Weekly enrollments for the FCC emergency broadband benefit are beginning to slow, according to Universal Service Administrative Co. data. Some said in interviews last week the apparent slump may reflect lack of sufficient FCC leadership on EBB. Others said the initial surge in enrollment shows the level of interest in the program, and eligible households will continue signing up.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau wants comment by July 2 on selection of the industry-led robocall traceback consortium, said a public notice Thursday in docket 20-22. EB selected USTelecom as the registered traceback consortium in 2020 (see 2007270068). ZipDX submitted a letter of intent to be designated as the next registered consortium. The next consortium will be selected by Aug. 25.
Localities are gearing up to sue Ohio unless lawmakers remove a proposed ban on municipal broadband that the Senate added to the state budget without hearings. A conference committee is expected to say in coming days if the amendment added this month will make the final budget that both chambers must pass and Gov. Mike DeWine (R) must sign by month’s end. The proposed ban could force existing muni providers to sell their businesses, said local officials in interviews last week.
NTIA unveiled a broadband map Thursday. It shows broadband needs by county, minority-serving institutions, areas designated as high poverty and tribal lands. It “paints a sobering view” of broadband challenges, said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters NTIA’s efforts are “significant” because more information is available and the commission is “making a big push” to create accurate maps. The new maps “struck me as curious,” Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday. “We don’t need additional inaccurate maps,” Carr said, and it “underscores the need” for the FCC to complete its mapping process. “We’re glad the NTIA is out with this version of a map, but it’s not a substitute for the more accurate ‘fabric’ approach” that USTelecom backs, said CEO Jonathan Spalter in a statement: “The FCC’s map is the only project that will be so granular as to allow us to close the nation’s digital divide.”
Commerce Committee members Reps. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., filed a House companion (HR-3970) Thursday to the Accelerating Rural Broadband Deployment Act (S-1113) first bowed in April (see 2104150057). The measure would give federal agencies the ability to approve a license of occupancy authorizing placement on a federal right of way of all equipment required to deploy broadband. It would require agencies to respond to applications within 60 days and explain denials. Rural residents “are itching for reliable broadband,” but “they are hamstrung by Washington, D.C., bureaucrats who are completely disconnected from the realities that millions of Americans face,” Curtis said. NCTA, NTCA and USTelecom back the measure, his office said.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday advanced nominees for Biden administration cyber posts. National cyber director nominee Chris Inglis and Jen Easterly, nominated to be director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (see 2104120059), advanced to the floor. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter called them “battle tested and clear-eyed cyber professionals.”
Telecom providers back USTelecom's robocall blocking petition for reconsideration (see 2105200074), in replies posted Tuesday in FCC docket 17-59. "Adopt a flexible approach to notification that would allow for, but not be limited to, returning specific [session initiation protocol] SIP codes when calls are blocked," CTIA said. "Rather than codifying unfinished standards work, the commission should defer to the ongoing, collaborative standards process." NCTA agreed and said the Jan. 1 implementation deadline "risks forcing providers to choose between offering consumers robust robocall mitigation tools or suspending such tools over concerns about compliance with return code mandates." Comments showed the "uncertain state of the standards" in the notification requirement, USTelecom said. An industry task force approval of industry standards is "at best, the beginning of the process," the telecom association said. Somos, the current toll-free numbering administrator and North American numbering plan administrator, echoed Lumen that there's "no value to notifying calling parties when their calls are blocked by analytic engines" (see 2106070051). Somos said calls blocked on the do not originate list shouldn't be included in notification to calling parties when such a call is blocked. Verizon said opposition to USTelecom's petition is based on "several flaws." The order on robocall blocking doesn't define what a legitimate caller or bad actor is, Verizon said, and "even some legal callers routinely take action to bypass blocking ... when they detect that their calls may have triggered blocking algorithms."
President Joe Biden plans to name Lina Khan to permanently lead the FTC once she's sworn in as a commissioner. Hours earlier, the Senate voted 69-28 Tuesday to confirm her. Khan drew bipartisan Senate support, as expected (see 2106100069). FTC supporters, pressed Congress to increase FY 2022 funding and enact legislation to restore its FTC Act Section 13(b) consumer redress authority.
At Wilkinson Barker, Debrea Terwilliger from Public Utilities Commission of Nevada rejoins the law firm as partner ... GPS Impact hires Sally Aman, ex-USTelecom, as chief communications officer, and Teresa Chaurand, "working to advance representation of Latinos" in the Biden administration, as the public affairs firm's principal and senior adviser.
The FCC should issue an NPRM on a CTIA and USTelecom proposal to do away with regulatory burdens for pro forma transactions, NAB told aides to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per a filing posted Friday in docket 17-105. “A single non-substantial internal transaction can result in filing requirements that strain resources, delay business decisions and divert sparse resources,” it said. Broadcasters have sometimes “opted to temporarily maintain a suboptimal corporate structure due to concerns that a pro forma application could delay or complicate other pending regulatory approvals,” NAB said. Apply “a uniform approach” to pro forma transactions across platforms, it said.