Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen should become permanent chair over Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, said Technology Policy Institute President emeritus Thomas Lenard in an opinion piece Friday for Morning Consult. Lenard said it appears that Reyes (see 1702220046) is being considered for the post not just because he's an outsider but also because of his "desire" to reopen an FTC investigation closed in 2013 (see 1503260030) into Google's alleged anticompetitive behavior, citing The Wall Street Journal. "Choosing candidates because of their views on a specific company is not a good precedent for a law-enforcement agency that is supposed to make evidence-based decisions," said Lenard. He said it would "taint" Reyes if appointed because he'd be viewed as favoring some companies over others and any Google probe may be perceived as politically motivated. Lenard said most successful FTC chairmen such as James Miller, Timothy Muris and William Kovacic, all Republicans, have had Washington experience, and the president "could hardly do better than Ohlhausen.”

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau gave Jewish community centers an emergency waiver Friday so they can trace bomb threats. The JCCs sought a waiver of 64.1601(b) of rules, “which prohibits terminating carriers from passing the calling party number (CPN) to a called party where a privacy indicator has been triggered by the caller,” a public notice said. “Access to the CPN could assist in identifying individuals placing threatening calls to those facilities.” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., sought action in a waiver request and an FCC spokesman had said Chairman Ajit Pai was "very concerned" about the threats (see 1703010065). Schumer indicated 69 threats have been made to 54 JCCs in 27 states since the beginning of 2017, the bureau said. “Given the exigent circumstances and number of recent threats cited, we separately grant, on an emergency and temporary basis, a waiver of section 64.1601(b) as applied to threatening calls made to JCC facilities,” the bureau said. “We seek comment herein on whether to extend that waiver on a permanent basis, including ways to best facilitate the ability of law enforcement to identify individuals making such threatening calls while maintaining the privacy of callers who utilize CPN blocking for lawful purposes.” Comments are due in docket 91-281 March 17, replies March 24. "I am pleased that we are taking quick action to address this issue and hope that this waiver will help Jewish Community Centers, telecommunications carriers, and law enforcement agencies track down the perpetrators of these crimes," Pai said in a statement. Schumer applauds "the FCC’s decision to grant a special waiver to targeted JCCs, which will help us track down and identify perpetrators making threatening calls that frighten communities and waste the precious resources of local law enforcement,” he responded. "Already, one suspect has been taken into custody and I am hopeful today’s decision will help catch and deter any future copycats. All communities and entities targeted by intimidation and fear deserve access to all of the tools needed to ensure these criminals are brought to justice."

The FCC imposes more costly information collection requirements on companies than do other agencies, and it doesn’t adequately monitor paperwork burdens its rules create, said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly in a blog post Friday. According to the Office of Management and Budget, “as of the end of February, the FCC has 423 active collections demanding 457,355,706 responses each year requiring a total of 73,200,049 hours to complete at a total cost of $798,204,803.” The agency with the next highest such cost is the Department of Agriculture with $397,848,225, O’Rielly said. “While I support data driven decision making and the need to ensure accountability, I have to question how much of this cost is truly justified,” O’Rielly said. “I’ve observed that every new FCC policy seems to require a brand new data collection.” The commission should act to remove paperwork burdens that it knows are duplicative or unnecessary, O’Rielly said. The FCC also should “complete a holistic data review” to determine which collections are needed or could be streamlined. “I am also troubled that the Commission does not currently track burdens by industry segment or even by size,” O’Rielly said. The Office of Communications Business Opportunities doesn’t track the paperwork burden on each type of small business regulated by the FCC, and that data should be tracked going forward, O’Rielly said. The FCC should also “enthusiastically embrace -- whether required to do so or voluntarily” a White House Executive Order that would create regulatory reform officers and task forces, O’Rielly said. “While seemingly repetitive of efforts already underway, it has some unique proprieties that could generate new reform ideas not considered or explored before.” The FCC "must be careful not to place undue burdens on companies whether in specific rulemakings, or as the product of cumulative Commission actions,” O'Rielly said.

