All state-level attorneys general and a dozen major telecom companies announced an agreement Thursday to improve their ability to combat illegal robocalls, saying action was needed as they wait for Capitol Hill to negotiate a compromise bill. The FCC earlier this month updated anti-spoofing rules 5-0 (see 1908010062) as part of implementation of anti-robocalls language in the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act. Further FCC action on the issue may take time (see 1908220053).
An order on 2019 regulatory fees is expected to be issued soon and will include a Further NPRM on the way the FCC calculates regulatory fees, agency and industry officials told us. Since the fees must be collected before the fiscal year end Sept. 30, the FNPRM is expected to gather a record that could be applied to future regulatory fees, rather than the 2019 fee collection. Though the draft order makes some concessions to broadcaster requests, it's expected to closely resemble the previously released NPRM, FCC officials said. The fee order isn’t expected to be controversial among commissioners.
The FCC likely won’t act soon to provide additional clarity on Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules, agency officials said this week. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a big advocate of addressing the rules, told us he has little hope for quick action: “I can’t say that I’m optimistic.” Other officials agreed with O'Rielly.
Letting cable operators make the first negotiating move and thinking about trying to renegotiate the definition of gross revenue were among suggestions localities experts gave state and local franchise authorities facing implementation of the FCC's LFA order adopted 3-2 earlier this month (see 1908010011). In a NATOA webinar Wednesday, they also advised scouring franchise agreements for pre-emption clauses and preservation of benefits clauses.
The FTC released a highly redacted version of Uber’s third-party privacy assessment related to its 2016 data breach (see 1810260040) Tuesday. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and advocates quickly called for greater transparency. After the FTC reached a no-fine settlement with Uber in October, Slaughter and Commissioner Rohit Chopra urged the agency to release the Uber assessment. Though the commission didn’t release the document then, Chopra and Slaughter noted it could be accessed through a Freedom of Information Act request, which is how we obtained it Tuesday.
After years of work, the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band appears ready to open for business, as early as next month, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us. O’Rielly predicted an FCC decision soon on the C band, and said the agency may not need to review CBS' buy of Viacom. O’Rielly insisted relations have improved among commissioners.
Dish’s OnTech smart home service expanded into 20 markets, bringing to 31 the total number of metro areas offering the device and installation service that launched in June (see 1906170060), General Manager Jeremy McCarty told us Tuesday. New markets are Baltimore; Beaumont, Texas; Charlotte; Chicago; Cleveland; Corpus Christi; Detroit; Jacksonville; Lansing, Michigan; Las Vegas; Macon, Georgia; Miami; Minneapolis; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; Richmond; San Diego; Tucson and Palm Beach, Florida.
USTelecom and its partners are hoping the results of the four-month location fabric broadband mapping pilot project it recently concluded in two states will be promising enough to convince the FCC to move forward with and pay for similar efforts nationwide, executives said during a webinar Tuesday on its findings. The nationwide initiative could take 12-15 months to complete and cost upward of $8.5 million to $11 million depending on the types of datasets used, said Jim Stegeman, CEO of CostQuest Associates, during Q&A after the presentation. He recommended the maps be updated once or twice a year thereafter to take into account new construction or structures that are torn down. USTelecom estimates annual costs of $3 million to $4 million for updates.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) and Arizona AG Mark Brnovich (R) are participating in bipartisan discussions about a multistate investigation of tech industry competition, aides from both offices said. The group, which also involves Texas and Nebraska, is expected to issue civil investigative demands (CID) around Labor Day, said a source familiar with the effort. CIDs are prelitigation, administrative subpoenas officials can use to compel documents and testimony from the industry.
While an FCC proposal is still taking shape, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is telling industry officials he wants at least 300 MHz of C-band spectrum allocated for 5G. Pai also appears to be leaning toward an FCC auction rather than a private sale to allocate the licenses, industry officials said. The C-Band Alliance plan for clearing the band has dominated discussions. Last week, the FCC took reply comments on alternate proposals (see 1908150042). Again, comments were sharply divided. Pai said last month the FCC should have “results to show” on the C band in the fall (see 1907050024). The FCC and CBA didn't comment.