In a move FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the commission's Democratic majority said would bring more broadband and Wi-Fi connections to schools and libraries, commissioners on a party-line 3-2 vote Thursday raised E-rate’s annual spending cap by $1.5 billion. They signaled their intent to approve another reform aimed at giving people more access to the Internet, adding broadband to Lifeline (see 1411120026). Republican commissioners, while backing the aim of E-rate, opposed raising the spending cap.
In a move FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the commission's Democratic majority said would bring more broadband and Wi-Fi connections to schools and libraries, commissioners on a party-line 3-2 vote Thursday raised E-rate’s annual spending cap by $1.5 billion. They signaled their intent to approve another reform aimed at giving people more access to the Internet, adding broadband to Lifeline (see 1411120026). Republican commissioners, while backing the aim of E-rate, opposed raising the spending cap.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau extended the comment period for a next-generation 911 location accuracy plan. Comments now are due Dec. 15, replies Dec. 24, the bureau said Tuesday in an order, instead of the original Dec. 10 for comments, Dec. 17 for replies (see 1411200043). The plan was developed by the four largest wireless carriers, the APCO and the National Emergency Number Association (see 1411190064). The bureau is granting a limited extension to give small rural carriers and others additional time to respond to the technical and timeline aspects of the road map, it said.
Ex-FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett sharply criticized a proposed road map for ensuring indoor location accuracy for calls to 911, during a webinar Monday on behalf of the Find Me 911 Coalition. The plan was unveiled last month by APCO, AT&T, National Emergency Number Association, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (see 1411190064). The industry road map offers the best path to a relatively quick solution, said Steve Sharkey, T-Mobile senior director, Monday in a blog post.
Neustar officials told FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson and other public safety and Wireline Bureau staff Nov. 25 that a “hurried” transition to a new local number portability administrator would bring “real and pressing” dangers to public safety and national security, said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 09-109. "Neustar's claims that it is the only entity that can operate a safe and secure number portability database are just bunk," Telcordia counsel John Nakahata said in a statement to us on Friday. Neustar's filing urged the commission to release an amended request for proposal (RFP), requiring both Neustar and Telcordia to establish their ability to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, saying the LNPA selection is the first opportunity to ensure the framework is utilized in major changes to national infrastructure. The bidders should also show their ability to maintain and administer the Local Number Portability Enhanced Analytical Platform (LEAP), Neustar said. The RFP failed to address how the service would be transitioned to a new provider, specify performance requirements, explain how or when a transition would take place, or establish a plan for law enforcement to test and certify a new LEAP platform, Neustar said. The revised request should also require bidders to show how they’d ensure the continued accuracy of 911 services, the filing said. Neustar has provided Port PS, a free, proprietary service, to 911 providers that allows them to update location information after a phone number has been ported and ensure that emergency services can accurately determine a caller’s location, Neustar said. The service wasn't considered in the original RFP, the company said. Neustar was represented at the meeting by, among others, Lisa Hook, president, and Len Kennedy, senior vice president-general counsel. Nakahata, of Wiltshire & Grannis, said, "Telcordia can and will deliver a safe and secure solution that protects consumers and carriers, while providing needed access for national security, law enforcement and public safety." The best way to ensure "a safe and secure" Number Portability Administration Center "at the best possible price" is to finish the selection process based on the North American Numbering Council's recommendations, "and to let the industry and Telcordia move forward with contract negotiation and implementation," Nakahata said.
