The FCC partnered with 11 federal, state and local agencies to assess the delivery of wireless emergency alerts as part of a planned Aug. 11 test of the emergency alert system (see 2105040068). Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also sent letters to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon asking them to provide performance information after the test, said a Tuesday release. WEAs “are a powerful tool for public safety managers to inform and protect the public during disasters,” Rosenworcel said: “While the FCC has long required … participants to report how nationwide EAS tests fared on their television and radio systems, this is the first time we will gather meaningful data about the performance of a nationwide” WEA test. The letters ask the providers to provide the data within two weeks of the test. “Describe any complications with alert processing or transmission” that may have kept subscribers from receiving an alert, the letters ask. They ask about actions “to address any complications identified.”
The NARUC Telecom Committee advanced proposed resolutions on the emergency broadband benefit, outage and disaster information sharing and recommendations by the association’s broadband task force. At the panel’s partially virtual Tuesday meeting, members revised the EBB measure’s language on how long to extend EBB, after South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Chris Nelson objected to NARUC seeking the benefit’s renewal. The proposals still require OK by the NARUC board Wednesday.
The U.S. shouldn’t rely on export controls on semiconductors to stay ahead of China because the strategy would likely “backfire,” a former Department of Defense official told Congress this week. Lisa Porter, the former deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said government intervention in supply chains can “distort the market in ways that are hard to predict” and could lead to unintended consequences for the microelectronics industry.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Emergency Medical Services National 911 Program Coordinator Laurie Flaherty retires, effective Dec. 31 ... Hogan Lovells adds Timothy Bergreen, ex-chief of staff to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as partner, Government Relations and Public Affairs practice, working on issues including cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, satellite and telecom ... Kirkland & Ellis appoints Candice Andalia from Orrick Herrington as litigation partner, working on "managing and coordinating national defense and strategy" including for technology clients.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Emergency Medical Services National 911 Program Coordinator Laurie Flaherty retires, effective Dec. 31 ... Hogan Lovells adds Timothy Bergreen, ex-chief of staff to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as partner, Government Relations and Public Affairs practice, working on issues including cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, satellite and telecom ... Kirkland & Ellis appoints Candice Andalia from Orrick Herrington as litigation partner, working on "managing and coordinating national defense and strategy" including for technology clients.
NARUC won’t remove from a draft resolution on the emergency broadband benefit a clause asking Congress to phase bypassing the state eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation process, said measure sponsor Crystal Rhoades on Friday. NCTA unsuccessfully asked to remove that clause Thursday at a NARUC Telecom Subcommittee meeting (see 2107150056). The EBB resolution and two other drafts are up for vote at NARUC’s Telecom Committee meeting Tuesday in Denver.
NARUC's Telecom Subcommittee advanced three draft resolutions to the full committee for a Tuesday vote at the state regulators' policy summit in Denver. The proposals relate to Broadband Task Force recommendations, the emergency broadband benefit (EBB) and disaster outage reporting (see 2107070053). At Thursday’s virtual meeting, the subcommittee’s staff-level officials declined to vote on proposed amendments by industry to the EBB draft. NCTA suggested removing a clause recommending that Congress, in any EBB extension, “phase out the current partial bypass” of the state eligible telecom carrier designation process. Changing course now could disrupt service for customers whose EBB providers don’t yet have ETC status, said NCTA Vice President-State Affairs Rick Cimerman. TruConnect asked to add clauses urging the FCC to allow Lifeline ETC requests to use an alternative verification process in California, Texas and Oregon for EBB enrollment, and asking Congress to give money to states that haven’t been able to connect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases to the Lifeline national verifier. About 15 states haven’t connected SNAP databases, with most saying it’s because they lack funding to update interfaces, said TruConnect attorney Judson Hill. The full committee could still take up industry’s proposed changes at its business meeting, said Subcommittee Chair Joseph Witmer, counsel to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown.
The FCC Wireline Bureau gave AT&T, C Spire, WideOpenWest and Radiate one-month extension to submit reimbursement claims for emergency broadband benefit program newly enrolled subscribers, said an order Thursday. The bureau denied Radiate’s additional request to claim reimbursement for services provided to households that aren’t enrolled in the national Lifeline accountability database. It denied Point Broadband’s petition for extension until Aug. 16 to make reimbursement claims for May, June and July. Point's petition posted Thursday in docket 20-445. Point said it faced “multiple issues accessing the EBB program claims system” and spent “considerable time” seeking help from Universal Service Administrative Co. FCC staff previously granted EBB providers a one-month extension to submit May claims (see 2106080046).
NARUC's Telecom Subcommittee advanced three draft resolutions to the full committee for a Tuesday vote at the state regulators' policy summit in Denver. The proposals relate to Broadband Task Force recommendations, the emergency broadband benefit (EBB) and disaster outage reporting (see 2107070053). At Thursday’s virtual meeting, the subcommittee’s staff-level officials declined to vote on proposed amendments by industry to the EBB draft. NCTA suggested removing a clause recommending that Congress, in any EBB extension, “phase out the current partial bypass” of the state eligible telecom carrier designation process. Changing course now could disrupt service for customers whose EBB providers don’t yet have ETC status, said NCTA Vice President-State Affairs Rick Cimerman. TruConnect asked to add clauses urging the FCC to allow Lifeline ETC requests to use an alternative verification process in California, Texas and Oregon for EBB enrollment, and asking Congress to give money to states that haven’t been able to connect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases to the Lifeline national verifier. About 15 states haven’t connected SNAP databases, with most saying it’s because they lack funding to update interfaces, said TruConnect attorney Judson Hill. The full committee could still take up industry’s proposed changes at its business meeting, said Subcommittee Chair Joseph Witmer, counsel to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown.
The FCC Wireline Bureau gave AT&T, C Spire, WideOpenWest and Radiate one-month extension to submit reimbursement claims for emergency broadband benefit program newly enrolled subscribers, said an order Thursday. The bureau denied Radiate’s additional request to claim reimbursement for services provided to households that aren’t enrolled in the national Lifeline accountability database. It denied Point Broadband’s petition for extension until Aug. 16 to make reimbursement claims for May, June and July. Point's petition posted Thursday in docket 20-445. Point said it faced “multiple issues accessing the EBB program claims system” and spent “considerable time” seeking help from Universal Service Administrative Co. FCC staff previously granted EBB providers a one-month extension to submit May claims (see 2106080046).