A draft order reshaping FCC Part 2 equipment authorization rules was approved by commissioners 3-0 Thursday, as expected (see 1707030014). They authorized labeling information to be provided to the consumer via a device’s electronic display. It's "an alternative to the requirement for etching or permanent labels on the exterior of devices, and manufacturers expect the use of electronic labeling rather than permanent physical labels to result in a measurable reduction in costs,” said a news release. Commissioners also eliminated a requirement that companies file with Customs and Border Protection FCC Form 740, the FCC’s unique import declaration form for RF devices. The FCC combined two separate self-approval procedures into one, “which will help reduce confusion as to which process applies to any given product,” the agency said. “The new combined process is called the Suppliers Declaration of Conformity and will allow device manufacturers to bring products to market in a more efficient manner while continuing to ensure compliance with the equipment authorization program.” Officials said the huge increase in wireless devices necessitated a rule change. Chairman Ajit Pai said the order was about modernization: “Our decades-old rules subject new technologies, like personal computers, to a more strenuous self-approval process than what is required for more established technologies. But PCs, of course, are no longer new and unfamiliar, and they have tried and true testing procedures, yet they are still subject to the stricter and costlier self-approval process.” Julius Knapp, Office of Engineering and Technology chief, said the commission’s authorization program is 50 years old: “It has been an instrument to ensure that radiofrequency devices comply with technical rules and share airwaves without causing harmful interference.” This is "significantly easing regulatory burdens, which will allow consumers to receive products in a more efficient and timely way,” said Julie Kearney, CTA vice president-regulatory affairs.
FCC commissioners diverged on how to assess open internet public comments, and outside parties continued to disagree on the significance of Wednesday's net neutrality Day of Action (DOA) (see 1707120017). Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency will review all comments in the record and make a decision based on the law and other facts. The raw number of comments isn't as important as the substantive ones, he said at Thursday's news conference after the commission meeting. He declined to provide a timetable for action and said he didn't have any DOA conversations with participants. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said it would be "short-sighted" and "problematic" to ignore or discount individuals' comments. Docket 17-108 had 493,462 filings by late Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 7,382,933 (after 797,577 were posted Wednesday, and over 400,000 both Monday and Tuesday). Pai said the agency's electronic comment filing system seemed to be holding up despite the crush of comments. Demand Progress, a DOA organizer, called the protest against FCC-proposed rollback of Title II net neutrality regulation a "historic day" that "broke records." It said Thursday that DOA sparked at least 2 million comments to the FCC (some of them apparently not yet posted) and over 5 million emails and phone calls to Congress, with "tens of millions" of people seeing protest messages online. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office joined the DOA "to sound the alarm about the FCC's attack on net neutrality" and ask for people's support. But FreedomWorks said: "The response, largely from companies greatly benefiting from so-called net neutrality, was unimpressive. The fundamental problem with their message is that it is laughable. The average user's Internet experience today is no different than in 2014. ... Net neutrality is a solution without a problem." NCTA CEO Michael Powell said in a piece also distributed on Medium, which took part in DOA, "the duplicity of big tech’s call to action is revealed by asking are they willing to subject themselves to government regulation to ensure the internet is neutral rather than skewed in favor of their pocketbooks." The Phoenix Center said broadband and telecom capital spending "is down significantly in 2016." Incompas unveiled a poll saying Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump back current net neutrality protections by a 3 to 1 margin.
Modern LCD TVs consume less energy, even as sets increase in size and resolution, CTA reported Wednesday. CTA commissioned Fraunhofer to study 9,000 models of TVs marketed between 2003 and 2015, it said. It said 2015 TVs consumed 76 percent less energy (per screen area) than in 2003, and it costs consumers on average 6 cents a day to power a TV. It’s “fundamental” that industry and government devise “a standardized way to measure energy use,” CTA said. “The consumer technology industry has initiated efforts at the domestic and international levels, with participation by governments and energy efficiency advocates, to update the current consensus measurement standard for TV energy use to reflect technology and market changes.” Lack of an updated test clip has been a sticking point of proceedings to draft Version 8.0 of EPA's Energy Star TV specification (see 1706280026). The Natural Resources Defense Fund agrees with the CTA study’s "core finding" that national TV energy use has gone down, Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz emailed us Wednesday. But TVs in some cases "use a lot more energy in a person’s home than the value reported by the industry," Horowitz said. "There are flaws in the test method specified by the government for measuring the energy use of new TVs and some manufacturers are exploiting them big time," he said, referencing NRDC's 2016 report accusing major TV makers of duping the public on TV energy use.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters Wednesday he's asking DOJ Antitrust Division head nominee Makan Delrahim to meet with him to discuss any contact Delrahim may have had with members of President Donald Trump's administration on AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner. Blumenthal's request follows media reports that White House officials viewed DOJ's ongoing review of AT&T/TW as a potential way to address Trump's well-known frustrations with TW's CNN's coverage of his administration. Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also warned DOJ on its interactions with the Trump administration over AT&T/TW (see 1707070054). Blumenthal and Klobuchar both raised concerns about AT&T/TW on antitrust grounds. The White House “is ethically and morally barred from intervening” in the merger review, Blumenthal said. “The mere threat of it is a very serious potential violation of ethics.” Delrahim has not yet responded to the request for a meeting, Blumenthal said. DOJ didn't comment.