The timing of the federal government's award of a contract to build FirstNet remains unclear, as Rivada Mercury had its day in court Friday, said public safety consultant Andrew Seybold in an email blast. Judge Elaine Kaplan of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims heard argument in the case Friday. Rivada claims its proposal was wrongly excluded from the procurement’s "competitive range." Filings in the case were sealed by the court (see 1702210062) and the arguments were closed to the public, a court official said. If the federal government wins, “it is possible an award could be made soon after the verdict is announced,” Seybold said. “However, if Rivada indicates it might take the matter to the next level of the justice system, the feds may feel they have to, once again, wait for that to play out. It is my belief that if Rivada pursues the next legal steps, the outcome, regardless of who wins, will be dismal for Rivada.” If Rivada wins, “there will be another delay while those reviewing the contract for the federal government will have to consider Rivada’s [request for proposals] response and weigh the response against what is believed to be the only other RFP that has been moved to the final stage,” Seybold said. “After that is completed, there should be an award soon after and, hopefully, the losing entity will respect the final outcome and not cause any more delays to the process.” AT&T is seen by most as the likely choice to build FirstNet and the only company still in the running if the Mercury challenge fails (see 1702020056). Kaplan denied a request by Warren Communications News that the arguments in the case (1:16-cv-01559) be opened to the public. Kaplan said in an order it would not be “practicable” to open only parts of the arguments where proprietary information isn’t discussed.

The FCC will seek comment on axing the annual reports that international telecom services (ITS) providers have to file about revenue and traffic for international voice services, international miscellaneous services and international common carrier private lines, under an NPRM commissioners are scheduled to vote on at their March 23 meeting, according to the agenda issued Thursday. The FCC said the costs of that data collection "now exceed the benefits of the information." In the draft NPRM, the FCC asks if it eliminates the traffic and revenue reports, and what data and information it then would need to address any anticompetitive conduct on a U.S.-international route that hurts U.S. carriers or consumers. The NPRM also would have the agency seek comment on streamlining or modifying the annual ITS reports they must file identifying submarine cable, satellite and terrestrial capacity between the U.S. and internationally. In the draft NPRM, it asks such questions as whether the FCC should limit its data collection to route-by-route data from facilities-based carriers. The complete draft was released Thursday, as was the case for all items set for votes at the meeting (see 1703020076).

The FCC explained bid weights and other decisions on a planned reverse auction of $1.98 billion in Connect America Fund Phase II subsidies over 10 years for fixed broadband services, in an order released Thursday in docket 10-90, a week after approval (see 1702230019). Less bid weight helps in a reverse auction awarding funds to low bids and the order's weights favor higher speeds, higher usage allowances and lower latency: 65 for a "minimum" tier (10/1 Mbps), 45 for "baseline" (25/3 Mbps), 15 for "above baseline" (100/20 Mbps) and zero for "gigabit" (1 Gbps/500 Mbps), with 25 for high-latency and zero for low-latency service. The two lower-speed tiers have monthly usage allowance requirements of at least 150 GB and the two higher-speed tiers have 2 TB minimum allowances. Some parties urged a narrower spread between weights, but the order said: "Bids placed in the higher tiers will not necessarily win because of the generally greater costs of deploying a higher capacity network at higher speeds. Bids placed for lower speeds and usage allowances will still have the opportunity to compete for support, but will have to be particularly cost-effective to compete with higher tier bids." The agency declined to adopt preferences for certain states (where large telcos declined funding offers) or tribal lands, but it prioritized funding for such states in a Remote Areas Fund (RAF) auction to occur one year after the CAF II auction (not yet scheduled). Noting the FCC previously made $170 million available to New York to supplement its own broadband subsidy auction, the order said no other state demonstrated it has a similar program. ITTA emailed that the bid weights "came down to a balancing between two policy goals: maximizing breadth of deployment v. funding 'future-proof' networks," and it expressed disappointment the FCC majority emphasized the latter: "This outcome puts tremendous pressure on the underfunded RAF to ensure that broadband can reach those consumers who will remain unserved under the scheme adopted by the majority.” NTCA Senior Vice President Mike Romano was pleased to see "how seriously the FCC took accountability and apparently intends to examine further how best to confirm that providers can live up to their bids.”

