Federal Communications Commission
(FCC)
The
U.S. independent telecommunications regulator with nation-wide authority for regulating
inter-state communication (any communication that crosses a State boundary) and
international communication by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The
FCC is free of direct policy control by the legislative, executive, or judicial
branches of the U.S. government, though it does have direct reporting responsibilities
to the U.S. Congress. Its decisions also are subject to judicial review by the
courts when disputes arise over whether the FCC has properly interpreted underlying
law in its implementing regulations.
Federal
Register
The
Federal Register is the official U.S. Federal government publication for Presidential
Documents and Executive Orders as well as Notices, Rules and Proposed Rules from
Federal Agencies and Organizations and is published daily by The Office of the
Federal Register, a component of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Federal-State
Joint Board
Federal-State
Joint Conference
A body comprised of federal
and state regulators established by the FCC to consider issues having both a federal
and a state component. Examples include the Federal-State Joint Conference established
in October 1999 (CC Docket 99-294, FCC 99-293) to accelerate the deployment of
broadband communications services to all Americans,
including high-speed Internet access to rural, inner-city and under-served
areas, and the Federal-State Joint Conference on Accounting Issues established
in September 2002 (WC Docket No. 02-269, FCC 02-240) to help restore public confidence
in the telecommunications industry by improving regulatory
accounting and reporting requirements, and ensuring that data filed by carriers are adequate, truthful, and thorough (see
US
Rep 35, II.E).
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC)
An
independent administrative agency of the US government established under federal
law in 1915. The agency is responsible for the administration and enforcement
of a variety of federal antitrust and consumer protection laws which, in general,
are designed to promote competition and to protect the public from unfair and
deceptive acts and practices in the advertising and marketing of goods and services.
The FTC is composed of five members appointed by the President and confirmed by
the Senate for terms of seven years.
Feeder Link
US:A
transmission path between a satellite and an earth station at a fixed point. A
feeder downlink is the path from the satellite to the fixed earth station and
a feeder uplink is the path from the fixed earth station to the satellite. Feeder
link earth stations that distribute information to, and receive information from,
terrestrial telecommunication networks e.g. the public switched telephone network
and the Internet, are known as gateways.
Filed-Rate Doctrine
US:
A well established judicial construct that gives filed tariff rates precedence
over, e.g., negotiated rates. According to this doctrine, in a situation where
a filed tariff rate, term or condition differs from a rate, term, or condition
set in a non-tariffed carrier-customer contract, the carrier is required to assess
the tariff rate, term, or condition. Consequently, if a carrier unilaterally changes
a rate by filing a tariff revision, the newly filed rate becomes the applicable
rate unless the revised rate is found to be unjust, unreasonable, or unlawful
by the FCC under the Communications Act of 1934.
Fixed Microwave Service (FS)
Stations
in the FS service are called 'private operational fixed' microwave service to
distinguish them from common carrier and public fixed stations. Only the licensee
may use an private operational-fixed station, and only for communications related
to the licensee's commercial, industrial, or safety operations.
Full 2-PIC Presubscription Methodology
US:
An offering by local exchange carriers (LECs)
which generally allows customers to presubscribe to one telecommunications
carrier for all interLATA toll (long distance) calls and to presubscribe to
another telecommunications carrier (including, but not limited to, the customer's
local exchange carrier) for all intraLATA toll (long distance) calls. [The abbreviation
"PIC" refers to "primary," or "preferred, interexchange
carrier."] Under its dialing parity rules,
the FCC requires all LECs to implement this toll dialing methodology no later
than February 8, 1999.