Industry opposition to an FCC proposal reclassifying broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act continued in reply comments posted through Thursday in docket 23-320 (see 2312150020). Most groups warned reclassification would stifle competition. Some consumer groups disagreed, urging the FCC to reinstate its net neutrality rules without preempting state and local governments.

Twenty-six attorneys general urged the FCC to use its AI notice of inquiry to clarify that AI-generated calls mimicking human voices are considered “an artificial voice” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Reply comments on a November notice of inquiry (see 2311160028) were due Tuesday and posted Wednesday in docket 23-362. In initial comments, CTIA and USTelecom urged that the FCC allow flexibility in how providers use AI (see 2312200039).

California must ensure a permanent affordable broadband option for residents should the affordable connectivity program (ACP) run out of money, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D) said during an Assembly Communications Committee meeting Wednesday. The committee voted 7-3 for Wilson’s AB-1588, despite concerns from some that the legislation could be stronger. The bill would allow the state to do business only with ISPs that have affordable plans costing at most $40 monthly for at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds. Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D) stressed that she will support the bill only if it’s amended to require at least 100/20 Mbps speeds. Wilson said she’s open to raising the floor to 100/20 Mbps and lowering the price ceiling to $30 if it helps pass the bill. Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D) said she couldn’t support the bill because of worries about its unintended harms to low-income residents. Nguyen suggested waiting until April to see what happens with ACP. The California Emerging Technology Fund supported the bill, but USTelecom, CTIA, Wireless Infrastructure Association and the state cable association opposed it. “Attempting to rate regulate the industry ... does not resolve federal inactivity” to renew ACP, said Amanda Gualderama, California Broadband and Video Association legislative and regulatory director. USTelecom lobbyist Yolanda Benson noted that Congress earlier that day introduced a bill to fund ACP (see 2401100056). Broadband prices have declined without government invention, she said. Also, the committee voted 10-1 for a bill that discourages Californians from calling state agencies’ toll-free numbers. AB-1135 wouldn’t force agencies to decommission their 800 numbers but would require they advertise local area code numbers instead, said sponsor Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D). He said California spends $7 million annually for toll-free numbers, even though most residents have phone plans with unlimited minutes. The government pays only when someone uses the 800 number, so encouraging use of toll numbers would save cash, he said. Toll-free numbers remain important for those still relying on landlines, said The Utility Reform Network lobbyist Ignacio Hernandez. The consumer advocate is glad the bill wouldn’t get rid of toll-free numbers, but believes it should direct agencies to continue displaying them as an option.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Senate Agriculture Rural Development Subcommittee Chairman Peter Welch, D-Vt., led filing Wednesday of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act to give the initiative stopgap funding through the rest of the year, as expected (see 2401090074). The measure would allocate ACP $7 billion for FY 2024, mirroring an earlier draft of the measure Clarke circulated in recent weeks. The FCC estimates the program could exhaust its original $14.2 billion appropriation in April. Congress’ appetite for providing the program more money remains in question given misgivings among top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2312210074), although several Republicans signed on as ACP Extension Act sponsors at filing: Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and New York Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro. The measure “provides a transformative opportunity to bridge the gap of the digital divide for communities of color, urban and rural families, and so many more underserved Americans,” Clarke said in a statement. “Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity,” Welch said. “That’s why it’s never been so important to avoid this funding cliff and extend the ACP.” Welch’s office cited support from more than 400 companies, groups and other entities, including FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her fellow Democratic Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks. In addition, several major ISPs and related industry groups are backing the measure: AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, Incompas, NTCA, T-Mobile, USTelecom, Verizon, Wireless Infrastructure Association and WTA. Others supporting the ACP Extension Act: the AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Communications Workers of America, Fiber Broadband Association, Free Press, NAACP, Pew Charitable Trusts and Public Knowledge.

Representatives of major trade associations stressed to the FCC that a cyber trust mark program for smart devices (see 2311130034) must remain voluntary. “The Trade Associations highlighted several factors that will be necessary in order to make the FCC’s proposed Labeling Program a success,” the reps told Public Safety Bureau Chief Debra Jordan and others from the bureau, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 22-239 from by CTA, the Connectivity Standards Alliance, CTIA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and USTelecom. The program should “leverage” the work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and industry standards and “allow for self-attestation,” the groups said. “Preemption and safe harbors are critical to the Labeling Program’s success,” they said: The program “should be launched at the device level but should allow for expansion to the product level in the future.”

ACA Connects hires three vice presidents: Zamir Ahmed, ex-NAB, for external affairs; Olivia Shields, ex-House Commerce Committee, public affairs and communications; and Max Staloff, ex-Jenner & Block and former FCC, for regulatory affairs … USTelecom appoints Keller and Heckman’s Kathleen Slattery Thompson as vice president-policy and advocacy … Akin promotes intellectual property lawyer David Lee to partner … Troutman Pepper Names patent and IP partner Tate Tischner as managing partner, Rochester office … Former Lawler Metzger partner Jim Falvey announces opening of The Law Office of James C. Falvey, representing fiber infrastructure and other telecom providers.

NTIA "directionally aligned" its approach to the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program in a policy notice released Tuesday. The notice signaled NTIA's BEAD approach is generally in line with the Treasury Department's broadband infrastructure projects and the FCC's USF policies. The notice comes after NTIA received more than 60 comments from a range of stakeholders seeking exceptions and program adjustments.

CTIA and USTelecom said the record supports retaining iconectiv as the FCC's local number portability administrator (LNPA), in response to an October notice. “Now that the record has closed, the Associations urge the Commission to move forward expeditiously to extend the existing contract with the current LNPA and adopt the LNPA selection procedures proposed in the Public Notice,” the groups said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-337: “While the Associations, like other parties, would prefer that completion of the LNPA selection and transition process be accomplished more quickly than the last selection and transition processes, that experience shows that these processes are multi-year undertakings that often take longer than anticipated.”

USTelecom and CTIA told the FCC its members already use AI to combat unwanted robocalls. Both groups counseled that regulators adopt a flexible approach but said scammers also use AI. Comments in response to a November notice of inquiry (see 2311160028) were due Monday and posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 23-362.

USTelecom announces Ben Elleson, ex-office of Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., as senior director-government affairs … TDS Telecommunications adds vice president-data management position for Steve Mathesius, who also continues chief information security officer, leading cybersecurity and risk management functions at TDS Telecom and parent company, Telephone and Data Systems … Telecon promotes Executive Vice President-Chief Customer Officer Robert Pothier to president-CEO and adds him to its board ... Hitachi Vantara, Hitachi’s hybrid cloud management subsidiary, names Palo Alto Networks’ Tony Gonnella chief financial officer ... Southern Co. hires Bentina Terry from Southern subsidiary Georgia Power as president-CEO of Southern Communications, with responsibility for leading the Southern Linc and Southern Telecom business units, and Arnab Ghosal as Southern Telecom vice president-chief operating officer in addition to his current role at Alabama Power, another Southern subsidiary, both effective Jan. 1.