Congressional Research Service Reports - 248 Matching Results

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The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape

Description: This report discusses current issues regarding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is an independent federal agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The mission of the FCC is to ensure that the American people have available--at reasonable cost and without discrimination--rapid, efficient, nation- and world-wide communication services, whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable.
Date: February 22, 2016
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Management: Auctions

Description: This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control. The issues discussed here refer principally to spectrum management for terrestrial technologies.
Date: July 19, 2007
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Open Access Publishing and Citation Archives: Background and Controversy

Description: This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these d… more
Date: September 12, 2005
Creator: Knezo, Genevieve J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Communications Legislation: Implications for the 110th Congress

Description: Since September 11, 2001, several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have included provisions to assist emergency communications. Key provisions from a number of these bills have become law. This report summarizes progress in developing legislation, especially in the 109th Congress, in three areas of emergency communications: communications among first responders and other emergency personnel; emergency warnings and alerts; and 911 call centers and systems.
Date: April 24, 2007
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape

Description: The report discusses the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-Related Congressional Actions in the 112th Congress. The policymakers, including some in Congress, have long called for varying degrees and types of reform to the FCC. Most proposals fall into two categories: (1) procedural changes made within the FCC or through congressional action that would affect the agency's operations or (2) substantive policy changes requiring congressional action that would affect how the agency regulates … more
Date: March 15, 2007
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

“Junk E-mail”: An Overview of Issues and Legislation Concerning Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail (“Spam”)

Description: This report discusses unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), also called “spam” or “junk e-mail.” Not only can it be a nuisance, but its cost may be passed on to consumers through higher charges from Internet service providers who must upgrade their systems to handle the traffic.
Date: March 1, 2002
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Telemarketing: Dealing with Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

Description: This report provides summaries of the federal laws and regulations particular to telemarketing, the establishment of a national do-not-call registry, and on the options that are available to consumers to attempt to limit the calls that they receive from telemarketers and to report questionable telemarketing practices to local or federal authorities. The report also lists sources of additional information with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet sites (if available) and will be updated as leg… more
Date: October 5, 2004
Creator: Riehl, James R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Telecommunications Discounts for Schools and Libraries: The “E-Rate” Program and Controversies

Description: This report addresses the controversial issues surrounding the E-rate program’s implementation and subsequent legislative measures introduced to address these issues. An additional issue, concern that minors may gain access to “inappropriate” material through the Internet has also had an impact on the E-rate program.
Date: July 28, 2005
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Television Satellite and Cable Retransmission of Broadcast Video Programming Under the Copyright Act’s Compulsory Licenses

Description: This report reviews the history and background of the cable and television satellite licenses of the Copyright Act, reviews the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994, and notes recent developments, including: the 1997 satellite license rate adjustment; pending bills relating to the compulsory licenses; and the August 1997 report of the Copyright Office on these licenses.
Date: October 5, 1998
Creator: Schrader, Dorothy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Spectrum Management: Auctions

Description: This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control.
Date: November 4, 2005
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks Mergers: Overview and Issues

Description: The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), and Bright House Networks (BHN) would create a single entity providing cable television and broadband access service to 23.9 million customers in 41 states, making it the nation’s second-largest cable television operator and broadband access provider. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must approve the transactions before they can close.This report describes recent t… more
Date: July 24, 2015
Creator: Scherer, Dana A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Emergency Communications Legislation, 2002-2006: Implications for the 110th Congress

Description: Since September 11, 2001, several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have included provisions to assist emergency communications. Key provisions from a number of these bills have become law. This report summarizes progress in developing legislation, especially in the 109th Congress, in three areas of emergency communications: communications among first responders and other emergency personnel; emergency warnings and alerts; and 911 call centers and systems. Each area could be the subject of … more
Date: December 14, 2006
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

FCC Media Ownership Rules: Current Status and Issues for Congress

Description: The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) adopted an order on June 2, 2003 that modified five of its media ownership rules and retained two others. The new rules have never gone into effect. Congress passed the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-199), Sec. 629 of which instructs the FCC to modify one of the rules — the National Television Ownership rule. This report examines these rules and relevant policy issues.
Date: August 23, 2004
Creator: Goldfarb, Charles B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Spectrum Management: Auctions

Description: This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control. The issues discussed here refer principally to spectrum management for terrestrial technologies.
Date: May 22, 2008
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Advanced Technology Program

Description: This report discuses the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) that was created by P.L. 100-418, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, to encourage public-private cooperation in the development of pre-competitive technologies with broad application across industries
Date: July 25, 2003
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defining Cable Broadband Internet Access Service: Background and Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Brand X Decision

Description: This report provides an overview of the regulatory actions leading up to and an analysis of the Supreme Court's decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Associations v. Brand X Internet Services. It also provides a discussion of the possible legal and economic implications of the Court's decision.
Date: December 22, 2005
Creator: Welborn, Angie A. & Goldfarb, Charles B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trade in Services: The Doha Development Agenda Negotiations and U.S Goals

Description: This report is designed to assist Congress to understand and monitor progress of the negotiations and the major issues that the negotiators are addressing. The report provides a brief background section on the significance of services to the U.S. economy. It then explains briefly the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the structure and agenda of the services negotiations in the DDA round, including U.S. objectives in the negotiations. The report concludes with a status report on … more
Date: January 24, 2008
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate

Description: This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.
Date: October 29, 2009
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Digital Television: An Overview

Description: Digital television (DTV) is a new television service representing the most significant development in television technology since the advent of color television in the 1950s. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, and other new services currently being developed. This report discusses a key issue in the Congressional debate over the digital transition has been addressing the millions of American over-the-air households whose existing analog t… more
Date: May 5, 2006
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Background and Issues for Congressional Oversight of ARRA Broadband Awards

Description: This report examines federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for broadband projects across the nation. These projects are intended to expand broadband availability and adoption in unserved and underserved areas, which in turn is believed to contribute to increased future economic development in those areas.
Date: April 19, 2011
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trade in Services: The Doha Development Agenda Negotiations and U.S. Goals

Description: This report is designed to assist Congress to understand and monitor progress of the negotiations and the major issues that the negotiators are addressing. The report provides a brief background section on the significance of services to the U.S. economy. It then explains briefly the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the structure and agenda of the services negotiations in the DDA round, including U.S. objectives in the negotiations. The report concludes with a status report on … more
Date: September 12, 2005
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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