Expect the Senate Commerce Committee to focus on efforts for “a secure and open Internet” and wireless broadband and spectrum overhaul, Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in a mid-year review report released Tuesday. “Proposals to address overregulation of the Internet, modernize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), secure cyberspace, and define consumer rights when personal information is lost in a data breach remain a continued focus of committee efforts,” the report said. “In addition, oversight of efforts to secure the federal government’s own networks remain a priority.” Senate Commerce “will pursue policies that maximize public benefit of our airwaves as a valuable resource,” the report said, citing the significance for telehealth and the IoT. The report touted the various pieces of legislation the committee approved this year.
The FCC’s net neutrality and broadband Title II order came under broad attack Thursday from parties filing briefs supporting telco/cable challenges to the agency’s order (see 1507310042). A group of tech intervenors said the commission’s actions exceeded its statutory authority and shouldn’t be accorded deference by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing the case (USTelecom v. FCC, No. 15-1063). Various others filed amicus briefs saying the FCC hadn't justified its net neutrality rules and broadband regulation under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act or Section 706 of the 1996 Telecom Act, had ignored fundamental market realities, and violated First Amendment speech rights.
With everything from wedding photos to videos of a child’s first steps to banking information online, individuals need to designate what they would like to happen to their digital assets after they die, experts said. Although some online companies like Google and Facebook have created tools that allow individuals to share what they would like to happen to their data and who can access their accounts after their passing, not every user has made a plan. When a plan isn’t in place, it’s against the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) for an online service provider to share information. (Editors' note: In this story we describe digital decedent problems. Part 2 will be about Internet companies' efforts to address the situation.)
The FCC adopted two IP transition orders that appeared to track Chairman Tom Wheeler’s recommendations and industry officials’ prognostications (see 1507100050, 1508040061 and 1508050067). Commissioners Thursday voted 3-2 along party lines to approve an order to ensure competitors continue to have affordable access to wholesale broadband and voice services as incumbents migrate to IP-based services over fiber networks. It pleased competitive LECs while disappointing incumbent LECs. FCC members voted 5-0 to approve an order to require fixed providers to notify consumers about service changes and give them backup power options.
Broadcasters and public interest groups lost their fight to keep all TV stations out of the duplex gap between uplink and downlink frequencies bought by carriers in the upcoming broadcast incentive auction. That was as expected (see 1507300042), though it left both broadcasters and the public interest groups upset. The FCC approved 3-2 the “procedures” for the auction, after a contentious debate. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly said the rules could set the auction up for failure.
The FCC should continue to support a federal-state partnership to protect consumers and competition as regulations for the IP transition are considered at Thursday’s commission meeting, states said in multiple ex parte filings in docket 13-5. The filers would like the FCC to maintain its collaborative approach with the state commissions in setting rules and policies for the technology transition. State commissioners also are concerned about battery backup requirements and the FCC pre-empting the states’ authority to establish the regulations. During the transition, the state commissions also believe carriers should have to inform consumers of the effect the transitions will have on service. Stefanie Brand, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, said Verizon has been turning off services in her state without first going through the proper channels, leaving consumers with no service while the network is being switched to fiber.
Reliability in traditional landline networks is no longer insured, especially since states such as Florida have eliminated service quality standards, said a report on the status of competition in the telecom industry by the Public Service Commission. The report, which looks at voluntarily reported data from incumbent LECs in Florida as of December, focuses on the status of competition in the telecom industry, as required by the General Assembly since 1996, said a PSC spokeswoman. The reliability of alternatives such as interconnected VoIP and wireless service seem to be acceptable to consumers, the report said. Mobility, pricing and the demand for data-based services are consumer preference factors that may be changing how consumers view reliability, the spokeswoman said.
NTIA urged the FCC to be “prepared to address” challenges facing federal agencies and departments as the telecom industry moves from circuit-switched copper phone networks to packet-switched, IP-based systems using fiber and other broadband platforms. Most federal agencies will continue to “rely heavily” on traditional TDM services and copper-based networks to support “mission-critical communications capabilities, including national security, public safety, and emergency activities,” said NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling in a letter posted Thursday in the FCC’s docket 13-5 on the IP technology transition. Given that reliance, “an accelerated shift to IP-based services may entail significant, unexpected costs for federal users,” and that's a particular problem for federal agencies, which face complicated budgeting and implementation issues, he said.
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the FCC must complete its work on cutting the high cost of calls from those in correctional facilities. The FCC approved interim caps on interstate inmate calling service (ICS) rates in August 2013, when Clyburn was acting chairwoman (see 1308120049), but is now considering further actions to drive down many intrastate rates. The FCC considered placing an ICS draft order on the agenda for the Aug. 6 meeting, but it now may act on the item at its Sept. 17 meeting, industry officials told us.
The FCC's proposal to make a deaf-blind communications equipment program permanent and craft rules received much support from commenters, with some areas of dispute, in docket 10-210. There was near unanimity for keeping the current administrative structure, under which the FCC authorizes one entity in each state to oversee the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (also called “iCanConnect") in that state. There was general support for establishing a central database to help states with reporting and reimbursement duties, but a number of state entities voiced wariness unless their concerns are addressed. There were differences over the proper income threshold approach for determining the eligibility of deaf-blind people, and over an FCC proposal to fund “training for trainers.”