Two top right-to-repair advocates immediately downplayed as lacking teeth Apple’s announcement Thursday it will supply “more independent repair shops” with the same “genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics” for out-of-warranty iPhone repairs as its authorized service centers, at the same costs. There’s no cost to join, Apple said, but applicants need to be "an established business, with business verification documents available for review.”
State regulators found much to like in what little they know about coming FCC Lifeline changes, when we surveyed all NARUC Telecom Committee members this and last week. All respondents are happy their federal counterparts appear poised to clarify states can continue being the ones to decide whether telecom providers can be designated as eligible for the USF program for the poor. Many like the idea of the Universal Service Administrative Co. sharing more information. An FCC "backgrounder" given to news media said that would boost "transparency with states to improve oversight of the Lifeline program, including by directing USAC to share information regarding suspicious activity with state officials."
Sony definitively removed its hat from the ring of possible Filmmaker Mode TV-maker supporters the morning after the UHD Alliance debuted the TV movie-watching feature at a Los Angeles event with broad creator backing. UHDA Chairman Michael Zink introduced LG, Panasonic and Vizio at the event as the TV-brand “launch partners” for Filmmaker Mode, the easy-to-access picture setting free of the “motion-smoothing” image processing that creators disdain for how it renders their movies on living-room screens (see 1908270001).
The FCC hasn’t determined the exact method it will use to allocate repacking reimbursement funds to low-power TV stations, said Media Bureau Chief Engineer Jeff Neumann Wednesday during a webinar on the reimbursement process for LPTV, translator and FM stations affected by the repacking. Each station in the full-power and Class A TV station repacking process was initially allotted the same percentage of their estimated costs, but it’s not clear if that method will be used for LPTV, Neumann said. Media Bureau and Incentive Auction Task Force (IATF) officials didn’t provide specifics about when reimbursement funds will start going out. Neumann said it will be “well after” the Oct. 15 deadline for eligible stations to submit reimbursement forms and initial expenses.
Broadcasters and satellite operators got some of what they wanted in the FCC FY 2019 regulatory fees order. As expected (see 1908220040), there's no sign of overhaul both sectors want in the unanimous ruling. An accompanying Further NPRM tees up issues like the assessing regulatory fees on foreign satellites allowed to communicate with U.S. earth stations. Some say history shows the agency isn't likely to go that route. The money is due Sept. 30.
Some customer confusion greeted Verizon’s announcement it's automatically enrolling some in the free version of its Call Filter service that it introduced in March. Upgrades will start to become available on select Android devices immediately, Verizon said; all eligible customers can actively enroll in the free version anytime.
Don’t cap the overall budget for the various USF programs or alter the USF funding mechanism, asked many replies, worried about prioritizing funds over one another. At least one reply favored halting the fund’s growth at 2018 levels. Replies posted through Tuesday in FCC docket 06-122.
SEATTLE -- 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges questioned whether groups petitioning to repeal parts of a 2017 declaratory ruling on whether and how to notify customers when carriers retire copper networks had demonstrated sufficient injury to merit standing, during oral argument Tuesday in Greenlining v. FCC (17-73283). The FCC and the DOJ asked the court in November to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction or on its merits. Judge Margaret McKeown said a court of appeals "shouldn't have to hunt and peck" for clear evidence of standing and jurisdiction. "This is a threshold issue in every case."
Size matters when considering safe harbor protections for voice service providers' blocking of robocalls. Parties squared off before the FCC about how broad or narrow such protections should be in docket 17-59 replies posted through Friday. There's disagreement on creation of a critical calls list. Some questioned the need for a secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) mandate since industry is implementing it fine.
Leaders of the House Communications and Senate Appropriations Financial Services subcommittees are using the month-plus August recess to finalize their plans for a legislative solution to the debate over how to clear spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band for 5G use. Some lawmakers said they need to reach a quick decision on how to proceed to influence the outcome before the FCC releases its proposal. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai appears to be aiming for a plan to clear at least 300 MHz of C-band spectrum (see 1908200044). The sides offered conflicting readings earlier this month of initial comments to the FCC on alternative plans (see 1908150042). Those comments showed little move toward consensus (see 1908080041).