Three groups seek an NPRM to start the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 1905010188) as soon as possible to develop rules this year and hold an auction in 2020. America’s Communications Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and NTCA told the FCC that rules for the current Connect America Fund Phase II program "provide a sound foundation upon which to develop the rules for the RDOF. No doubt certain parameters of the new program will require updating and revision based upon lessons learned from the CAF Phase II program and auction. But, because a proven framework exists, we can build on that to quickly analyze shortcomings and make targeted refinements." The filing posted Friday in docket 19-126 noted that a recent news report quotes an FCC spokesperson "saying that the Commission will start this year to launch the RDOF and hold the auction in 2020." The agency declined to comment now.

The FCC scheduled a tribal workshop June 12-13 at the Chickasaw Nation in Norman, Oklahoma. The event will provide information to help tribal nations get better broadband, telecom and broadcast services and infrastructure, and to encourage tribal participation in the regulatory process, said a Thursday public notice. The FCC invited Agriculture Department officials to share information on relevant programs, and a Universal Service Administrative Co. representative will do an E-rate training, the agency said.

The FCC seeks comment on the FY 2019 regulatory fee schedule and modifications to regulatory fee authority made by 2018’s Ray Baum’s Act, said an NPRM released Wednesday evening (see 1905080079). The item had been slated for Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting. The FCC is proposing to collect $339 million in regulatory fees due in September. The act deleted what was called outdated language in FCC rules governing regulatory fees, and the NPRM seeks comment on “how these deletions and changes impact the Commission’s responsibilities in assessing and collecting regulatory fees.” The NPRM also seeks comment on continued phasing-in of direct broadcast satellite regulatory fees, continuing to “base non-common carrier and common carrier satellite and terrestrial IBC fees on the per Gbps rate.” The agency is “proposing to hew closely to our prior annual process for adjusting and amending fee categories and the fee schedule,” the NPRM said. It seeks comment on ”ways to further improve our regulatory fee process to make it less burdensome for all entities.” Comments are due June 7, replies June 24.

Backhaul, roaming and coordination problems slowed wireless restoration after Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle last year, the FCC Public Safety Bureau reported Thursday. Backhaul wasn’t resilient enough, reciprocal roaming was inadequate, and coordination among wireless providers, power crews and municipalities was lacking, it said. Wireless providers in hurricane-prone areas should make roaming agreements as part of pre-storm preparations; diversify backhaul technologies, such as by using microwave or satellite links; and work on best practices related to cooperation and coordination with local utilities, the report recommended. Communications providers should participate in coordination trainings, and they and power companies should make coordination agreements for mutual preparation and restoration efforts, it said, and the FCC should work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on harmonizing restoration practices across sectors. Recovery efforts often led to outages, with “numerous” cases of third-party crews damaging communications equipment while doing other restoration work, the report said. “Hurricane Michael demonstrated starkly how some wireless providers in the Florida Panhandle were able to rebound from this devastating storm through foresight and appropriate planning, while others stalled in their efforts to restore full service,” it said. “Some providers appear not to have comported with the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework (Framework), the voluntary commitment that several nationwide service providers proposed and committed to abide by in 2016. Specifically, it appears that some wireless providers demurred from seeking assistance from potential roaming partners and, therefore, remained inoperable.” The bureau disagreed with carriers that claimed the framework worked as intended. “The effusive praise given by Framework signatories that commented in this docket simply does not ring true, in light of the lengthy wireless outages in Bay and Gulf Counties,” it said. “At least tens of thousands wireless customers had to wait days, unnecessarily, for their mobile phone service to be restored while their provider held off entering into roaming arrangements.” Chairman Ajit Pai urged wireless, other communications providers and power companies to implement the bureau’s recommendations. “It will come as no surprise to the residents of the Florida Panhandle that there is significant room for improvement on the recovery efforts seen in the wake of Hurricane Michael.” Wireless carriers didn’t comment.

The FCC adopted an NPRM Wednesday on FY 2019 regulatory fees that had been slated for Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting. It's deleted from Thursday’s agenda, said a notice of deletion.

The FCC shouldn’t raise the national TV ownership cap and or relax local TV ownership rules without studying the impact on race and gender ownership diversity, said the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and several diversity and anti-consolidation groups in a meeting Friday with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, per a filing Wednesday in docket 09-182. The groups, which included the United Church of Christ Communications Office, Communications Workers of America and Common Cause, praised Rosenworcel’s support of the Lifeline program, and expressed support for previous FCC efforts to cap prison phone rates. The groups said they support "legislation to return authority to the FCC to continue that effort.”

