FCC Wireline Bureau Chief Matt DelNero outlined nine key proceedings his bureau is working on, though he said the list isn't exhaustive. First on his list is a draft order that would partially approve a USTelecom forbearance petition for ILEC relief, which is on the commission's Dec. 17 tentative meeting agenda. Speaking at the Practising Law Institute conference Thursday, DelNero said he is personally involved every day in working on separate efforts to overhaul rural rate-of-return USF mechanisms. Asked about the timetable in light of signals from a key senator that the FCC could go beyond a year-end commitment for solving the "stand-alone broadband problem" for rural carriers, DelNero said the agency is eager to complete the rulemaking but also wants "to get it right." He also invited interested parties to provide input on commission efforts to craft an NPRM on broadband privacy under Title II of the Communications Act. Among the other draft items in proceedings he cited are: a Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction framework order, which is circulating; an order to reform Part 32 accounting rules; the 2016 broadband progress report; a Lifeline modernization order; special-access reform actions; and orders on industry transactions, including Charter Communications' proposed buys of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, and Altice's proposed buys of Cablevision and Suddenlink. On a subsequent panel at the conference, a Netflix official sparred with officials of CenturyLink and Cox Communications over the net neutrality order. Corie Wright, Netflix director-global policy, said she believes the FCC would be upheld in court, as did Washington Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Phil Jones. Jennifer Hightower, Cox senior vice president-law and policy, said the net neutrality order is discouraging broadband investment and that her company is "more cautious than ever" due to uncertainty from the order. Melissa Newman, CenturyLink senior vice president-federal policy and regulatory affairs, agreed, saying her company doesn't know what is allowed under the Internet conduct rule's prohibitions against broadband ISP practices that create "unreasonable interference" or "unreasonable disadvantage" for other parties. Wright disputed the criticisms, which she said were contradicted by the statements and actions of industry executives and Wall Street investors. Jones also said he hadn't seen any drop in broadband investment in his state.
The Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration support the FCC NPRM that would allow railroad police officers to use public safety interoperability and mutual aid channels to communicate with other public safety officials, the agencies said in a filing in commission docket 15-199. Railroad police officers need to be able to communicate with first responders quickly to fix any problems and respond to emergencies, the filing said. Changing the definition of a railroad police officer to be defined more broadly will also help to improve passenger safety and the security of the rail network as a whole, it said.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) seeks to remove Corporation Commissioner Susan Bitter Smith (R) from her position for conflict of interest, after a complaint against her in September. The AG alleges in a petition to the state Supreme Court that Bitter Smith is a registered lobbyist and executive for Southwest Cable Communications Association, an association of cable companies regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), so she's ineligible to hold office. Bitter Smith said she hasn't ever lobbied for a regulated entity nor has she been paid by one. “The complaint was presented to the AG by a Democrat who is connected with a potential Democratic candidate for the commission,” she said in a statement. “There is a policy issue at stake here: How far should conflict of interest rules extend? … The complaint is broad enough to be read to exclude almost anyone from serving the commission or any state office.”
The FCC came under fire from telco officials and other speakers at a Phoenix Center event Tuesday. They said its policies and practices were often too regulatory and capricious, increasing market uncertainty and discouraging network deployment. One group of panelists said the net neutrality order is bad for broadband investment, but an industry analyst disagreed the order was already depressing capital expenditures. Another panel knocked the FCC’s use of enforcement actions and deal conditions to achieve many of its ends. “It’s a bad way to run the railroad,” said Bob Quinn, AT&T senior vice president-federal regulatory.
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council meets Dec. 3, the agency said in Friday’s Federal Register. The meeting will be CSRIC’s third as part of its fifth charter. CSRIC working groups are examining the emergency alert system, emergency alerting platforms, evolving 911 services and security by design (see 1509210049). The FCC failed to publish the CSRIC meeting notice within the 15-day threshold but said it couldn’t find an acceptable alternate date for the meeting because “a significant number of CSRIC members have made business and travel plans to attend” the Dec. 3 meeting and there's no other date within one month of Dec. 3 “that will accommodate CSRIC members’ schedules.” Delaying the CSRIC meeting “will also cause undue financial burdens on many of the CSRIC members who have made travel arrangements,” the FCC said. CSRIC’s meeting is set to begin at 1 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room at FCC headquarters.
