FCC officials meet with area residents
HARTINGTON — Local officials and area residents got a chance here Tuesday to learn more about the role the Federal Communications Commission plays in their daily lives.
Three members of the FCC Rural Tour team stopped in Hartington as part of a week-long information swing through eastern Nebraska and Kansas.
After leaving Hartington Tuesday, the group also made stops in Wayne, West Point, Fremont, and Wahoo. They visited with officials in Omaha and Lincoln Sept. 18 and traveled to several southeast Nebraska towns Sept. 19, before traveling into Kansas Friday.
The goal of their tour was to share information and resources regarding telecommunication issues that affect the daily lives of consumers.
They met with Mayor Mark Becker and Cedar County Sheriff Larry Koranda at the Cedar County Courthouse. They then went across the street to meet with librarian Tami Anderson to inform her about how she can help direct people to the right FCC resources.
The group also made a brief stop at the Hartington Senior Center to share information.
The trio left several information sheets and tip cards at the library and senior center.
The group wanted to meet with library staff because they value the fact libraries are such a trusted source of information in a rural community, said Associate Bureau Chief Eduard Bartholme, who led the team.
Librarian Tami Anderson said the library already works with a lot of elderly people to help them with technology concerns. These hand outs should help the staff better direct people to the right place to seek more information, she said.
The FCC group’s focus here was on the latest telecom scams targeting consumers.
The FCC is trying to help people avoid problems because of phone scams, Bartholme said.
“The long standing rule was, ‘we have to complete the call,’” he said.
The agency’s thinking has changed, though, because of the way some people now use the phone to try to scam money.
Robocalls to consumers are also a problem, Bartholme said.
FCC research shows Nebraskans got over 17 million unwanted calls in the last month.
That number just seems to keep growing, Bartholme said, but the FCC is changing some regulations in an effort to reduce these unwanted calls.
“The FCC has recently empowered carriers to be able to block calls. If carriers believe they have a call that can be damaging, they can now block those calls so they don’t reach the consumer,” Bartholme said.
The role of the FCC has changed quite a bit over the years, said FCC Consumer Outreach Specialist Rebecca Lockhart.
“People used to think the FCC just made sure people didn’t cuss on TV, but now they are learning that we are really involved in this robo fight, and so many other things, too,” she said.
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