unemployment and related decrease in income began so recently. 

“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our economy,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a prepared statement. “Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and it is important that they have the connectivity they need to apply for new jobs, take online classes or get medical care via telehealth.  I’m glad we’re granting this relief today, which will help those who may have only recently become eligible for Lifeline to sign up for the program and stay connected to vital broadband and phone services during the pandemic.”

The FCC said it will monitor the situation to determine whether any additional extension of this waiver is appropriate.

The order extends the FCC’s previous waivers of the Lifeline program’s recertification, reverification, general de-enrollment and usage requirements until the end of June

FCC Moves Against COVID-19 Scam Calls and Texts

The FCC has launched a page to help consumers protect themselves from scam phone calls and texts attempting to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic.

The page enables users to listen to real audio from scam calls that offer bogus free home testing kits, duct cleaning and promise help for diabetics who use insulin. The FCC also says that thieves are trying to gain personal and/or bank information by saying it is needed in order to process government-issued checks.

“We’re tracking scams and sharing information to arm consumers about how imposters use spoofing and other tactics to steal their money and their identity,” Patrick Webre, the Chief of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, said in a press release. “The FCC fights these types of scams through enforcement of its rules, but our primary goal is to be proactive so Americans don’t fall victim to these bad actors.”

FCC COVID-10 Scam Efforts

More information is available at the FCC Consumer Help Center and the FCC Scam Glossary. There also is a page at which to file complaints about scams.

The FCC offered six ways in which individuals can protect themselves from such scams.

  • Do not respond to calls or texts from unknown or suspicious numbers.
  • Never share your personal or financial information via email, text messages or over the phone.
  • Be cautious if you’re being pressured to share information or make a payment immediately.
  • Watch out for “spoof phone numbers.” Government agencies will never call you to ask for personal information or money.
  • Never click on links in a text message. If a person known to you appears to have sent a text that seems out of character and looks suspicious, contact them to make sure they weren’t hacked.
  • Check charities before donating. Do such things as calling or looking at the charity’s actual website before donating.