Communications Workers of America members and East Coast supporters protested at dozens of Verizon Wireless stores Thursday, demanding fair labor contracts, said a CWA news release. The rallies were a day after the National Labor Relations Board authorized issuance of a complaint against Verizon for violating federal labor laws when it fired a member "in an attempt to silence and terrify Brooklyn Verizon Wireless workers," the union said Thursday. CWA members working for Verizon have been without a new contract since August (see 1508030061). Since then, CWA has released radio and TV ads slamming Verizon (see 1508070029), asked state commissions to review what the union calls the company's lack of action on wireline upkeep (see 1511160039) and held rallies (see 1508130024). A Verizon spokesman Friday called the latest action another "agenda-driven attempt by the CWA" to divert attention from the "real" work that needs to be done at the bargaining table: "If the CWA truly wants to look out for its members, they should work with us on achieving a new contract that’s good for our employees, fair to our customers and puts the company on a path toward success.”
Comcast complained to the FCC that Duke Energy is denying it access to poles in Indiana, hindering broadband development across the state. Comcast said the denial is based solely on a protracted dispute over some charges from a build-out for a third party that is being litigated. Duke’s “actions flatly contravene [Communications Act] Section 224, its implementing rules and express Commission precedent, and should be dealt with as soon as possible,” Comcast Indianapolis told the FCC in a complaint posted Wednesday. Comcast asked for expedited FCC review and an order forcing Duke to immediately lift a permit moratorium and process Comcast applications for pole attachments. The cable company also asked the commission to fine Duke “for its deliberate disregard of the Commission’s rules and agency precedent.” Comcast said the FCC already has decided the primary issue in the dispute: “that pole owners may not deny access based on upon an attacher’s refusal to pay disputed charges.” Duke hasn't justified its refusal to process the pole-attachment applications beyond saying they are “currently suspended,” Comcast said. Duke’s refusal is based solely on Comcast’s dispute of invoices for work associated with a build-out for KDL Windstream, a company formerly affiliated with Duke, Comcast said. “The KDL payment dispute is the subject of ongoing litigation brought by [Duke] in federal district court,” Comcast said. “To be clear, the KDL work has no connection whatsoever to the suspended [Comcast] permit applications.” Comcast said it tried to resolve the dispute over 19 months through talks with Duke and FCC Enforcement Bureau mediation, but to no avail. It’s now clear Duke’s denial will last throughout the KDL litigation, which doesn’t go to trial until January 2017, necessitating the complaint, said Comcast. Duke Energy had no comment Thursday.
Different sets of comment periods were triggered on FCC video relay service proposals after a summary of a Further NPRM appeared in Wednesday's Federal Register. Comments on proposed VRS compensation rates are due Dec. 9, replies Dec. 24; comments on possible VRS service improvements are due Jan. 4, replies Feb. 1 (all in dockets 10-51 and 03-123). The Further NPRM proposed to freeze the compensation rate of the smallest VRS providers at $5.29 per minute between July 1, 2015, and Oct. 31, 2016, which otherwise would be lower under ongoing rate cuts previously ordered by the commission (see 1511030064). The notice also seeks comment on other “measures that could enhance the functional equivalence of VRS,” which provides video-connected interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate with phone callers. Three small VRS providers welcomed the rate-freeze proposal, but two of them along with Sorenson Communications, a larger provider, voiced varying degrees of concern that the commission didn't go further in its proposals to assist them in their efforts (see 1511040061).
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., joined Senate Democrats and House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., in pushing to repeal the robocall provision of the two-year budget deal signed into law this month. The new law permits robocalls to cellphones for purposes of collection of government debt. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced the Hangup Act (S-2235) with several colleagues, including presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to strike the provision (see 1511040053). Stabenow became the 12th co-sponsor to the measure Monday. Senate and House Democrats told the FCC to limit such robocalls, writing in a letter Tuesday. Markey and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., led the letter. “We urge you to consider the important role the Commission has in protecting the convenience and privacy that the TCPA has provided for more than two decades,” said the letter, signed by 41 lawmakers. “These protections should continue for years to come. Calls from debt collectors, even for debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government, should be closely limited to further the goals of the TCPA.” Signatories include Sanders, Pallone, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Pat Leahy, D-Vt., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.
European Justice Commissioner Vĕra Jourová said she is confident the EU and U.S. will successfully agree to a new safe harbor framework by Jan. 31 that ensures the protection of personal data of EU citizens transferred to the U.S. But Jourová, speaking Monday at the Brookings Institution, also indicated surveillance issues, including law enforcement and national security access to Europeans’ data, are still a major focus in the ongoing discussions. Jan. 31 is when EU data protection authorities could start enforcement against U.S. companies transferring data without safeguards in the absence of the previous safe harbor.