FCC commissioners approved 5-0 an order on circulation revising the rules on access charges for 8YY calls. The order closely adheres to a USTelecom consensus proposal, FCC officials told us. It is expected to be released Friday or Tuesday. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented on the 8YY NPRM adopted in 2018.
Disagreements surfaced in replies in the annual Communications Act Section 706 proceeding on whether broadband is now being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner, with a majority urging the FCC to back away from the conclusion, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, FCC Democrats also said the agency was wrong to draw that positive finding, given current deployment levels (see 2004240042). Replies were posted Tuesday in docket 20-269.
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's nearly seven-year FCC career will wrap up by year's end. During the agency's September meeting Wednesday, he said he's folding on others' efforts to get himself renominated. He said he's leaving regardless of how the November presidential election plays out (see 2009300014).
A draft order on streamlining and standardizing the process by which FCC applications from foreign-owned companies are reviewed by the “Team Telecom” executive branch agencies is expected to be approved unanimously at Wednesday’s commissioners' meeting, said commission and industry officials.
A USTelecom proposal to exempt some small voice service providers from a proposed two-year extension of caller ID authentication requirements is raising ACA Connects concerns. The group said in a docket 17-97 posting Friday that it backs the goal of clamping down on providers that knowingly originate big volumes of illegal robocalls, but there's not enough time to see if the USTelecom proposal could also entangle legitimate voice providers that the FCC plainly is including in the small provider exemption in the draft order. It urged the FCC to get comment on the proposal. USTelecom, in meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and the commissioners, said the secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) and secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) implementation draft order on Wednesday's agenda (see 2009090048) proposed the two-year extension exception for small voice service providers that originate a disproportionate amount of traffic relative to their subscriber base. USTelecom recommended the FCC expand its robocall mitigation program requirement to all domestic traffic and on intermediate providers and get more comment on restricting intermediate providers from taking traffic from foreign voice service providers while not disrupting legitimate calls. CTIA urged its own modifications. They included seeking further comment on barring providers from accepting voice traffic from foreign voice service providers that haven't registered or certified and extra time between the filing deadline for robocall mitigation program certifications and the effective date of not accepting traffic from providers that don't appear in the database.
CTIA and USTelecom representatives asked FCC Wireless Bureau staff to act on a June petition seeking regulatory relief on pro forma filings (see 2006050039). Commenters largely supported the action (see 2007270039). “The Association Representatives highlighted the unanimous record support from a broad range of industry sectors and public interest organizations for the reforms,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-186: “Create parity for all pro forma transactions, reduce confusion and administrative burdens, and enable Commission staff and licensees to make more efficient use of resources.”
USTelecom supports a draft order set for a Wednesday vote (see 2009090048), asking the FCC to focus on “the status of currently pending referrals to Team Telecom that would not have been referred under the new rules” and the “treatment of referrals to Team Telecom between the time of Commission vote and the time the Report and Order is published,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 16-155. Team Telecom is DOD, DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security.
The FCC's Oct. 27 meeting agenda is expected to include an order on unbundled network elements (UNE) based on the USTelecom/Incompas compromises reached on dark fiber transport and loop issues (see 2009150063), industry officials told us. Chairman Ajit Pai applauded the agreements at last week's Incompas show, saying he hoped for FCC support for them (see 2009150069).
The FCC got differing advice from commenters in its annual Communications Act Section 706 proceeding. Wireless and wireline groups had a different version of the role wireless can play. Public interest groups said the FCC should say the market needs improvement, in comments posted Friday (see 2009180049) and Monday in docket 20-269. The agency's decision depends on who's in control next year, industry officials said. In April, FCC Democrats disagreed that broadband is being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner (see 2004240042).
Internet gaps exposed by COVID-19 are fueling calls by state policymakers to treat broadband like a utility. With federal preemption issues, the California Public Utilities Commission plans to “push the question,” said Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves in an interview last week. Washington state’s net neutrality law author said he will seek to fully allow municipal broadband next year. A Michigan regulation bill might also return in 2021.