Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson plans to emphasize at a Wednesday hearing that her office is “committed to oversight” of the $48 billion in broadband funding under NTIA’s administration from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Subpanel Republicans aim for the House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing to criticize what they view as excessive spending via IIJA and other measures (see 2303230077). Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., meanwhile, led refiling of the Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act in a bid to revamp USF's funding mechanism (see 2112220072). Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., led a House companion measure.
Most commenters agree the FCC doesn’t have legal authority under the Communications Act to regulate data breaches beyond customer proprietary network information (CPNI), CTIA said in reply comments on a January NPRM on revised rules for wireless carriers to report breaches (see 2301060057). Most commenters also supported a harm-based trigger for notifications. But the FCC faced increasing pressure to take bold action to protect consumer data.
A coalition of industry groups raised concerns about certain consumer broadband label requirements, in a meeting with FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. USTelecom, CTIA, ACA Connects, NTCA and NCTA said the requirement that providers display pass-through fees from government agencies is "an unwarranted departure from the commission’s approach in 2016 and adds unnecessary complexity to the label for providers and consumers," per an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-2. The groups asked the FCC to grant its petition clarifying that providers can satisfy this requirement by providing an explanatory statement saying such fees may apply. They also asked that providers be allowed to satisfy the requirement that they document instances when a customer is directed to the label at an alternate sales channel by "developing appropriate business practices to promote distribution of the label through alternative sales channels and retaining documentation of these practices and any associated training materials for two years."
Talks on a broadcasting protection treaty remained stalled after a March 13-17 World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meeting, stakeholders said. Some "progress towards finding common ground" was made on several issues, according to the chair's summary, but there were no breakthroughs.
Industry groups and ISPs asked the FCC to refrain from adopting significant changes to its broadband consumer labels, in reply comments posted Friday in docket 22-2 (see 2302170046). Some urged the FCC to allow providers to fully implement the labels and analyze their usefulness before considering modifications. Consumer advocates sought additional information about pricing and speed data, with some raising concerns about the use of hyperlinks.
An FCC robotexting order approved Thursday (see 2303160061) and posted Friday interjects a changed focus from “unwanted” text messages to “potentially harmful” and “unlawful” texts. Officials said Thursday the order included “minor” tweaks addressing changes sought by Commissioner Brendan Carr and industry. CTIA was able to get several changes it sought, based on a side-by-side comparison. Commissioners made few changes to a Stir/Shaken order, also released Friday.
Industry groups and broadband experts want flexibility in the buy American provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, per comments to OMB posted through Tuesday in docket OMB-2023-0004-0001. OMB sought comments on proposed revisions and clarifications to the IIJA's Build America, Buy America Act provisions. Some raised concerns about how the requirements could affect broadband deployment projects funded through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program and backed establishing a waiver process.
An order and Further NPRM on improving how Stir/Shaken works as a tool against unwanted and illegal robocalls is expected to be approved by FCC commissioners Thursday, potentially with a few tweaks addressing the handful of concerns raised by industry, industry officials said.
USTelecom backed the Technology Channel Sales Professionals Association's petition for declaratory ruling on certain rural healthcare program rules. The group sought clarification of the prohibition of the use of consultants or third-party sales agents that have a financial stake in a provider (see 2203030054). Absent the change, USTelecom said its members participating in the program "cannot retain commissioned third-party sales agents for sales and services to health care providers that participate in the RHC program," per a letter posted Monday in docket 17-310.
USTelecom representatives sought clarification on two aspects of the draft Stir/Shaken order, scheduled for a vote at the FCC commissioners’ March 16 meeting (see 2302230059), in calls with the Wireline Bureau and staff for the four commissioners. The draft “recognizes the role that contracts will play in intermediate providers’ compliance with the new signing requirement,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-97: “Consistent with the Draft Order’s rejection of a strict liability standard, the Commission should make explicit that providers are deemed in compliance when they take such steps and have no reason to know, and do not know, that their upstream provider is sending unsigned traffic it originated.” The draft “properly limits mandated disclosures in Robocall Mitigation Plans to ‘formal actions or investigations … with findings of actual or suspected wrongdoing,’” USTelecom said. “To reduce uncertainty regarding the actions and investigations that trigger the requirement, the Commission should make clear that the formal actions and investigations also must be public,” the group said. David Frankel, CEO of conference call provider ZipDX, reported on a call with Wireline Bureau staff. “I did not ask for any new rules,” Frankel said: “Rather, I asked that the Commission take this opportunity to cite for the larger provider community how they might live up to their obligation to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent their networks from being used to facilitate illegal calling.”