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.

Extending truth-in-billing (TIB) rules to cover interconnected VoIP and requiring voice providers separate government-mandated charges from other charges on bills is needless and potentially confusing to consumers, telecom interests said in docket 98-170 comments posted through Thursday. Not everyone agreed. Replies on the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs public notice are due March 13. USTelecom argued against a "'one size fits all' requirement on how voice service providers display ... line-item fees" since the market is ensuring providers bill "in a transparent and customer-friendly way." It said TIB rules being extended to iVoIP would be justified only if there were evidence of consumer concerns with bills. Verizon said rules let providers provide clear and useful information even in different ways. Incompas said the market hasn't changed over the past 16 years to now warrant such iVoIP TIB rules, as did Voice on the Net Coalition (see here). Cable interests argued for a broader approach. NCTA said few providers offer only voice, and the agency should focus on setting up "high-level principles for all voice services" that line up with the principles applicable to other services it oversees. If the agency does voice-specific iVoIP billing rules, applying existing rules would be "a poor fit," it said. It suggested changes, such as only requiring identification of line-item fees to make clear what the total price of a package of services is, instead of requiring a specific form of separation of fees. First doing a comprehensive review of the voice services market would help ensure any steps result in fewer consumer complaints while avoiding imposition of new costs on providers, America’s Communications Association said. It said members generally don't bill separately for local and long-distance service iVoIP, so breaking out such charges on customer bills as wireline common carriers do would serve no purpose. Backing the line-item billing suggested rule, NTCA said it would allow consumers to equally compare different providers. It backed TIB rules applied to iVoIP providers as "a natural extension of [FCC] rules." Kansas Corporation Commission said the TIB expansion would ensure all consumers have the same basic bill information. It said wireless and iVoIP service features are similar so it's reasonable to apply TIB rules to both.

Amend proposed instructions to line 308 of FCC form 499-A on USF contribution methodology, NCTA asked, posted Wednesday to docket 06-122: Providers shouldn't have to report USF revenue directed to schools, libraries or rural healthcare providers. In its filing, Comcast also supported recent comments by USTelecom.

PASADENA, Calif. -- A federal judge appeared skeptical Monday of an FCC safe harbor threshold that lets communities charge wireless carriers up to only $270 yearly for each small-cell facility. Municipalities and others are challenging FCC wireless infrastructure orders in a consolidated case at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judges’ decision about whether the commission legally pre-empted local authority in the right of way could have broader impact for local authority in telecom (see 2002060056).

Opponents of an FCC proposal to forbear from imposing unbundling obligations on ILECs said it would harm competition and limit consumer choice. CLECs use ILECs' dark fiber and other unbundled network elements (UNEs) to gain customers before funding fiber deployments, stakeholders commented, posting through Thursday in docket 19-308 (see 1911220052). ILECs backed the NPRM, saying there's enough competition to justify forbearance. California regulators had concerns, as did telcos in areas rebuilding from disasters.

Attorney General William Barr moves Office of Information Policy acting Director Bobby Talebian to permanent post, replacing Melanie Ann Pustay, retired ... Facebook hires Dan Ball, ex-office of Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., as public policy director ... Phone2Action adds Faisal Siddiqui, ex-Virtru, as chief technology officer; Marina Devalia, ex-Higher Logic, as vice president-marketing; Matt Melnick, ex-Vocus, as senior vice president-sales; and Shelli Holland, from Frontpoint, is vice president-human resources.

The FCC got some industry support for new supply chain rules designed to protect U.S. networks. But groups representing rural carriers raised concerns, and Huawei said the proposals aren't legal. Commissioners approved rules 5-0 in November barring equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE in networks funded by the USF, and sought comment on whether to expand the prohibition (see 1911220033). Commenters urged coordination, especially with the Department of Homeland Security, and regulatory humility. Comments were posted Monday and Tuesday in docket 18-89.

CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom seek "broad safe harbor that promotes voice service providers' good-faith efforts to combat abusive robocalls" (see 1908260021). They met with staff from the FCC Wireline and Consumer Affairs bureaus Wednesday, said a letter posted Monday in docket 17-97. Comcast said about 14.25 percent of calls originating on other voice providers' networks and bound for its residential subscribers had end-to-end call authentication, known as secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir).