The FCC appears unlikely to move forward quickly on changing its rules for legacy business data services (BDS), as proposed in an NPRM that commissioners approved ahead of their August meeting (see 2508050056), industry officials said. Unlike other reform proposals that are getting enthusiastic endorsement, at least from industry -- including faster copper retirements (see 2509300039) and streamlined wireline siting rules (see 2511170028) -- the BDS changes are seeing little support.

Senate Communications Subcommittee members alternated Tuesday between debating the FCC’s rollback last month of its January response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks and making bipartisan calls to renew the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr led the push for the agency to reverse January's declaratory ruling from the closing days of former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s administration, which said the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act Section 105 requires telecom carriers to secure their networks against cyberattacks (see 2501160041). The FCC in November also withdrew an NPRM on cybersecurity requirements that the commission issued along with the declaratory ruling (see 2511200047).

Industry groups are concerned about FCC proposals to relax restrictions on sharing disaster reporting information with public safety authorities and the public but are broadly supportive of agency plans to streamline the disaster information reporting system (DIRS), according to comments filed in docket 21-346. Public disclosure of outage reporting data “could compromise public safety and network security, particularly at a time when vandalism of communications network infrastructure is on the rise,” said ACA Connects. The FCC should focus on more education and engagement with state public safety officials, “not a lowering of standards for protecting sensitive information from public disclosure.” But Public Knowledge said wider dissemination of outage data could improve public safety and enhance competition by giving the public another category in which to compare providers.

The Senate Communications Subcommittee plans a hearing Dec. 2 to examine defending U.S. networks from “fraud, espionage, and sabotage,” the Commerce Committee said Friday. The hearing will also “examine how the federal government can enhance awareness and foster a culture of network security within the communications industry.” Robert Mayer, USTelecom's senior vice president of cybersecurity and innovation, is among those set to testify. Also on the witness list are Daniel Gizinski, Comtech's president of the satellite and space communications segment, and Jamil Jaffer, executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University's Scalia Law School. The panel will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

NCTA on Friday praised Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., for filing an upper chamber companion Thursday (see 2511200069) to the Broadband and Telecommunications Rail Act (HR-6046). The House Communications Subcommittee cleared HR-6046 Wednesday (see 2511180053).

Groups representing financial institutions called on the FCC to impose tougher Stir/Shaken rules in comments filed last week (docket 17-97) in response to a Wireline Bureau request (see 2508280040). Telecom industry groups and companies also sought tweaks to how illegal robocalls are addressed, through Stir/Shaken and beyond.

The cost of residential broadband plans with speeds of 100-940 Mbps has gone down, on average, 43.1% over the past decade, while plans for 940 Mbps-1Gbps speeds are down 22.5% since 2017, USTelecom said in its latest annual Broadband Pricing Index report. The overall cost of consumer goods and services is up 35.8% during the past decade, it said. Over the past year, the 100-940 Mbps plans saw a price drop of 3.6% on average, while prices for the faster set of plans were down 1.4%.

The FCC continues to hear both opposition to and support for proposals in its notice of inquiry about changes to wireline infrastructure rules. Comments on the NOI, which commissioners approved 3-0 in September (see 2509300063), were posted Wednesday in docket 25-253. State and local government groups largely opposed changes that could take power away from their members (see 2511180033).

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on Wednesday slammed the agency's move to reverse its January declaratory ruling and NPRM addressing the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks. The new FCC item, set for a vote at Thursday's meeting, would withdraw the NPRM and find that the FCC erred in affirming the legal responsibility of carriers to secure their networks under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

USTelecom and other commenters warned the FCC against abruptly detariffing legacy business data services (BDS), as is proposed in an NPRM that commissioners approved ahead of their August meeting (see 2508050056). Unlike most deregulatory proposals from the FCC, industry groups mostly aren’t on board with the BDS changes. Comments were posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 21-17.