Today’s Regulatory Mix: U.S. and Australia Agree to Combat Unlawful Robocalls, FCC Adopts ICS Rate Caps and Delegates Data Collection Authority
U. S. and Australia Agree to Combat Unlawful Robocalls
The FCC announced that it has agreed with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to develop a global approach to addressing unlawful robocalls and robotexts and the unlawful use of manipulating caller ID information or “spoofing.” The agreement was signed by FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and ACMA Chair and Agency Head Nerida O’Loughlin. “Robocall scams are a global problem that require global commitment and cooperation,” said FCC Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “With these irritating calls coming from near and far, we need international cooperation, information sharing, and enforcement to address this matter. I want to thank our Australian friends for working with us on this agreement. By joining together we can help get these scammers off of our networks and protect consumers and businesses around the world.” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the agreement builds on the already strong strategic and working relationship between the ACMA and FCC in the regulation of unsolicited communications. “Scam activity has significant social and economic impact on consumers, with the scale and sophistication of malicious activity increasing,” Ms. O’Loughlin said. “This agreement will see us working closer with our American counterparts to crack down on unsolicited communications in instances where cross-border issues are involved.” The “Mutual Assistance in the Enforcement of Laws on Certain Unlawful Communications” agreement can be viewed here.
FCC Adopts ICS Rate Caps and Delegates Data Collection Authority
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Third Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and seeks comments in a Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services. The Report and Order caps interstate and international rates.
In addition, the FCC delegated the authority to the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) to implement a Mandatory Data Collection designed to determine and describe the types of information required related to providers’ operations, costs, demand, and revenues.
Inteserra Briefing Services subscribers see Briefing dated 6/2/21
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.