The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission aims to spur broadband with its first pole-attachment dispute resolution since the state asserted authority in March by reverse preempting the FCC, Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille said at Thursday's virtual meeting. Commissioners voted unanimously to reduce telecom attachment rates FirstEnergy charges Verizon. In other states that day, California Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D) announced a second go at her Broadband for All bill and Colorado’s Broadband Advisory Board held its first meeting.
Consumer complaints about Frontier Communications' service quality have risen, according to state commission data obtained by Communications Daily. Regulators in 16 states provided data about 2015-19 complaints voluntarily or through Freedom of Information Act requests. Officials in some states with increasing complaints weren't surprised to see similar problems elsewhere. The telco said it works with state commissions to meet service quality metrics.
All FCC action on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act isn’t focused on Facebook v. Duguid, to be argued before the Supreme Court Dec. 8, an FCBA webinar heard Thursday. Experts hope that case provides long-awaited clarity on what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the TCPA (see 2011100052).
The FCC released the three draft items Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing for the Dec. 10 meeting (see 2011180065). The meeting will be headlined by a report and order implementing the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, with an NPRM on equipment certification rules and an order on ATSC 3.0 datacasting. Industry officials said it's unclear whether FCC Democrats will consider any of the drafts controversial or major items that should be left for next year under the new commission.
The three Republicans vying to succeed House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden of Oregon told us they intend to largely maintain his approach to telecom policymaking during the next Congress, which is expected to include more debate on net neutrality. Walden announced his retirement plans last year, sparking debate about Communications Subcommittee Republicans’ future path (see 1911260048).
The FCC on Wednesday approved 5-0 opening 45 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi, while allocating 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything, as expected (see 2011170058). Commissioners overruled the Department of Transportation, which asked that the band be preserved for safety applications. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the order was tweaked to speed use of the spectrum for C-V2X, and he would have preferred to see more changes. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks voted to concur. Wi-Fi advocates said the FCC appeared to approve a change they sought that will make it easier to convert routers to use the spectrum.
Senate Commerce Committee GOP leaders are eyeing a vote to advance FCC nominee Nathan Simington to the full chamber amid likely uniform Democratic opposition and lingering uncertainties about whether there’s unanimous GOP support. FCC Republicans, meanwhile, sidestepped questions about whether they will cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition, given objections from President Donald Trump. Chairman Ajit Pai announced a national-security-heavy agenda Wednesday for commissioners' Dec. 10 meeting but avoided saying he’s acquiescing to Democrats’ calls for him to stop work on major items (see 2011180065).
President-elect Joe Biden announces his senior staff includes Director, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Julie Rodriguez, ex-deputy campaign manager, Biden-Kamala Harris campaign ... Bill Barloon, who recently left Sprint after it was bought by T-Mobile, starts lobbying firm Barloon.co; he will initially focus on tech, telecom, copyright and electronic commerce, he tells us ... Air Force moves Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess to director-space and cyber operations, Space Force Space Operations Command.
Incompas CEO Chip Pickering is hopeful this Congress enacts FY 2021 funding and a COVID-19 aid bill, despite partisan rancor. Group officials told a Thursday webinar they’re monitoring whether the Senate confirms FCC nominee Nathan Simington, plus the impact of a change to a majority-Democrat commission after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
State and local governments want to reset relationships with the FCC under President-elect Joe Biden in 2021, said officials from NARUC, NATOA and the National Association of State Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) in interviews this week. A new FCC means “new beginnings” and a chance to build bridges, said NARUC President Paul Kjellander, elected association head Tuesday (see 2011100060).