Vermont net neutrality litigation will be further stayed until the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals resolves a New York appeal of the state’s broadband affordability law, the U.S. District Court in Burlington ruled Tuesday. Judge Christina Reiss said the court’s Dec. 17 injunction on enforcing Vermont’s net neutrality law and executive order expired April 15. Defendant Vermont and plaintiffs ACA Connects, CTIA, USTelecom and the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association sought the order in a Friday stipulation. The district court in December paused the until April 15 or when the 9th Court resolved suits on California’s net neutrality law (see 2112170032). The 9th Circuit upheld California’s law, but industry in February filed a petition for rehearing en banc that's pending (see 2202100072). “The scope and conduct of this action could be significantly shaped by” 2nd Circuit resolution of the New York case, the Vermont parties said Friday.

The FCC Wireline Bureau granted limited waivers of the affordable connectivity program's non-usage rules and a requirement that participating providers apply the monthly benefit to all plans, said an order Friday in docket 21-450. The bureau denied several requests to extend the “all plans requirement” to all participating providers. Providers were required to comply with these rules by Friday (see 2202110055).

Industry counseled against FCC regulation on vulnerabilities to the security and integrity of border gateway protocols (BGP), in early comments on a February notice of inquiry from the FCC (see 2202250062). Cisco and other commenters said the issues are difficult and complex and require an international approach. The notice is part of the FCC’s cybersecurity focus as it looks at vulnerabilities posed by Russian companies (see 2203180051).

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Industry groups and ISPs participating in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program sought more time to comply with the program’s non-usage tracking rule. Comment posted Friday in docket 21-450 backed a USTelecom petition for an additional 60 days after the April 15 deadline (see 2203230041).

USTelecom, AT&T, Lumen and Verizon asked FCC Wireline Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff to require every provider to "enhance its existing robocall mitigation database ... rather than adopt prescriptive, gateway provider-specific mandates," in a meeting Monday, said an ex parte letter posted Thursday in docket 17-59 (see 2201110045). "[M]andating blocking obligations remove providers' flexibility in their blocking approaches," they said, noting the FCC could "implement a robocall mitigation program and provide a certification in the RMD" regardless of a provider's Stir/Shaken implementation status. USTelecom and the ISPs said the FCC's proposed requirement that gateway providers sign unauthenticated traffic "would be exorbitantly costly for some providers." The FCC should "focus any such requirement" on gateway providers "akin to what the agency did with shortening the small provider Stir/Shaken extension," they said.

ACA Connects backed USTelecom's request for a 60-day extension of the April 15 deadline for affordable connectivity program providers to comply with the non-usage tracking rule, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and staff, said an ex parte letter posted Wednesday in docket 21-450 (see 2203230041). The group said its members face similar challenges in meeting the deadline. ACA Connects also asked the FCC to allow fixed broadband providers to follow the agency's 2011 enforcement guidance on reporting actual speeds and latency in the forthcoming consumer broadband labels.

ISPs sought minor modifications of the FCC’s 2016 broadband consumer labels as the agency works to create new labels required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In reply comments posted Friday in docket 22-2 (see 2203100059), disagreement continued on what details should be included in the labels. Others raised issues with calls to require privacy disclosures in the eventual labels, suggesting links that include more detailed information instead.

“While there is more work to be done,” the Cross-Sector Resiliency Forum has been a success two years after it started, representatives of CTIA, the Edison Electric Institute, NCTA and USTelecom told aides to FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks. The forum “continues to facilitate the sharing of service expectations and planning needs to enable better coordination during emergency and disaster events,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 11-60. The forum “plans to reconvene in late spring 2022 to assess progress” and “prepare for the 2022 hurricane and wildfire seasons.”

The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by March 31 on separate petitions filed by USTelecom and Verizon on affordable connectivity program rules, said a public notice Wednesday in docket 21-450. USTelecom sought a 60-day extension for participating providers to comply with the program's non-usage tracking rule. Verizon sought a 60-day extension for its subsidiary Tracfone to prepare its systems to offer the monthly benefit for "certain prepaid mobile broadband services priced below $30 and above $30" (see 2203220051). It didn't seek additional time for plans priced at $30.