Jennifer Richter and Galen Roehl Quoted in Law360 on Top Telecom Policy Developments of 2020

Law360 has quoted Akin Gump partner Jennifer Richter and senior policy advisor Galen Roehl in the article “The Top Telecom Developments That Defined 2020,” a look-back at some of the biggest telecom policy developments from the past year.

Among the developments identified by Law360 was the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article noted that one of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC)’s most high-profile actions in this regard was its voluntary Keep Americans Connected pledge, stipulating that carriers would not charge late payment fees or discontinue service based on overdue bills.

Broadband availability is “more important than ever and has really been brought into focus because of the COVID crisis,” said Richter. “It’s simply highlighting where we have those deficiencies.”

Another key development in 2020, the article says, was the implementation of the Broadband DATA Act, which seeks to retool the way broadband data is collected, verified and reported by making the FCC collect and disseminate more granular broadband service availability data. The new mapping methodology that the FCC developed, according to Law360, is designed to eliminate Internet service providers’ overstated service areas and more evenly distribute Internet service in poor, rural and minority communities.

Roehl observed that the law “was important to accomplishing this goal. A lot of the providers know where broadband is, but they don’t know where it isn’t,” he said. “The FCC does need the resources to fulfil that mandate.”

Supply chain issues have also become a big focus for the FCC, the article says, including identifying and replacing components manufactured by Chinese companies that are believed to contain security vulnerabilities.

“This is such an important set of issues that had been teed up in the FCC under former Chairman Tom Wheeler,” Richter said. “The supply chain issues have become a massive focus.”