The FCC will hear a presentation on the Connect America Fund Phase II auction of subsidies for fixed broadband and voice services, and its results (see 1808280035), said the agenda Wednesday for the September 26 commissioners' meeting.

The number of cable and wireline subscribers out of service because of Hurricane Florence slightly declined Wednesday, after rising sharply earlier in the week, said the FCC disaster information reporting system report. Wednesday’s report shows 283,327 subscribers out of service in North Carolina, down from 285,725 Tuesday. (see 1809180058). South Carolina’s outages dropped to 29,104 from 30,053. Out-of-service cellsites in the area hardest hit by the storm improved from 4.1 percent to 2.2 percent. There were still two public safety answering points in North Carolina and one in South Carolina rerouting 911 calls to other PSAPs. There were still three out of service TV stations in North Carolina and twenty-three FM stations and three AM stations were listed as out. Late Wednesday, the Public Safety Bureau deactivated DIRS for Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The system remains active for North Carolina.

The FCC is "poised to examine and reconsider" how it combats illegal robocalling under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Chairman Ajit Pai said, responding to Reps. David McKinley, R-W.Va., Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and Ken Buck, R-Colo., in exchanges posted (here, here, here) Tuesday in docket 18-5. Citing various anti-robocalling efforts, he said it's "time for the Commission to establish robust consumer protections in line with federal law," given a March U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling that struck down key parts of a 2015 agency order interpreting TCPA provisions (see 1803160053). "As I predicted in my dissent, the last Administration's order has left both the American customer and American enterprise worse off," he wrote. "This cannot possibly be what Congress intended." He noted that the FCC in May "sought comment on the definition of an 'automatic telephone dialing system,' the treatment of calls to reassigned numbers, and the scope of a consumer's right to revoke prior express consent to receive robocalls." It also sought further comment "on reconsidering the Broadnet decision and the 2016 Federal Debt Collection Rules, as well as the interplay between the Broadnet decision and the Budget Act amendments," he added. In an exchange with Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., Pai defended the FCC's recent adoption of one-touch, make-ready pole attachments as facilitating broadband deployment while protecting worker safety and the public (see 1808020034). The agency "is heading forward, not backward," he wrote. "We're favoring competition, not the status quo. We're pressing for gigabit fiber, not fading copper. We're embracing the promise of new entrants that want nothing more than a chance to compete, not the fears of incumbents who always find a way to say no."

Initial applications to bid in the FCC’s first high-band spectrum auctions were due 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The agency eventually will publish a list of short-form applications, both those deemed complete and incomplete. The 28 GHz auction starts Nov. 14 and 24 GHz auction about one month after completion of the 28 GHz auction. Cowen’s Paul Gallant wrote investors earlier Tuesday that one big question is whether Dish Network will jump in. “If Dish submits an application, it could complicate any merger or spectrum sale discussions with wireless carriers” because of anti-collusion rules, he noted: But talks are still possible as long as a company “cordons off its bidding team from its deal team.” Gallant is also watching other non-carriers that file applications. “No pre-auction analysis would be complete without noting the distant possibility of Amazon, Google or some other deep-pocketed, non-traditional bidder jumping in,” he said. Dish has gone big in other auctions, especially the AWS-3 and TV incentive auctions.

The pace of broadband progress and how it's measured sparked further divisions on the FCC Telecom Act Section 706 inquiry into whether advanced telecom capability (ATC) is being deployed in a reasonable and timely way. Many comments were posted Tuesday in docket 18-238, including over fixed and mobile service distinctions (see 1809170044). Telco and cable incumbents generally said broadband-like ATC is being rolled out adequately, and 5G wireless will bring new advances. Rivals and others cited shortcomings and urged the agency to increase its ATC speed benchmark. The FCC's last 706 report made a positive ATC determination, kept a 25/3 Mbps fixed benchmark and concluded mobile isn't a full substitute for fixed (see 1802050002). Broadband investment and deployment are robust, in part due to light-touch regulation, commented USTelecom. AT&T and Verizon also hailed ATC buildout. AT&T said "mobile broadband is a functional substitute for fixed broadband," and Verizon said providers "stand at the precipice of game-changing 5G network deployments." CTIA called mobile broadband deployment reasonable and timely. NCTA and the American Cable Association urged a positive ATC determination, and they, ITTA, the Wireless ISP Association, Adtran and others backed maintaining the 25/3 Mbps fixed standard. Despite the progress, incumbents said the regulator could do more to spur broadband, but Common Cause and Public Knowledge said recent FCC actions "widened the digital divide." The Communications Workers of America said the pace of broadband deployment isn't reasonable and timely, with more than 24 million Americans lacking access and more lacking high-speed wired connections. Incompas said it's "time to be bold" and raise the benchmark to 1 Gbps, while CWA and others backed 100 Mbps. CWA, Incompas, WISPA, ITTA, rural groups and others said mobile isn't an adequate substitute for fixed. NTCA said only existing, not possible future, services should determine the ATC finding. The Fiber Broadband Association urged a focus on "all-fiber connectivity" and a "holistic approach" factoring in service reliability and latency. ViaSat and SES Americom plugged satellite broadband. New America's Open Technology Institute, Microsoft and others said Form 477 broadband data is flawed and sought fixes and use of other sources. Free Press urged inclusion of data from Puerto Rico and other storm-struck areas and said the FCC should "abandon" proposals to "gut" Lifeline USF. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance cited broadband adoption and affordability as critical and voiced concern about "evidence of AT&T's digital redlining."

