Wireless Competition Report, Media Modernization Part of Packed September Agenda

“Since becoming Chairman, I have consistently emphasized the need for the Commission’s regulations to match realities of the current marketplace,” Pai blogged Thursday. “Our rules must reflect today’s technological and economic conditions, not those of yesterday. And at this month’s open meeting, we will advance this objective by focusing on whether to update or scrap outdated rules.”

Also on the agenda are a notice of inquiry on the provision of 911 services by centralized "enterprise communications systems" (ECS) serving businesses, hotels, schools and governmental entities, and an NPRM on updating toll-free number assignments through auctions. Commissioners will vote whether to open up parts of the Ka-band to non-geostationary orbit satellite systems and adopt ITU power flux density limits for the NGSO and geostationary satellites in the 17.7-19.7 GHz band. They also will consider ending analog cable signal leakage rules in light of digital transmissions and junk a requirement communications licensees must keep a paper copy of rules.

Wireless competition reports under then-President Barack Obama declined to decide whether the market is effectively competitive. “The Report covers a lot of ground, but the topline finding is that, for the first time since 2009, the Report would actually answer this question,” Pai said.

The wireless report would return to a “narrower, more well-defined scope of inquiry” than was true under some of the Obama reports, the draft said. “We do not attempt to do a full market definition or market power analysis … as this would involve an extremely detailed analysis of supply and demand factors at the national and local level,” it said. “Instead, we consider a number of facts and characteristics of the provision of mobile wireless services, which taken together, indicate that there is effective competition.” The report would cite rising consumer demand and data use, faster connections, falling prices for wireless service and the investments carriers are making in their networks. It notes T-Mobile added more subscribers the past two years than larger competitors AT&T and Verizon, and “Sprint showed a strong upward trend in 2015, and maintained that growth in 2016.”

Media Items

A draft AM revitalization order would eliminate or relax requirements that such stations using directional antennas submit a variety of field strength measurements and certifications, said the draft in docket 13-249. The rule changes are “designed to ease the regulatory and financial burdens faced by AM broadcasters operating directional antenna systems,” said a release. The order includes provisions to reduce the number of field strength measurements and reduce how often such stations have to recertify the performance of a directional pattern. The order isn't expected to be controversial, a broadcast attorney told us.

The September commissioners’ meeting will include the first in a monthly series of NPRMs intended to get rid of outdated media rules, as Pai announced at the ongoing Radio Show in Austin. The proposal would eliminate a requirement that broadcasters and some cable carriers keep a physical copy of FCC rules, but retain an accompanying provision requiring licensees to be familiar with those rules, a fact sheet said. Broadcasters said the rule is widely supported and unlikely to run into controversy, though several said they were looking toward more substantive changes from the monthly deregulation effort (see 1709060073). The Media Bureau opened docket 17-231 for filings on the proposal, said a public notice.

The FCC would open up parts of the Ka-band to non-geostationary orbit satellite systems and adopt ITU power flux density limits for the NGSO and geostationary satellites in the 17.7-19.7 GHz band, under a proposed order. It also would replace the 10-degree avoidance angle with a change in system noise temperature as an in-line trigger, with the agency saying the avoidance angle didn't address all the varieties of newly proposed NGSO systems. The update would set a pair of milestones for constellation launches: deployment of 50 percent of a constellation within six years of license grant, followed by full constellation completion within nine years.

Also on the agenda is an order that would require QAM-based cable providers to follow the SCTE 40 technical standard, though it puts off adopting a standard for non-QAM cable providers such as IPTV-based providers. The proposed order also sets signal leakage rules to prevent interference with over-the-air spectrum use. The proposed order said most QAM-based operators already follow SCTE 40, so conforming shouldn't add any additional burden. The proposed order also has the FCC deciding not to have any testing regime and certification, since cable operators have shown that if their systems meet SCTE 40 they're able to deliver good-quality video and audio without testing.

911 Inquiry

An NOI would examine the provision of 911 by ECS networks (multiline telephone systems and IP-based enterprise systems), including their ability to support direct 911 dialing, proper routing to emergency call centers, and automatic location information. It seeks to identify why ECS 911 capabilities appear to lag those of wireless, wireline and interconnected VoIP systems and to seek ways to ensure ECS 911 keeps pace with technology, said a draft summary in docket 17-239.

Pai noted Congress recently passed versions of Kari's Law -- named after a woman who died during in an attack in a hotel room after her 9-year-old daughter couldn't call 911 without an extra "9" -- but he said more could be done. "We want to ensure that emergency calls from these locations are routed to the appropriate 911 call center and include the precise location and routing information needed for the caller to be found quickly," he blogged.

An NPRM would propose to allow for the use of auctions to assign certain toll-free numbers. The notice would expressly propose to auction certain unassigned toll-free numbers sought by multiple parties, such as 833-LAWYERS and 833-333-3333. It also would propose or seek comment on fostering a secondary market, applying net proceeds to toll-free administration and setting aside some toll-free numbers for health and safety uses, said a draft summary in docket 17-192.

A draft hearing-aid compatibility NPRM continues Pai’s emphasis on modernizing regulation. The draft would seek comment on amending the reporting requirements to exempt non-nationwide carriers from annual reporting obligations. It asks “whether the FCC could rely on informal complaints and other sources of information to identify instances of non-compliance by small providers instead of annual reporting requirements.” The draft also seeks data for a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed reporting exemption.

Agenda Notebook

The Public Safety Bureau opened a docket Thursday on an “Inquiry Concerning 911 Access, Routing, and Location in Enterprise Communications Systems.” The docket is 17-239 and anyone presenting will have to follow ex parte rules, said a bureau public notice. The FCC will take a deep dive on 911 issues Monday with a workshop on “best practices for improving situational awareness during 911 outages.” The workshop starts at 9:15 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room. Other items up for a vote also had dockets opened.