FCC Imposes Sweeping New Robocall Mitigation Requirements on ALL Voice Service Providers, Including Those that Were Previously Exempt; Severe Sanctions Will be Levied on Violators; Comments Sought on Additional Rules
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) released a draft Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Order” and “NPRM”) that will impose drastic and stringent new robocall mitigation rules on all voice service providers (“VSPs”) operating in the U.S. When finalized, the new rules will apply to VSPs previously exempted from […]
Canadian Regulator Requires All Carriers to Begin Reporting Network Outages on Interim Basis; Initiates Rulemaking to Consider Permanent Network Outage Reporting Rules
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) initiated a proceeding through the linked Notice of Consultation that will impact all providers of telecommunications (including wireless and VoIP) services in Canada. The goal of the proceeding is to develop rules to improve and enhance the resiliency and reliability of Canada’s telecom networks in the aftermath of […]
FTC Sues iVoIP Providers and Others that Participated in Illegal Debt Relief Scam: Scammers Could be Liable for Billions of Dollars in Fines and Other Sanctions
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Thursday sued to stop a coordinated series of operations responsible for delivering tens of millions of unwanted Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) and ringless voicemail (“RVM”) phony debt service robocalls to consumers across the United States. The Department of Justice (“DoJ”) filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court Southern […]
Ohio Passes Tax Amnesty Law: Find Out If Your Company Qualifies
On January 6, 2023, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law H.B. 45, which, among other provisions, authorized the Director of Budget and Management (the “Director”) to create a two-month tax amnesty program before November 1, 2023. If implemented, the amnesty program would apply to a wide range of delinquent state business taxes, including the […]
FCC Implementation of Rules Mandating Broadband “Nutrition Labels” Inches Forward; Agency and Industry Await OMB Approval
Back on November 17, 2022, the FCC released an Order and Further Rulemaking adopting rules requiring Internet service providers (“ISPs”) to display — at the point of sale — labels that disclose information about: Prices and fees (including introductory rates or discounts) applicable to the services being purchased, Data allowances and broadband speeds, and Information […]
Reminder: CPNI Certification due March 1, 2023
The due date for submitting your Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) certification is fast approaching. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a public notice reminding all telecommunications carriers and Interconnected VoIP Providers to file their annual CPNI certifications by March 1, 2023. The Enforcement Bureau emphasized, “failure to file a timely and complete certification calls into […]
Twilio Investigated for Allegedly Enabling Illegal Robocalls: FCC Threatening to Authorize Permanent Blocking of All Twilio Calls
As delineated in a letter dated January 24, 2023 (“Letter”) from the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) Enforcement Bureau (“Bureau”) to Twilio, Inc. (“Twilio”), the Bureau has obtained evidence that Twilio has apparently been originating illegal robocalls on behalf of one of its customers. The Bureau has instructed Twilio to take immediate action to investigate the […]
Many Canadian Broadcasters and Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs) Must Post Their Initial Accessibility Plan by June 1, 2023: Now Is the Time to Start Working on Your
Was your company required to publish its initial accessibility feedback process description (“Feedback Description”) last year and notify the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)? If yes, it must develop and publish its initial accessibility plan by June 1 of this year, in compliance with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and its implementing CRTC Accessibility […]
Notice to Employers: FTC Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking To Ban All Non-Competes for All Workers
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “The Commission”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) that would ban all existing and future non-compete agreements between employers and workers. Non-competes generally bar employees from working for a competing employer or starting a competing business for some period of time and/or within a […]
New Law Significantly Expands the FCC’s Powers Over Inmate Calling Service Providers; Carceral Communications Equipment Manufacturers Are Also Impacted, and Continued Role of State Governments Remains Unclear
On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 (the “Act”), which gives the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) unprecedentedly broad powers over inmate calling services (“ICS”) providers. The Act empowers the FCC to regulate in-state inmate calling rates; previously, the Commission could […]
FCC Seeks Comments on Proposed Expansion of Data Breach Notification Requirements for Telecommunications Carriers, i-VoIP Providers, and TRS Providers
Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) or the “Commission”) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comments on proposed updates to its data breach notice requirements for telecommunications carriers, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (i-VoIP) providers, and Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) providers. FCC rules currently impose a number of notice obligations on […]
FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Compliance Deadlines for Gateway Providers are Rapidly Approaching
As delineated in a previous Client Advisory, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) imposed new robocall mitigation regulatory requirements on the gateway providers that are the point of entry for foreign-originated illegal robocalls into the United States. A gateway provider is a U.S.-based intermediate provider (i.e., a carrier that has facilities located in the […]
CORRECTION & CLARIFICATION: CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION REMINDS TELEPHONE COMPANIES TO FILE THEIR ANNUAL THIRD-PARTY BILLING BLOCKING ANNUAL REPORT BY DECEMBER 31, 2022
On December 22nd, our firm circulated an advisory reminding clients of various regulatory filing requirements for “Billing Telephone Corporations” providing service in California. The advisory included an outdated definition of “Billing Telephone Corporation.” Under current CPUC rules, a “Billing Telephone Corporation” is any “telephone corporation that bills a Subscriber for products and services provided by […]
FCC Orders Voice Service Providers to Block Student Loan Robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission) Enforcement Bureau (“Bureau”) recently issued an Order that notifies and directs all U.S.-based voice service providers (‘VSPs”) to take immediate steps to effectively mitigate suspected illegal robocall traffic made by or on behalf of the following: (1) Urth Access, LLC (Urth Access); (2) Fire Data LLC; (3) US […]
The UK Government is introducing a new telecoms security framework through the Telecommunications (Security) Bill
The UK Government is introducing a new telecoms security framework (the “TSF”) through the Telecommunications (Security) Bill (the “Bill”). This is a particularly important development, given that fines could be significant – up to 10% of annual turnover and/or £100,000 per day of contravention in certain circumstances as further described in the Advisory linked below. Providers of […]
Ofcom Publishes New Rules for Telecom Providers to Combat Scam Calls
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. On November 15, 2022, Ofcom released new regulations intended to crackdown on scam calls and scammers using Caller ID information for fraudulent purposes. The new rules are specifically intended […]
