Silicon Flatirons: FCC chief vows to combat robocallers, improve broadband access

BOULDER — In a chat Tuesday with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser hosted by Silicon Flatirons, Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the federal government is in the process of beefing up its broadband access initiatives as well as its defenses against pesky robocallers. 

Silicon Flatirons is a Boulder-based group that fosters conversations among entrepreneurs, legal professionals, students and lawmakers.

“It’s now an essential service,” Rosenworcel said of broadband internet service. “We need it in every household everywhere.”

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She compared internet access to electricity and the government’s responsibility to that of the agencies that successfully brought power to rural communities in the first half of the 20th Century.

There is funding carved out of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help pay for access initiatives. 

Additionally, the FCC is rolling out what Rosenworcel calls the “broadband nutrition box,” a feature on internet products that explains clearly what consumers are buying, much like the labels on food and beverages provide nutritional information.

“It allows us to be good consumers and allows for competition to thrive,” Rosenworcel said.

The goal is to make the broadband nutrition boxes mandatory by November. 

The FCC is working with attorneys general around the country, including Weiser, to put an end to annoying and sometimes malicious robocalls, which are “destroying trust in our networks,” Rosenworcel said.

With the enforcement powers of state officials and the backing of the federal government, “we should be able to put a stop to this,” she said.