Crisis call centers around the nation are seeing increases in traffic since the official launch of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (see 2207150036), with steeper growth expected to follow. Some crisis centers said the promotion of 988 for any mental health crisis intervention and not just suicide prevention will likely be a big driver of increased communications volumes over time.

The House Commerce Committee voted 53-2 Wednesday to advance bipartisan, bicameral privacy legislation to the floor (see 2207190040). Some California Democrats criticized the strength of the bill, saying they may not support the measure on the floor. Some questioned whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will bring the legislation up.

Minor changes were made to an FCC Further NPRM on curbing access stimulation adopted during the agency's July meeting, according to a comparison with the draft (see 2207140055). The FNPRM seeks comment on USTelecom's request to amend the proposed definition of an IP enabled services provider. No changes were made to a notice of inquiry seeking comment on how to improve access to Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program for survivors of domestic or sexual violence.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., plan to file their Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act before the start of the Senate August recess in a bid to renew Democrats’ push for legislation to restore the FCC’s rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules. The measure, which was circulating in draft form Monday, would reinstate the FCC’s 2015 reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., is leading work on a House companion, lobbyists told us. Markey and Wyden are prioritizing the bill now because of the Senate’s stalled confirmation process for FCC nominee Gigi Sohn (see 2206230066), which has meant the tied 2-2 commission hasn’t been able to proceed on any matter that's unlikely to get the support of at least one of the two GOP commissioners, lobbyists said. “It is more clear than ever that broadband internet is an essential utility,” a Markey spokesperson emailed. Markey “firmly believes” the FCC’s “authority should reflect that, so it can fulfill its obligations to the public by reinstating net neutrality rules, protecting consumers, and taking other critical steps to create a just digital future.” The FCC’s “rollback of net neutrality” under former Chairman Ajit Pai “was a huge loss for competition and privacy,” a Wyden spokesperson said. Wyden “still believes that net neutrality is the foundation of an open internet that works for everyone -- not just Big Cable and big incumbents.” Congress “should pass the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act and confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC without further delay,” said Free Press Vice President-Policy Matt Wood in a statement. “It’s time for Senate leadership to end this senseless delay and get the agency back to full capacity.” It “was only during the Trump administration that the FCC … disavowed any authority to fulfill its congressional mandate to ensure all Americans have access to communications services,” said Public Knowledge Director-Government Affairs Greg Guice. “This legislation is more than just a bill for net neutrality. It will reinstate” the FCC “with the authority to promote policies to help consumers access broadband … as well as promote competition and public safety while strengthening the resiliency of these networks during disasters.” U.S. “broadband customers have waited far too long for Congress to step up and codify the important net neutrality principles that broadband providers already follow today,” said USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter. “But let’s be clear: any such legislation cannot and must not be a backdoor for government to regulate prices and degrade the consumer internet experience.” Any “potential government effort to regulate prices under the cover of net neutrality would hurt consumers, slow investment and stifle competition,” he said.

ClearCaptions asked the FCC to reject USTelecom’s "unsupported inference" that IP captioned telephone service (CTS) outreach and marketing costs are "unnecessary and should be removed from the base of costs" for IP CTS rates. It said USTelecom's claim that IP CTS "is widely known in the hard-of-hearing and deaf communities is not supported by its members’ experience, citations, or evidence," per a filing Thursday in docket 03-123. The "vast majority of IP CTS users are individuals who have aged into hearing loss" and "it takes considerable outreach and marketing to reach these individuals," ClearCaptions said. The FCC should "refresh the record and collect sufficient cost data to analyze whether to change IP CTS rates," it said. “USTelecom and its members understand the vital importance of services like the Telecommunications Relay Service that provides the deaf and hard-of-hearing community with equal access to telecommunications," emailed a spokesperson. "Reimbursement rates must reflect the actual costs of the services provided with a reasonable margin for providers," she said: "While a modest fund reserve is reasonable and responsible, it may be necessary for the commission to address errors in projected demand and required funding given the substantial surplus in the fund from the current year.”

FCC commissioners approved 4-0 a new enhanced competition incentive program, with only minor changes, as expected. Some industry observers questioned how much good ECIP will do, but commissioners expressed hope the program will help promote wireless deployment (see 2207110036). The monthly meeting Thursday was the first to be opened to the public since February 2020.

A coalition of utility companies backed a request for the FCC to extend the deadline for reply comment on a Further NPRM on pole replacement costs (see 2207120078). The current deadline doesn't give "electric utility commenters sufficient time to meaningfully respond to the initial comments," said Southern Company, Oncor Electric Delivery, Entergy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power Service and Ameren Services, per a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-84. The companies noted Charter's comments and expert report are "extensively redacted, making it difficult for pole owners to adequately respond," and the FCC should "make a timely decision with respect to Charter’s request for confidentiality and to establish a process and timeline pursuant to which electric utility commenters can review the information redacted." The companies also asked the FCC to "immediately grant [the Edison Electric Institutes's] long-pending petition for declaratory ruling addressing the limitations period in pole attachment complaints" (see 2109090050). USTelecom also backed an extension, in a letter Wednesday, saying "as the existing pole attachment rules remain in place there is no urgency to the commission’s decision in this matter that would render an additional 60 days to develop the record detrimental to any stakeholders."

Industry groups and carriers welcomed a draft FCC Further NPRM that would propose ways to clarify commission rules on access stimulation. Some sought minor edits to the draft (see 2206230069). The item would seek comments on revisions to a 2019 order on access arbitrage to clarify "perceived ambiguities ... that some providers are exploiting," according to the draft. It would target carriers that may be evading the rules by including IP enabled services (IPES) into the call flow.

Every state and territory applied for NTIA’s digital equity planning grant program, the agency announced Wednesday (see 2206160072). NTIA received letters of intent from "hundreds of tribal nations" to participate in the digital equity program. All states and territories also submitted a letter of intent for the $42.45 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment program by the July 18 deadline, NTIA said. Iowa and Florida were the last two states to sign on, per a tweet from NTIA Tuesday.

ZipDX told FCC Enforcement Bureau staff it should be chosen as the registered consortium to head industry efforts to trace unlawful robocalls because it can do so "more nimbly and more dynamically" than USTelecom's industry traceback group (see 2206230055). "We will more readily and fully meet the objectives of the Traced Act and the FCC," said an ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 20-22. ZipDX said Congress "would not have directed the FCC to annually revisit the selection" if it "intended to anoint USTelecom as the gatekeeper of traceback always and forever." USTelecom hasn't "cited any specific or general flaw in our efforts," ZipDX said: "If anybody has misgivings about ZipDX, it would and should be those parties that play an outsize role in the initiation and facilitation of illegal robocalls." USTelecom didn't comment.