Hurricane Florence continues to affect communications primarily in North Carolina, but also in South Carolina said Tuesday’s FCC disaster information reporting system report. There were 285,725 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in North Carolina, an increase of nearly 100,000 from Monday (see 1809170046). South Carolina’s outages increased by close to 25,000 to 30,053. Out-of service cellsites in the area hit by the storm improved from 6 percent to 4.1 percent. Two public safety answering points in North Carolina and one in South Carolina are having their 911 calls rerouted to other PSAPs. The report lists three TV stations out of service, all in North Carolina. Twenty-two FM stations and four AM stations are listed as out, also mainly in North Carolina. The Wireless Bureau granted a 30-day waiver request to allow amateur radio operators assisting with the recovery efforts around Hurricane Florence (HF) to send higher speed data transmission, said an order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. “The request is made by ARRL [the American Radio Relay League] to enable licensed radio amateurs who are directly involved with HF hurricane relief communications to better serve the affected areas.”

FCC FY 2018 regulatory fees are now in effect, says a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. To avoid interest or penalties, they need to be paid by Sept. 25. Changes to rules about collection of delinquent debts take effect Oct. 1, it says. The FCC adopted the fee structure in August (see 1808290061).

North American Numbering Council member Courtney Neville is associate general counsel, Competitive Carriers Association (see 1809130031).

Parties differed on whether the FCC should distinguish between fixed and mobile services in its latest Telecom Act Section 706 inquiry into the state of advanced telecom capability deployment. Comments were due Monday in docket 18-238 on a notice of inquiry (see 1808100040). "By looking separately at fixed and mobile broadband, the Commission’s approach lacks technological neutrality, thus perpetuating the outdated, siloed version of the communications industry that has bedeviled the Commission’s work in recent decades," said the R Street Institute. The group said the agency should evaluate broadband deployment by "looking only at the objective metrics of consumers’ broadband service -- such as throughput, latency, price and data caps -- rather than at the technologies used to deliver such service." The Internet Innovation Alliance said fixed and mobile distinctions "no longer matter to U.S. consumers," who are "willing to switch to mobile-only Internet access." The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable was among those seeking to maintain fixed and mobile distinctions. "The Commission should continue to conclude that mobile services are not full substitutes for fixed services," it said. "Consumers and businesses rely on both fixed and mobile broadband services, often using both in distinct ways." The Free State Foundation backed "continued use of the 25 Mbps upload/3 Mbps download speeds for defining fixed broadband services and for using LTE coverage with minimum speeds of 5 Mbps upload/1 Mbps download for defining mobile broadband services." It said the "available data supports another affirmative deployment determination in the Commission’s upcoming report."

Hurricane Florence is affecting communications primarily in North Carolina, but South Carolina also is feeling the effects, said Monday’s FCC disaster information reporting system report. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that South Carolina is eligible for federal disaster funds. The FCC report shows 187, 885 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in North Carolina, up from 164,892 in Sunday’s report. South Carolina outages are down to 5,073, compared with 5,883 from Sunday. Six percent of cellsites in the storm-affected area are out of service, but the affected sites are concentrated in North Carolina, the report said. Onslow County, on North Carolina’s coast, has more than 50 percent of cellsites down, the report said. Three public safety answering points in North Carolina are having their 911 calls rerouted to other PSAPs, the report said. The report lists five TV stations out of service, all in North Carolina. Twenty-five FM stations and three AM stations are listed as out, also concentrated in North Carolina. Three radio groups are working together to provide emergency information in Spanish in South Carolina communities affected by the storm, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the League of United Latin American Citizens. Cumulus Media, Spanish Broadcasting System and Dick Broadcasting responded to a request from MMTC and LULAC for emergency broadcasts targeted at Spanish speakers affected by the storm. SBS is providing the Spanish-language emergency information for Cumulus and Dick to broadcast, the release said. “The 22,000 Hispanic residents of the Myrtle Beach radio market and 21,000 Hispanic residents of the Hilton Head radio market are receiving life-saving information.” Frontier Communications has resumed full operations in its service areas with repair and customer contact employees returning to work in South Carolina, and didn’t cease providing repair and installation service to North Carolina, said release Monday. Charter Communications brought in additional supplies before the storm and opened more than 5,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in affected areas, it blogged Saturday. : We have approximately 14,000 employees and three million subscribers in the parts of North and South Carolina that are in the path of Hurricane Florence." Florence postponed Thursday's emergency alerting test (see 1809170035).