The FCC Enforcement Bureau on Thursday asked voice service providers and USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group to file information by May 1 on “private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls necessary for the Commission’s annual report.” The reporting period for the request is all of 2024. “Unlawful prerecorded or artificial voice message calls -- robocalls -- plague the American public,” the bureau said in a notice in docket 20-195. “Spoofed caller ID makes it more difficult to identify the source of the call.”
The Senate voted 74-25 Tuesday to confirm Michael Kratsios as White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, as expected (see 2503170057). Earlier Tuesday, the chamber invoked cloture on Kratsios by a similarly lopsided 73-25 margin. Eight Senate Commerce Committee Democrats, including ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington, were among the 21 caucus members who backed Kratsios. Cantwell and the other seven panel Democrats who supported Kratsios on the floor, including Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, voted to advance him during a panel meeting earlier this month (see 2503120069). CTIA and USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter hailed Kratsios' confirmation.
The FCC’s Wireline Bureau released a series of orders on delegated authority Thursday with the goal of making it easier for carriers to move away from legacy copper networks, said a news release and a number of filings. Outdated agency rules “have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve," said Chairman Brendan Carr in the release.
The FCC’s outage reporting rules and its history of assessing large penalties for violations are leading to public safety answering points (PSAPs) being heavily burdened by notifications, said attorneys, trade groups and public safety associations. New rules that go into effect April 15 are likely to exacerbate the issue, they said during an FCBA virtual panel discussion Monday.
The FCC Office of Managing Director announced Thursday a proposed Q2 USF contribution factor of 36.6%, as calculated by the Universal Service Administrative Co. That’s up from 36.3% the previous quarter and the highest quarterly contribution factor in the program's history. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear FCC v. Consumers’ Research March 26, a case about the contribution factor's legality.
The current FCC is likely to support calls by USTelecom and its members for policies that allow carriers to more easily retire copper facilities in their networks (see 2501270047), New Street’s Blair Levin said Wednesday. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr “has always been in favor of assisting [incumbent local exchange carriers] in this transition,” he said in a note to investors.
USTelecom representatives discussed pole attachment concerns in a series of meetings at the FCC with Wireline Bureau staff and aides to Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Anna Gomez. “USTelecom emphasized that its membership is comprised of both pole owners and attachers that are seeking to deploy high-speed broadband as quickly as possible and that we support Commission efforts to speed such deployments, including those funded through BEAD and other government programs,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-84. “As USTelecom has explained, however, departing from the negotiated timelines required under the Commission’s current rules and adopting one-size-fits-all make-ready timelines for large make-ready orders will not speed deployment or further the Commission’s goals.”
Major trade groups are at odds with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on whether the FCC should reconsider its January declaratory ruling in response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks. That ruling was opposed by now-Chairman Brendan Carr (see 2501160041). The FCC concluded then that Section 105 of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) “affirmatively requires telecommunications carriers to secure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications.”
USTelecom representatives met with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington on the importance of changes to FCC rules to accelerate wireline deployment. The representatives discussed USTelecom members’ “efforts as pole owners and attachers to efficiently manage the pole attachment application and make-ready processes while accounting for site-specific and often unpredictable circumstances that can delay a deployment project,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 17-84. The group “expressed its continued support for the Commission’s current pole attachment application and make-ready rules, which ensure collaboration among pole owners and attachers, provide needed flexibility, promote competition, and advance broadband.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday that staffing changes are coming to the FCC and that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is likely headed to the agency. Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez warned about the Donald Trump administration’s continuing moves against the federal workforce. Commissioners agreed on three wireless items (see 2502270042) and Calm Act rules at the meeting, as well as taking additional steps on robocalls.