Latest from Next TV in Fcc-enforcement-bureau

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel Names New Bureau Heads

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 22:10:21 +0000

Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has installed some new bureau chiefs as she puts her stamp on the agency, but she signaled the now-former chiefs are sticking around, at least for now.

Rosenworcel was named chairwoman late last year after being acting chair for most of last year.

Alejandro Roark, who had been executive director of HTTP, a CEO roundtable of Latino groups promoting tech and telecom for Latino communities, has been named chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, replacing Patrick Webre.

Debra Jordan, who had been deputy chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, will be chief of the bureau, succeeding Lisa Fowlkes. Her resume also includes managing critical information systems for the Department of Defense.

Holly Saurer, who has been a legal adviser to Rosenworcel, will head the Media Bureau, succeeding Michelle Carey. It will be a bureau homecoming since Sauer has been deputy chief and associate chief of the Media Bureau. Before that, she was an acting media adviser to Rosenworcel and former acting chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, as well as a legal adviser to former chair Tom Wheeler.

Loyaan Egal, who has been deputy chief of the Foreign Investment Review Section at the Department of Justice and chairman of so-called “team telecom,” will serve as acting chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Rosemary Harold had been chief. It will be a homecoming for Egal, who formerly led the FCC Enforcement Bureau's Universal Service Fund Strike Force.

Rosenworcel also named Michele Ellison, currently acting general counsel, to permanent (in the sense of non-acting) general counsel.

“I’d like to thank Michelle Carey, Lisa Fowlkes, Rosemary Harold and Patrick Webre for their public service as they transition to new roles across the agency,” Rosenworcel said.

Pai Names Rosemary Harold to Head Enforcement Bureau

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 16:32:00 +0000

FCC chair Ajit Pai has named attorney Rosemary Harold chief of the agency's Enforcement Bureau.

The bureau investigates and takes action against unlawful conduct. Michael Carowitz, who had been acting bureau chief, will become deputy bureau chief.

It will be a homecoming for Harold, who was legal advisor to former FCC commissioner Robert McDowell. Most recently Harold has been a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer.

Harold joined McDowell's office in August 2008 as media legal advisor. She had been the deputy chief of the FCC's Media Bureau and, before that, was with the communications firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding, which is headed by former FCC chair Richard Wiley and has supplied numerous legal minds to the FCC, including former chair Kevin Martin.

Her resume also includes stints as a journalist, both at the Miami Herald and as an editor with C-SPAN.

“Our Enforcement Bureau has been getting back on track in recent months, and I am confident in Rosemary’s ability to continue this progress," said Pai, who had been critical of some of the bureau's actions under his predecessor, Tom Wheeler. "Our enforcement efforts must be governed by the facts and the law, and Rosemary’s experience and expertise will help us conduct sound investigations and craft legally sustainable enforcement actions. This is especially important when it comes to FCC priorities like protecting consumers against illegal robocalls and confronting unlawful interference with broadcast licensees."

McDowell, now a partner and co-leader of the global communications practice at Cooley LLP, said: "Rosemary is an incredibly talented attorney who knows the intricacies of the FCC's rules better than anyone. This is an excellent choice by chairman Pai. She will be judicious, impartial, thorough and fair. American consumers will be well served by her leadership of the Enforcement Bureau."

FCC Has Collect Call for Phone Companies

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 21:15:00 +0000

Phone companies were on the hook for millions of dollars Monday as the Federal Communications Commission signaled Verizon had agreed to pay $5 million to settle an agency inquiry into the telco's alleged failure to investigate rural call completion issues, and that the agency is fining Advanced Tel Inc. almost $1.6 million for failing to pay Universal Service Fund fees.

“All phone companies are required to participate in universal access programs so that consumers everywhere have access to critical telecommunications services,” said Travis LeBlanc, Enforcement Bureau chief, of the Advanced Tel fine. “Service providers who flagrantly avoid these responsibilities damage these programs and the public interest, and we demonstrate today that we will hold them accountable.”

Of the Verizon settlement, LeBlanc said: “All Americans, no matter where they are located, have a right to make and receive phone calls. Phone companies are on notice that the FCC will hold them accountable for failures to investigate and ensure that calls go through to the rural heartland of the country.”

LeBlanc has made it clear that under his watch the Enforcement Bureau would be an active arm of the FCC.

Verizon is paying $2 million to the U.S. Treasury and will spend $3 million over the next three years to "address the problem of rural call completion."

"Although the Bureau had significant concerns with Verizon’s failure to investigate," the FCC said in a statement, "it is encouraged by Verizon’s commitment of significant resources over the next three years toward addressing rural call completion and encourages participation by other industry players and the academic community in the workshops and other broader efforts that are required under the consent decree."

Verizon has agreed to do the following:

• "Pay a fine of $2 million to the U.S. Treasury;

• "Commit an additional $3 million over the next three years to address the problem of rural call completion on a company- and industry-wide basis;

• "Appoint a Rural Call Completion Ombudsman within Verizon to centralize analysis of rural call completion problems;

• "Develop a system to automatically identify customer complaints that may be related to rural call completion issues;

• "Limit its use of intermediate providers, i.e., telecommunications providers between the Verizon network and the local rural provider, that are often the source of call completion problems;

• "Monitor its call answer rates to individual rural areas and conduct an investigation when rates to an area fall below a set threshold in any month;

• "Host industry workshops and sponsor an academic study on methods to detect and resolve rural call completion problems;

• "Provide quarterly summaries of its investigations to the FCC and meet periodically with Commission staff to identify lessons learned; and

• "Prepare a report to be publicly filed with the Commission at the end of the three-year compliance period."