The FCC has taken several actions in recent years to curb Illegal robocalls, with a multipronged approach to stop bad actors, lawyers told Incompas Tuesday. They said providers should adopt a mitigation program that best suits their network and is reasonably expected to reduce robocalls. “It’s all about flexibility,” and any bump in the road needs to be addressed quickly, said Gunnar Halley, Microsoft assistant general counsel. The FCC should consider taking a moment to pause and see how its efforts are panning out, said Sheba Chacko, BT Americas chief regulatory counsel.
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction continues to get criticism about certain winning bidders’ ability to deliver broadband and the speeds they bid on (see 2101190069). One of the “biggest elephants in the room” has been whether fixed wireless providers can deliver the gigabit-tier service they bid on, IdeaTek Telecom Chief Innovation Officer Daniel Friesen told an Incompas event Tuesday: “We’re confused because we don’t see that the market has the type of scalable technology, especially in rural areas.” Friesen said it's surprising the full $16 billion from Phase I wasn't awarded. Even with potential market failures, the auction was an overall success, said Brian Regan, Starry vice president-legal, policy and strategy. There are “certainly issues” with FCC broadband data, and the money would have been better targeted if the maps were better, he said: “The FCC did the best it could with what it had.” It's important to see how broadband maps are used during Phase II of the auction, said Mammoth Networks CEO Brian Worthen. “What we don’t want to do is lock down a [census] block so that future funding in that area is not going to happen,” Worthen said. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks acknowledged earlier in the day that broadband mapping is a key part of ensuring unserved and underserved areas are covered. He expects quick action to complete new maps.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' top priority for the next few weeks is ensuring as many people as possible can access the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program. He told Incompas Tuesday it could reach more low-income households and communities of color than any other program to help close the digital divide (see 2102090079). It's important to broadly publicize the program and encourage ISPs to participate, he added.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others cited the 25th anniversary Monday of the Telecom Act’s signing as a jumping-off point for a range of communications and tech policy proposals for this year, including the need for more broadband funding in coming legislation. Some noted the importance of the ongoing debate over revamping Communications Decency Act Section 230, enacted as part of the 1996 law.
Establish a new information portal for reporting suspected illegal robocalls, USTelecom commented Tuesday in FCC docket 20-374 (see 2012080065). The portal should be "distinct from the existing informal complaint process for consumers, and should instead be available principally for private organizations and others that intend to report broader patterns of suspected" violations, USTelecom said. It should be voluntary and monitored to ensure consumer complaints don't inadvertently appear, and it should direct consumers to the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau instead, CTIA said. Twilio disagreed: Two portals would be "likely to create confusion and could lead to duplicative reporting." Commenters agreed private entities should work with the Traceback Consortium before submitting information through the portal. Safe Credit Union asked for clarification on the "escalation and reporting process to a business or service provider when reviewing information submitted by private entities."
Establish a new information portal for reporting suspected illegal robocalls, USTelecom commented Tuesday in FCC docket 20-374 (see 2012080065). The portal should be "distinct from the existing informal complaint process for consumers, and should instead be available principally for private organizations and others that intend to report broader patterns of suspected" violations, USTelecom said. It should be voluntary and monitored to ensure consumer complaints don't inadvertently appear, and it should direct consumers to the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau instead, CTIA said. Twilio disagreed: Two portals would be "likely to create confusion and could lead to duplicative reporting." Commenters agreed private entities should work with the Traceback Consortium before submitting information through the portal. Safe Credit Union asked for clarification on the "escalation and reporting process to a business or service provider when reviewing information submitted by private entities."
The North American Numbering Council met Thursday to discuss costs, feasibility and consumer privacy issues of the 988 suicide prevention hotline that goes live in July 2022. Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel thanked NANC for its work on this front: “I’m glad the FCC has been working on it for years and glad for the work my predecessor has done on it as well.” The commission is required to submit a report to Congress by April that includes 988 geolocation (see 2101130051). NANC members largely agreed that additional discussion is needed about the technological challenges, policy issues and potential costs before making a recommendation. Wireline voice service providers have a “significant history” of providing location information for a 911 call, but “it’s not just as easy as leveraging that system and flipping a switch” for the hotline, said Kristine Hackman, USTelecom vice president-policy and advocacy. Privacy concerns about automatic location information “warrant further consideration” by the commission, said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs. “There are privacy questions and a lot of folks saying people in a mental health crisis want to maintain their privacy,” Gerst said: “It’s not the same as a 911 call.” Time can be “critically of the essence” for a call placed to a crisis center, said James Wright, acting deputy director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line, and at times, there can be a “significant challenge” in trying to identify a caller's location. Operational questions must be answered on how a 988 call affects callers because it's a “highly complex issue,” said Comcast's Tim Kagele, co-chair of the North American Portability Management (see 2101110055). He cited call routing. It’s important to understand what's necessary to facilitate a call and how it’s used appropriately, said Philip Linse, Lumen director-public policy. Call centers might need the ability to transfer a call placed to 911 that involves a mental health crisis, Linse said. Glenn Clepper, Charter director-regulatory, said the FCC should have industry experts to identify operational requirements. The commission could consider using a general fund to cover operational costs instead of applying fees to telecom services or on access lines or channels rather than phone numbers and capping the total number of lines per customer in which a state should impose fees, Clepper said.
As more people use telehealth amid the pandemic (see 2101250026), hearing-impaired patients face obstacles communicating with their doctors, experts said in recent interviews.
As more people use telehealth amid the pandemic (see 2101250026), hearing-impaired patients face obstacles communicating with their doctors, experts said in recent interviews.
Don't compel voice service providers to adopt FCC Hospital Robocall Protection Group best practices (see 2012140035) because “substantial ongoing efforts on multiple fronts” are ongoing to stop illegal robocalls, Lumen said in docket 21-7: The group’s recommendations on preventing and mitigating robocalls could be applied more broadly. USTelecom backed Lumen’s recommendations and supported the HRPG's report. Promote the transition to IP-to-IP voice interconnection, NCTA said, "especially given that the full potential” of the secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens “framework will only be realized when the IP transition is complete." Ribbon Communications, which recently combined with ECI Telecom Group, recommended providers route potential robocalls to a “voice captcha” or indicate a call is “potential spam” so the called party can decide whether to answer. Let hospitals adopt cloud-based mitigation services, “whereby the hospital takes ownership and control over the prevention and mitigation of robocalls and fraud attempts,” Ribbon said.