FirstNet held in-person consultations with 36 states and territories after delivering AT&T state plans June 19, said FirstNet Director-Consultation David Buchanan Wednesday on an International Wireless Communications Expo webinar. Remaining meetings are scheduled before Aug. 4, he said. FirstNet met with state single points of contacts, with governors attending in a few states. FirstNet delivered plans to 53 of 56 states and territories, with Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa still to go, he said. Coverage has been a hot topic in the consultations, Buchanan said. Todd Early, Texas Department of Public Safety deputy assistant director, agreed coverage is a critical concern for his state, the second largest in the U.S. He said the state is reviewing the AT&T plan. Network uptime and resiliency is a big discussion point in talks with AT&T and California, said Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Executive Director Scott Edson. “Public safety is making a demand to ensure that we do have that,” and states should insist the issue is fully addressed in final state plans, he said. Early opt-ins by Virginia and Wyoming (see 1707110059) excited FirstNet, which looks forward to continuing the dialog with the 54 other states and territories, Buchanan said. States have until Aug. 4 to provide feedback on initial plans, then FirstNet will provide final plans this fall, he said.
The Technological Advisory Council next meets Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m. at FCC headquarters, the agency said Tuesday. TAC “will discuss progress on work initiatives discussed at the previous meeting,” said a public notice. The meeting will be the second under Chairman Ajit Pai, after a session in June (see 1706080031).
Correction: The rate set by an FCC video relay service order for Tier 1, covering the first 1 million monthly minutes of larger providers' calls, was $4.82 a minute (see 1707060062).
The FCC’s vacant channel proceeding hangs over low-power TV “like the Sword of Damocles” and should be terminated, said the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance in a meeting with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last week, according to an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 12-268. LPTV stations and translators are now “on the verge” of deciding whether to make “very substantial investments” to survive the repacking, ATBA said. “The vacant channel proceeding enormously compounds the difficulty of those decisions.” The FCC also should provide a path to permanent status for LPTV stations that survive the repacking, quickly approve ATSC 3.0 for all licensed TV broadcasters, open a second displacement window for unbuilt LPTV broadcasters, and “liberally” waive rules that require forfeiture if LPTV stations go dark for more than a year because of the repacking. “ATBA members understand that some of the conditions of repacking are beyond the FCC’s control,” the group said. “But there are a number of targeted steps the Commission can take that would materially improve the prospects for low power broadcasters through the repacking process.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai ordered Universal Service Administrative Co. to impose safeguards "to mitigate the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse" in the Lifeline program subsidizing low-income telecom and broadband service. He said "immediate action is warranted" in light of FCC investigations and a recent GAO report (see 1706290037). "We must be vigilant in stopping abuse of the Universal Service Fund," Pai said in a letter Tuesday to USAC acting CEO Vickie Robinson. "American taxpayers demand and deserve to know that the money they contribute each month to the Fund is not wasted or put to fraudulent use by unscrupulous eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs)." Pai directed USAC to take numerous specific steps to address "ineligible subscribers," "oversubscribed addresses," "phantom subscribers," "deceased subscribers," "exact duplicates" and "sales agent accountability." He asked USAC to identify and audit the top 10 ETCs with the highest number of potentially ineligible subscribers according to GAO, and to review monthly a statistically valid sample of their subscribers to determine their eligibility and de-enroll the ineligible. He also asked USAC to identify and review every address associated with 500 or more subscribers, and require all relevant ETCs to de-enroll any subscribers who can't verify certain Lifeline qualifications.
The Internet Association launched a Net Neutrality Day of Action website for Wednesday's events aimed at encouraging public comments to the FCC on preserving a "free and open internet," said a Monday release on the site. "Net Neutrality is fundamental to the continued success of the internet," said IA President Michael Beckerman. Silicon Valley companies are playing a "dangerous political game" by asking Washington for more government involvement in their industry, countered Entropy Economics: "It may not end well." FreedomWorks and other groups concerned about Title II network neutrality regulation launched their own site Thursday.