The FCC granted Verizon's request for an extension waiver of its 180-day reserve number rule, said an order in Friday's Daily Digest.
The FCC is seeking comments by March 15, replies by March 30, in docket 20-425 on the National Exchange Carrier Association's proposed modifications to interstate average schedule formulas for settlement disbursements, a public notice said Friday.
Revisit the FCC 2011 rulemaking on videoconferencing requirements of the Communications and Video Accessibility Act, accessibility advocates asked FCC staff, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 10-213. Representatives of the Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, National Association of the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America, Gallaudet University Technology Access Program, American Council of the Blind and American Foundation for the Blind attended. "As people move from conversing over phone calls to video conferences, users who are accustomed to connection through relay services cannot participate in this mode of calling as they previously did," they said. Open a docket to facilitate wireline real-time text and interoperability between wireless and wireline RTT, because calls to emergency numbers, for example, can't accept RTT messages, they said: "Especially in light of the prevalence of mental health issues over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is frightening that deaf and hard of hearing people cannot access 988 and 911 services" (see 2101270051).
Reverse unbundling network element rules based on "material errors in fact and law, omissions, and unsupported findings," Sonic Telecom asked the FCC in a petition for reconsideration in docket 19-308 posted Tuesday (see 2101070021). The rules were "based on data it knew is untrustworthy and unsubstantiated theories and predictions," Sonic argued, and its compromise proposal didn't include any fiber-to-the-home builder serving urban areas. The regulations were a product of "many months of good faith negotiations and significant give and take on both sides" and endorsed by the FCC in a bipartisan manner, a USTelecom spokesperson emailed: "At the eleventh hour a single company is seeking to upend this historic agreement and clog the FCC’s busy docket on what is a settled matter. That is their right, but we have a solid framework in place.”
Reconsider net neutrality rules, Public Knowledge petitioned for FCC reconsideration Monday. Incompas filed similar last week (see 2102050042). The commission "failed to follow proper procedure" when it issued a public notice to "refresh" the record rather than adopt an NPRM, PK argued. "In its rush to get its deregulatory orders out the door, the commission cut many procedural corners," said Kathleen Burke, PK policy counsel, in a statement: "This alone provides ground for the FCC to reopen and reverse its previous determinations."
Reinstate broadband internet access service's Title II telecom service classification and reestablish net neutrality rules, Incompas asked the FCC in a docket 17-108 filing emailed Friday. Larger providers have "the incentive and ability to harm competition and consumers as they have done in the past and will continue to do so in the future" if the commission doesn't reinstate the rules under Communications Act Title II, Incompas said in its petition for reconsideration on the commission's 2017 net neutrality repeal (see 2101070067). "It's time for the FCC to right a wrong, look to the future, and listen to the overwhelming majority of Americans who support bipartisan open internet protections," said CEO Chip Pickering.
The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comment by Feb. 20 on Zoom's request to access North American numbering plan phone numbers in Arizona and Georgia, a public notice said Friday on docket 20-419.
The FCC Wireline Bureau announced additional details about its upcoming roundtable on the emergency broadband benefit program in a public notice Friday (see 2101280035). All commissioners are expected to give opening remarks. The Feb. 12 event will be divided into two 50-minute Q&A panels. The first will address outreach and consumer enrollment with CTIA, Microsoft Airband, Cherokee Nation, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Comcast, National Consumer Law Center and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. The second panel will address broadband provider participation and "maximizing consumers' choice of robust broadband to meet their current needs" with Starry, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, AT&T, NCTA, NTCA, Navajo Nation and Next Century Cities.
The FCC is seeking comment by Feb. 18, replies by Feb. 25, on Zona's request for transfer of control to Wyyerd, said a public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest on docket 21-25.
The North American Numbering Council met Thursday to discuss costs, feasibility and consumer privacy issues of the 988 suicide prevention hotline that goes live in July 2022. Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel thanked NANC for its work on this front: “I’m glad the FCC has been working on it for years and glad for the work my predecessor has done on it as well.” The commission is required to submit a report to Congress by April that includes 988 geolocation (see 2101130051). NANC members largely agreed that additional discussion is needed about the technological challenges, policy issues and potential costs before making a recommendation. Wireline voice service providers have a “significant history” of providing location information for a 911 call, but “it’s not just as easy as leveraging that system and flipping a switch” for the hotline, said Kristine Hackman, USTelecom vice president-policy and advocacy. Privacy concerns about automatic location information “warrant further consideration” by the commission, said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs. “There are privacy questions and a lot of folks saying people in a mental health crisis want to maintain their privacy,” Gerst said: “It’s not the same as a 911 call.” Time can be “critically of the essence” for a call placed to a crisis center, said James Wright, acting deputy director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line, and at times, there can be a “significant challenge” in trying to identify a caller's location. Operational questions must be answered on how a 988 call affects callers because it's a “highly complex issue,” said Comcast's Tim Kagele, co-chair of the North American Portability Management (see 2101110055). He cited call routing. It’s important to understand what's necessary to facilitate a call and how it’s used appropriately, said Philip Linse, Lumen director-public policy. Call centers might need the ability to transfer a call placed to 911 that involves a mental health crisis, Linse said. Glenn Clepper, Charter director-regulatory, said the FCC should have industry experts to identify operational requirements. The commission could consider using a general fund to cover operational costs instead of applying fees to telecom services or on access lines or channels rather than phone numbers and capping the total number of lines per customer in which a state should impose fees, Clepper said.