Industry, state officials and advocacy organizations welcomed FCC proposals aimed at closing a loophole in robocall rules and addressing Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-97 (see 2303160061). Most commenters agreed the commission should allow use of third-party authentication solutions without minimal restrictions.
The telecom industry warned California regulators not to overstep, in Friday comments on three rulemakings at the California Public Utilities Commission. Litigation is likely if the CPUC ramps up VoIP regulation, said internet-based phone providers in docket R.22-08-008. Meanwhile, in docket R.23-04-006, video franchise holders said there’s no need to revamp how they’re treated under the state’s Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA). Consumer groups fail to support their calls for stricter and more widely applied service-quality metrics for voice, said telecom groups in reply comments in R.22-03-016.
The FCC released the second iteration of its new broadband availability maps Tuesday, showing more than 8.3 million homes and businesses lack access to high-speed broadband. It also shows a net increase of more than 1 million new serviceable locations from the initial map. It's "the most accurate depiction of broadband availability in the FCC’s history," NTIA said in a blog. The agency will rely on the maps for its broadband, equity, access and deployment program allocations.
Mintz names Reza Dokhanchy, ex-Kirkland & Ellis, a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice … NCTA names Mansoor Abdul Khadir, ex-Democratic National Committee, associate vice president-external affairs, and Michael Pauls, from USTelecom, vice president-government relations.
USTelecom sought redesignation of its Industry Traceback Group as the FCC's registered traceback consortium, in a letter posted Friday in docket 20-22 (see 2208220055). The group said its tracebacks "aid in the ongoing fight against fraudulent, abusive, and unlawful robocalls in several ways," noting ITG data resulted in "an eight-fold decline in the number of student loan robocalls over the course of 2022." The ITG "continues successfully to meet the criteria established in the Traced Act for the registered consortium" and its track record "demonstrates that it remains the right entity for the role," USTelecom said.
Attorneys general from 48 states and the District of Columbia sued Avid Telecom, owner Michael Lansky and Vice President Stacey Reeves for illegal robocalls, per a complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona (docket 4:23-cv-00233). Avid didn't comment. According to the complaint, Avid violated the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and state laws in 11 states in facilitating billions of illegal robocalls for years via the company's VoIP services. Avid received more than 329 notifications from the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group (ITG) putting it on notice that it was transmitting illegal robocalls, said the complaint. The states allege Avid "knew or consciously avoided knowing they were routing illegal robocall traffic." In the complaint, they ask for an injunction and damages for each illegal call.
Rural healthcare program (RHC) participants and industry continued to back the FCC's efforts to modify the program's rate methodologies, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-310 (see 2304250074). Some urged the FCC to facilitate competitive bidding and a copayment structure in the telecom program and Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) rather than revert to the commission's previous rates database.
The U.S. government’s national standards strategy for critical and emerging technology (CET), unveiled earlier this month, is helpful but won’t fundamentally change how standards are developed, speakers said Tuesday on a USTelecom webinar. The experts said the strategy is explicit that industry should play a lead role. The strategy is complementary to the national cybersecurity strategy, also released this year (see 2303020051), they said.
FCC commissioners approved a report and order 4-0 Thursday on rules for the 60 GHz band and new call blocking requirements addressing robocalls, a recurring focus of the commission. Both items had minimal changes from drafts circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2304270077), FCC officials said.
A California bill aimed at streamlining broadband permitting at the local level advanced to the Assembly floor Wednesday. The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted unanimously at a livestreamed meeting for AB-965, which would allow simultaneous processing of multiple broadband permit applications for similar project sites under a single permit, and require local governments to decide applications within a “presumptively reasonable time." Assemblymember Juan Carillo (D), the bill’s sponsor, said localities “will still maintain full control.” The bill would force localities to make a decision, said Dan Schweizer, Crown Castle director-external affairs. "Many local jurisdictions continue to process broadband permits one at a time, limit permit batching or have the permits go through several different departments at various times, which unnecessarily delays an already bureaucratic process." The bill means Californians will get coverage in “months instead of years,” he said. Other supporters include CTIA, USTelecom, Frontier Communications, Consolidated Communications and the California Broadband and Video Association. California city and county groups oppose the bill, which they say will make it more profitable to build in dense markets but won’t spur deployment in unserved areas, noted a committee analysis released Monday.