On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act (S. 151), which the House of Representatives passed in a 417-3 vote earlier this month.  With the Senate’s passage of the reconciled bill, the bipartisan legislation now heads to President Trump’s desk for his review. The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take steps to improve call verification, reduce…

Communications technologies often evolve more quickly than the regulatory frameworks governing them. To keep pace, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) revisits the ITU’s Radio Regulations governing radiofrequency spectrum use approximately every four years to accommodate new technologies and uses. Between WRCs, national administrations and ITU sector members (interested companies and trade associations, for example) meet in working parties to study how proposed rule revisions would impact existing and planned services. Following…

One could be forgiven for thinking that knowing how to comply with a legal obligation that has been in place for nearly a decade would be clear cut. However, widespread practice tells us that this is far from the truth. In November 2009, as part of wider reforms to the European telecommunications regulatory framework, the European Union introduced various amendments to the existing Directive 2002/58/EC (‘e-Privacy Directive’), including to the provisions regulating the use of…

The FCC recently issued a Public Notice that sought comment on whether to make the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands available to support unmanned aerial system operations (UAS). The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the FCC to submit a report to Congress on whether to allow UAS communications in these frequencies. The joint agency report must discuss: (1) whether the…

What is it about? OECD proposals to tax the digital economy which will significantly impact all large tech companies that are consumer oriented. What will the impact be? Businesses will pay more tax. Impact on cash-flow, earnings per share and valuations. There will also be lots of complexity to ensure compliance. What should businesses be doing now? Watching for what comes out of the OECD, including on 9 Dec on the second round of proposals. …

LONDON, 25 November 2019 – Hogan Lovells has published a study evaluating the ongoing legislative proposal for a new ePrivacy Regulation, a law aimed at updating the current ePrivacy framework in the EU. After nearly three years of debates and negotiations, the European Union is nowhere near agreeing a position on how to achieve the right balance between the need for technological innovation, public security and the protection of privacy in the context of the digital economy.…

On November 12, members of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) gathered in Washington, DC, to commemorate 25 years of spectrum auctions at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Hosted at Hogan Lovells LLP, the event featured current and former FCC staff members and industry lawyers, who discussed the history and future of spectrum auctions. The FCC’s leadership and strong record of innovation in administering spectrum auctions was a recurrent theme of the program. The Beginning…