Today’s Regulatory Mix: FCC Refreshes Record on Drones, FTC Increases Fees for National DNC Registry
FCC Refreshes Record on Drones
The FCC released a Public Notice last week seeks comment on the use of certain spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to refresh the record. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) petitioned the Commission to adopt licensing and service rules to enable drone use in the 5030-5091 MHz band (the C-band) in 2018. The Public Notice was issued “to update the record to reflect operational, technical, and regulatory developments that have occurred over the last three years in the rapidly growing and evolving area of UAS operations and that are relevant to this proceeding.”
The FCC seeks comment on questions related to AIA’s proposal, but also whether the Commission should consider licensing in the 5 GHz band not just for radio line of sight (LOS) links, but also for beyond LOS (BLOS) links. Comments will be due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and reply comments 45 days after publication, which has not yet occurred.
FTC Increases Fees for National DNC Registry
The Federal Trade Commission announced that fees telemarketers pay for accessing phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry will increase in FY 2022. The cost of accessing a single area code in the registry will be $69 in FY 2022, which is an increase of $3 from FY 2021. The maximum charge to any single entity for accessing all area codes nationwide is now $19,017 (up from $18,044 in FY 2021). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will increase $2 from FY 2021, to $35.
Telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the National DNC Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free to download, and organizations that are exempt, such as some charitable organizations, may obtain the entire list for free. Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers.
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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.
