The consortium selected to manage industry efforts to trace illegal robocalls to comply with the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act "should enable the participation of a diverse range of voice service providers in the tracebacks that it conducts and allow the participation of any and all providers that are identified in the call path of a traceback," USTelecom told the FCC. Comments were posted through Tuesday in docket 20-22. The agency opened a rulemaking this month (see 2002060038). NCTA wants the consortium to create an executive committee represented by different industry sectors "given an equal voice in the management." The cable group wants budget transparency if fees are collected. It asked whether a traceback group must be independent from a single association. Incompas wants the FCC to spell out how it will evaluate a registrant's claim of neutrality, and it wants to know what criteria the agency will use to select a single consortium for the private-led traceback efforts. Incompas suggested the North American Numbering Council advise the FCC here. The FCC also got comments this week on technical requirements for a reassigned numbers database (see 2002250062).

CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom had meetings with aides to all FCC commissioners to discuss a broad safe harbor as part of robocalling rules. “Adopting a broad safe harbor based on reasonable analytics will give voice service providers the clarity and certainty needed to meaningfully advance the Commission’s goal of protecting consumers from the scourge of illegal and unwanted robocalls while protecting legitimate calls,” the groups said, posted Monday in docket 17-59.

An item on a proposed rural healthcare (RHC) support mechanism circulated on FCC's eighth floor Tuesday, said a circulation list posted Friday on the agency's website. The item could address a funding year 2019 shortfall allocating unused RHC money from the prior funding year, an official said. It would also address funding year 2019 funding requests for multiyear payments that exceeded a budget sub-cap. Industry also wants the FCC to clarify new certification rules for its rural telehealth program set to take effect July 1, USTelecom said in a filing posted Friday to docket 17-310 and in meetings Tuesday with Wireline Bureau staff and commissioner aides. The commission voted in August to change the way it subsidizes its rural healthcare program despite widespread concerns (see 1908010041).

Google's "verbatim copying” of Oracle computer code into a “competing commercial product” wasn’t fair use, the Trump administration said in a Supreme Court filing Wednesday (see 2002190058). Also siding with Oracle in separate filings were USTelecom, the Motion Picture Association, the RIAA, the National Music Publishers' Association and the Copyright Alliance.

USTelecom met with FCC Wireline Deputy Bureau Chief Lisa Hone and an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on its effort to develop a consensus proposal on 8YY revisions as the agency seeks to transition many rate elements to bill and keep (see 1809050027). The group "emphasized the need for a suitable recovery mechanism that would allow carriers to recover 8YY originating access revenues as intercarrier compensation reforms are implemented," it said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-156. Those mechanisms should differ for price cap and rate-of-return ILECs, it added.

USTelecom asked the FCC to reject an Incompas petition to exclude from a proposed Digital Opportunity Data Collection rulemaking the definition of "facilities-based" broadband any providers that supply service through the purchase or lease of capacity of last-mile facilities from others, in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-195.

Maine should fight a lawsuit by national ISP associations challenging a state ISP privacy law, said the American Civil Liberties Union and an ex-FCC official Tuesday. CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the American Cable Association sued Maine Friday in the U.S. District Court of Maine, before the regulations take effect July 1. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the bill in June countering Congress' 2017 repeal of 2016 FCC broadband privacy rules, after bipartisan votes in the legislature (see 1906060050).

The FCC indicates it wants a nationwide 988 suicide crisis hotline implemented in 18 months (see 1912120044), but telecom interests want a longer phase-in. Some also are urging the FCC to take a second look at expanded use of 211 for the hotline instead, as was recommended by its North American Numbering Council advisory group (see 1905080020), according to recent comments in docket 18-336. The FCC didn't comment. Reply comments on the 988 designation NPRM adopted 5-0 in December (see 1912120044) are due March 16.

Industry supports FCC goals to protect USF from waste, fraud and abuse but wants clearer standards and sufficient due process procedures in proposed suspension and debarment rules, said comments posted through Friday in docket 19-309. "The proposed rules reach a far broader range of conduct than contemplated by the OMB guidelines, potentially punishing many good actors for the sake of expediting penalties against a few bad ones," said CTIA and USTelecom. "Consider alternative measures before initiating suspension or debarment procedures," said America's Communications Association, Incompas and NTCA. Encourage self-governance and consider mitigating factors, they said. Bureaus "should be given delegated authority to grant exceptions" when it serves the public interest, said the Wireless ISP Association. USF participants should be allowed to continue receiving services from a suspended provider for the duration of a contract that existed before the FCC acts, said the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and State E-rate Coordinators' Alliance. Don't apply new rules retroactively, said NCTA. "Grounds for suspension or debarment should only include egregious offenses," said Cellular South. E-Rate Central said the NPRM doesn't discuss "the necessity of coordinating any planned enforcement action, if only on an advisory basis, with appropriate state agencies."

America’s Communications Association Executive Vice President Rob Shema leaving to become CEO of ACA member ComNet, effective March 23 ... Van Bloys, ex-Davis Wright, becomes Crown Castle senior utility relations counsel ... Now at USTelecom is Director-Policy and Advocacy Farhan Chughtai, an FCC filing shows (see 2002130023); group tells us he was hired in April; Chughtai previously was at the Wireless Infrastructure Association.