Gabriella Novello

Video relay service providers disagree on freezing VRS rates, in comments posted Friday in FCC docket 03-123. Comments on the NPRM proposing a tiered-rate structure were due Thursday. VRS “is now at an inflection point,” said GlobalVRS. Tiered-rate compensation “has proven appropriate for the program,” it said, but the underlying methodology should be changed to consider provider scale and efficiency. Focus on functional equivalency and reject calls to freeze the current rates, said ZVRS (see 2107280044). A rate freeze would “erase much of the recent progress in VRS toward market balance and consumer choice, introduce uncertainty for smaller providers, and benefit only the dominant provider,” it said. GlobalVRS agreed. Rely on 2019 costs as a rate-setting benchmark instead of freezing current rates, said NCTA. Sorenson asked the commission to freeze the current rates for two years to “consider post-COVID VRS rates in light of the actual costs and demand for VRS that will exist in a post-COVID world.” Convo Communications agreed and said the FCC could consider extending the freeze to 2024 “given the current trajectory of the pandemic.”

The FCC should establish a definition for “functional equivalence” and create uniform metrics for telecom relay service providers, said deaf and hard of hearing advocates in recent interviews. Hundreds of deaf and hard of hearing consumers submitted comments in docket 10-51 over the past two weeks urging this. Stakeholders said functional equivalency means a relay user can call or text using one number and have access to technologies similar to those of hearing consumers.

Increasing maximum potential rates for some telecom services used by the deaf and hard of hearing, as the FCC would propose, is generally backed by stakeholders. They noted in recent interviews that the proposed changes could ultimately increase some per-minute rates. They said that would ensure the service is sustainable for users who can't rely on other services. Commissioners are to vote Aug. 5 on an NPRM (see 2107150066).

With nearly 3.6 million households enrolled in the emergency broadband benefit, experts want the FCC to release additional data about enrollment rates and subsidy amounts to better evaluate EBB effectiveness. Others said also in interviews last week the commission should revisit the rules to require more frequent reporting from participating providers to forecast when the program may end.

The FCC Wireline Bureau Lifeline report (see 2107060056) highlights the need for commissioners to consider pausing increases in standards, stakeholders said in recent interviews. Some said the agency should delay the phase-down in voice-only support and consider increasing the subsidy amount, particularly amid the pandemic. The report released about two weeks ago said the formula for updating minimum service standards will "continue to yield increasingly high results." MSS increases have sparked concerns.

As the FCC works on new broadband availability maps, experts said in recent interviews that building a nationwide map requires a focus on answering specific questions about connectivity. Some said it may be months before a final map is released.

With nearly 3.1 million households enrolled to date in the FCC’s emergency broadband benefit program, experts told us the program could last at least another year if enrollment numbers and the amount of money ISPs seek for reimbursement remain at the current pace. Others said it’s too early to say because of the limited data available.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ broadband access task force recommended an increase in investments in broadband infrastructure and promoting digital equity, in a new report Wednesday. The report recommended additional funding for the state's broadband expansion grant program; establishing a state internet assistance program to help low-income families, collecting internet access data at the granular level and increasing pricing transparency. The report’s recommendations “will help us take the next steps toward getting folks connected,” Evers (D) said.

A bill amending the Florida Telemarketing Act to prohibit calls outside the hours 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and requiring consumers' prior express written consent before automated calls are transmitted to a caller are among the three telecom bills Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed Tuesday. Also signed was SB-1944, which gives the Florida Public Service Commission authority to reverse preempt the FCC on regulating pole attachments and mediating disputes. Florida is the 23rd state to enact such a law (see 2104280054). DeSantis also signed a bill prohibiting police from using drones to collect evidence of violations (see 2101260009).

The FCC expects “a lot of interest” in the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund, senior officials told reporters Monday before the first application filing window opens Tuesday (see 2105260048). Officials said the program is intended to complement the existing emergency broadband benefit program.