The FCC invited input on requests to reinstate Lifeline broadband provider designations that were revoked by a Feb. 3 staff order (see 1702030070). Comments are due March 16, replies March 23 on a reconsideration letter from almost 40 groups (see 1702230011) and an appeal from Spot On Networks, an ex-LBP designee, the Wireline Bureau said in public notices (here and here) Thursday in docket 11-42. Free Press Deputy Director Jessica Gonzalez said in a statement: “If Chairman [Ajit] Pai is serious about bridging the digital divide, this is a good first step toward making amends. Once the comments come in, Pai should overturn his bureau’s action rescinding these Lifeline Broadband Provider designations. He should also commit unequivocally to swiftly implementing the Lifeline Modernization Order and rejecting any further efforts to undermine Lifeline. Thus far, his overtures on connecting poor people and people of color have been insincere." An FCC spokesman emailed: "This is the normal process for any petition for reconsideration. The Commission always welcomes and reviews public comment. In fact, the importance of that process was a factor in the rescission decisions because two of the designated providers had been approved in the middle of the 30-day period for public comment." Pai defended the LBP revocations last month (see 1702070062). Ex-LBPs Boomerang Wireless and STS Media filed letters (here and here) seeking Lifeline designations in states where the FCC has wireless "eligible telecom carrier" jurisdiction. A Sprint filing backed TracFone's request for clarification of Lifeline minimum broadband service standards: "Sprint urges the Commission to clarify that, under rules and policies adopted in the Lifeline Modernization Order, Wi-Fi service does not satisfy the mobile BIAS minimum data allotment requirement, and that the device provided by the service provider to its Lifeline subscriber must be 3G-capable and configured in order for that subscriber to be classified as a broadband customer. The Commission should also clarify that the 12-month broadband port freeze must be removed from the accounts of end users who were incorrectly classified as broadband customers.”

The FCC Thursday released the text of its contested order granting ISPs with fewer than 250,000 customers a waiver of the enhanced transparency requirements in the 2015 net neutrality order. Commissioners approved the order last week, over Commissioner Mignon Clyburn's strong objections (see 1702230058). Clyburn said the FCC was giving “billion dollar public companies” a break at the expense of consumers. The order lays out in more detail the legal justification for the waiver. Waiver is “appropriate if special circumstances warrant a deviation from the general rule and such deviation will serve the public interest,” the order said. “Based on the record of these proceedings, there is substantial evidence that smaller providers -- which can serve as vital sources of broadband throughout the country -- would face real disincentives to deploying, maintaining, or upgrading that broadband infrastructure in light of the initial costs associated with the enhanced requirements.” A five-year “temporary” waiver will give smaller ISPs “the regulatory certainty necessary for them to invest in broadband infrastructure,” the FCC said. “The temporary waiver will provide the Commission with an opportunity to revisit the costs and benefits associated with those requirements.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is "very concerned" about bomb threats to Jewish community centers across the country, a spokesman said in a statement Wednesday responding to a waiver request from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "These threats have instilled fear and disrupted lives throughout the United States, and Chairman Pai condemns such anti-Semitic acts in the strongest possible terms. The FCC is actively exploring what steps the FCC can take quickly to help Jewish Community Centers and law enforcement combat these threats.” The commission also sent a tweet. Jewish-affiliated organizations have seen a number of recent incidents of vandalism, bomb threats and other crimes that some contend are hate crimes. To help address threatening calls in a New York community last year, the commission in April granted the Enlarged City School District of Middletown a waiver from a phone rule prohibiting terminating carriers from passing on a calling party's number when that party has made a privacy request. That was intended to help security and law enforcement personnel respond rapidly to threatening calls, subject to certain privacy safeguards (see 1604140043).

The local number portability administrator transition remains on schedule for now, said a North American Portability Management monthly status report posted Wednesday in FCC docket 09-109. "Although one or more transition milestone dates may be adjusted as appropriate to mitigate risk, the previously published dates remain accurate, and the transition is currently on track to meet the Final Acceptance Date of May 25, 2018," said NAPM, which the FCC tasked with overseeing the LNP administrator change from Neustar to Telcordia/iconectiv. "Lack of agreement on key transition requirements has prevented certain transition plans from being finalized." It cited three issues listed the month before, plus a new one on "approval of a pooling change order" needed for Neustar to develop an interface.