Neustar officials told FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson and other public safety and Wireline Bureau staff Nov. 25 that a “hurried” transition to a new local number portability administrator would bring “real and pressing” dangers to public safety and national security, said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 09-109. "Neustar's claims that it is the only entity that can operate a safe and secure number portability database are just bunk," Telcordia counsel John Nakahata said in a statement to us on Friday. Neustar's filing urged the commission to release an amended request for proposal (RFP), requiring both Neustar and Telcordia to establish their ability to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, saying the LNPA selection is the first opportunity to ensure the framework is utilized in major changes to national infrastructure. The bidders should also show their ability to maintain and administer the Local Number Portability Enhanced Analytical Platform (LEAP), Neustar said. The RFP failed to address how the service would be transitioned to a new provider, specify performance requirements, explain how or when a transition would take place, or establish a plan for law enforcement to test and certify a new LEAP platform, Neustar said. The revised request should also require bidders to show how they’d ensure the continued accuracy of 911 services, the filing said. Neustar has provided Port PS, a free, proprietary service, to 911 providers that allows them to update location information after a phone number has been ported and ensure that emergency services can accurately determine a caller’s location, Neustar said. The service wasn't considered in the original RFP, the company said. Neustar was represented at the meeting by, among others, Lisa Hook, president, and Len Kennedy, senior vice president-general counsel. Nakahata, of Wiltshire & Grannis, said, "Telcordia can and will deliver a safe and secure solution that protects consumers and carriers, while providing needed access for national security, law enforcement and public safety." The best way to ensure "a safe and secure" Number Portability Administration Center "at the best possible price" is to finish the selection process based on the North American Numbering Council's recommendations, "and to let the industry and Telcordia move forward with contract negotiation and implementation," Nakahata said.
A Vermont investigation and recent Washington state investigation into 911 outages highlight problems identified in an FCC report on an April 10 multistate outage (see 1410170057), industry executives and lawyers told us. The Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) will move ahead this week on investigating FairPoint Communications’ response to a Nov. 28 partial 911 outage as part of a larger investigation of the telco's service quality, which the state Department of Public Service requested last week (see 1412010037). The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is reviewing a staff report released last week (see 1412030032) on an April 10 outage, which affected all of Washington and portions of six other states, a UTC spokeswoman said.
The Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved a report Wednesday from CSRIC Working Group 2 on wireless emergency alerts that recommends the FCC modify its current 90-character limit rule for WEA alerts, to allow for messages of up to 280 characters for 4G LTE devices following technology confirmation by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS). The FCC should retain the 90-character rule for WEA alerts for devices using legacy 2G and 3G networks, but the working group believes the goal should be to phase that limit out as 2G and 3G devices go offline, said CTIA Assistant Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Brian Josef, Working Group 2 co-chairman. “We’re raising the floor” but recognize that some devices will be able to accept WEA alerts of only up to 90 characters, Josef said during the CSRIC meeting.
The Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved a report Wednesday from CSRIC Working Group 2 on wireless emergency alerts that recommends the FCC modify its current 90-character limit rule for WEA alerts, to allow for messages of up to 280 characters for 4G LTE devices following technology confirmation by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS). The FCC should retain the 90-character rule for WEA alerts for devices using legacy 2G and 3G networks, but the working group believes the goal should be to phase that limit out as 2G and 3G devices go offline, said CTIA Assistant Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Brian Josef, Working Group 2 co-chairman. “We’re raising the floor” but recognize that some devices will be able to accept WEA alerts of only up to 90 characters, Josef said during the CSRIC meeting.
Comcast’s “modest gain” in footprint from buying Time Warner Cable won’t increase its incentive “to engage in exclusionary conduct” toward video industry rivals, said Comcast in response to questions from FCC staff. The response was posted online Monday. Those who believe the merger will have anticompetitive consequences believe Comcast would reap “slightly higher proportion of gains from exclusionary conduct if it serves 29% of U.S. MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor] subscribers rather than 22%,” said Comcast. “This theoretical claim finds no support in the documents or historical behavior of Comcast,” said the cable company. Since Comcast has long been the nation’s largest cable company, evidence of such behavior should have already emerged if it were a real concern, Comcast said. The cable company also pointed to merger conditions that keep it from preventing online video distributors from accessing its content. “There is “strong empirical evidence that the immediate harm to Comcast’s programming business from any foreclosure strategy would exceed any purported benefit to its MVPD business,” Comcast said.