FCC FCC Wireless Communications and Mobile Services 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What FCC rule prohibits wireless carriers from 'blocking' competitor calls or services?
- The FCC's prohibition on blocking is part of its mobile broadband transparency and open internet rules (Correct answer)
- The FCC has no specific rule against wireless carriers blocking competitor calls
- Blocking is regulated by the FTC under antitrust law, not the FCC
- The FCC allows blocking only during network congestion
Correct answer: The FCC's prohibition on blocking is part of its mobile broadband transparency and open internet rules
The FCC's rules prohibit carriers from blocking lawful content, applications, and services, including competitor calls and applications, especially under its open internet framework.
Question 2: What is the FCC's 'Rural Call Completion' rule designed to address?
- Problems with calls to rural areas being dropped, degraded, or not completed by long-distance carriers (Correct answer)
- A requirement for wireless carriers to build towers in all rural areas
- Rural phone subscribers paying higher rates than urban subscribers
- FCC rules requiring rural carriers to accept all calls from urban areas
Correct answer: Problems with calls to rural areas being dropped, degraded, or not completed by long-distance carriers
FCC Rural Call Completion rules address the problem of long-distance carriers routing calls to rural areas poorly, resulting in failed, degraded, or one-ring calls, which disadvantaged rural consumers and businesses.
Question 3: What does the FCC's CTIA-administered wireless bill of rights include?
- The FCC has required wireless carriers to disclose contract terms, unlock policies, and service terms to consumers (Correct answer)
- The FCC has adopted a formal Wireless Consumer Bill of Rights with mandatory standards
- The wireless bill of rights is entirely an industry voluntary initiative with no FCC involvement
- The FCC's wireless bill of rights only applies to prepaid service plans
Correct answer: The FCC has required wireless carriers to disclose contract terms, unlock policies, and service terms to consumers
The FCC has required wireless carriers to provide clear disclosures of their service terms, early termination fees, unlock policies, and data throttling practices to consumers.
Question 4: What is the FCC's cell phone unlocking requirement?
- Wireless carriers must unlock phones for customers who have completed their service contract or paid off their device (Correct answer)
- All cell phones must be sold unlocked under FCC rules
- Unlocking is prohibited for phones still under installment plans
- Cell phone unlocking is regulated by the Copyright Office, not the FCC
Correct answer: Wireless carriers must unlock phones for customers who have completed their service contract or paid off their device
Following FCC pressure and voluntary industry commitments, wireless carriers must unlock cell phones for customers who have completed their service contracts or fully paid for their devices.
Question 5: What FCC rule governs signal booster devices for cellular networks?
- FCC rules allow consumer signal boosters if they are registered with the carrier and meet technical standards to prevent network interference (Correct answer)
- Signal boosters are banned by the FCC to protect carrier networks
- Any signal booster that increases signal strength is permitted without restriction
- Signal boosters require an individual FCC license for each installation
Correct answer: FCC rules allow consumer signal boosters if they are registered with the carrier and meet technical standards to prevent network interference
FCC rules permit consumer-grade cellular signal boosters provided they are registered with the consumer's carrier and meet FCC technical standards designed to prevent network harm.
Question 6: What does the FCC's 'C-band' proceeding refer to?
- Reallocation of 3.7-3.98 GHz spectrum from satellite use to 5G mobile broadband, with compensation paid to incumbent satellite operators (Correct answer)
- Allocation of new spectrum in the Citizens Band radio service
- A spectrum sharing agreement between Canada and the US for cross-border communications
- A new cable TV channel licensing framework
Correct answer: Reallocation of 3.7-3.98 GHz spectrum from satellite use to 5G mobile broadband, with compensation paid to incumbent satellite operators
The FCC's C-band proceeding cleared 280 MHz of the 3.7-3.98 GHz band for 5G use by relocating incumbent satellite earth stations to the upper portion of the band, with the transition funded by winning bidders.
FCC FCC Wireless Communications and Mobile Services 2
What FCC rule prohibits wireless carriers from 'blocking' competitor calls or services?