The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board re-established a phone line for viewer complaints, said NAB, NCTA and MPAA in a letter to the FCC posted Tuesday in docket 19-41 (see 1903130061). Also that day, ratings revision proponent the Parents Television Council delivered 1,400 petitions in the proceeding, said a PTC news release. The FCC’s report to Congress on the TV ratings system is due May 15. The agency should “carefully weigh” the large number of comments from the public “against the lone, hypocritical voices of entertainment industry lobbyists,” said PTC President Tim Winter in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai delivered along with the petitions. NAB, NCTA and MPAA rotate leadership of the oversight body, with NCTA President Michael Powell currently heading the board. The phone line was disconnected in 2017 “due to lack of use” but restored in response to comments in the TV ratings proceeding about consumers’ ability to contact the board. The Monitoring Board “is committed to reviewing its processes in response to feedback received in this proceeding. We will continue to assess such input and pursue any additional steps that may be appropriate,” the letter said. The PTC petitions ask the FCC to hold public hearings on improving the ratings system. Though PTC conceded the scope of the FCC report was “narrowly defined by Congress,” it could still be “a catalyst for positive change,” Winter said.

Creating a national, government-sponsored wholesale 5G network makes no sense and wouldn’t work, blogged FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Tuesday. President Donald Trump last month opposed a government-backed network in favor of private industry investment (see 1904120065). “This entire effort seems convoluted and borders on the preposterous,” O’Rielly said: “Just the notion of the U.S. moving away from the highly-successful, private-sector led approach that is responsible for our country’s premier position globally would be a serious misstep. In essence, it would throw a monkey wrench into one of the greatest success stories in the history of technology.” Among the problems with such a network is no spectrum band is available, he said. “In an ever-increasingly wireless world, each megahertz is being strenuously fought over,” he said: There's also “no way to require any provider to use a wholesale wireless network. Without a mandate, it means that any use will have to be completely voluntary.” The government also would have difficulty finding tower companies that could build the network and it would provide no guarantees of security, O’Rielly said. “For those worried about the communist Chinese government’s influence and resulting harmful effects, it is nearly impossible to see how hamstringing the U.S. market with a government-sponsored network will convince other countries to take similar action,” he said: “Shooting oneself in the foot rarely leads others to do the same.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau is meeting with communications providers to learn about their preparations for this year’s hurricane season, blogged Chief Lisa Fowlkes Monday. The bureau also is conducting “exercises” with government entities to prepare for the storm season, she said. The agency is also examining the impacts of previous storms, Fowlkes said, citing re-examination of the wireless resiliency cooperative framework. The agency is encouraging industry participation in the Disaster Information Reporting Network, the staffer wrote. Fowlkes urged state and local emergency officials to review emergency alerting best practices and plans and she plugged the FCC’s June 28 workshop on multilingual alerting. “We also encourage the use of multilingual alerting to reach non-English-speaking communities,” Fowlkes said. EAS officials don’t expect the commission to require multilingual alerting soon (see 1904240021).

Attorneys general of 42 states said the FCC should adopt proposed rules for curbing spoofed robocalls. Commissioners approved the rulemaking 5-0 in February, implementing part of Ray Baum's Act (see 1902140039). Other commenters urged caution. “It is evident that the explosive growth of caller ID spoofing and robocalls is being driven primarily by scams,” the AGs replied, posted Monday in docket 18-335. Experts estimated by the end of 2018, U.S. consumers would have received 40 billion robocalls, the group said: “Unfortunately, the problem appears to have been even worse than predicted. The industry estimates that 47.8 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. in 2018, a 56.8 percent increase over 2017.” Incompas supported rules but urged the FCC to make sure they apply only to “illegitimate activity and instances of fraud without discriminating against legitimate uses and competition.” Competitive carriers offer “a wide range of legitimate use cases that are driven by consumer demands which must be considered both by the Commission and industry as the two aim to cooperatively develop solutions to the problems of illegal robocalls and malicious caller ID spoofing,” Incompas said. EZ Texting said the rules must be narrowly written to “target illegitimate spoofing while leaving legitimate caller ID modification intact.” In some legitimate cases, companies alter ID information, EZ Texting said. “Domestic violence shelters may need to alter their caller ID information to ensure the safety of domestic violence victims,” the company said: Ride-hailing services frequently use a “temporary phone number to facilitate communication between drivers and passengers, while protecting drivers and passengers from further contact after the ride has finished.”