NTCA and USTelecom asked the FCC to give rural telcos broadband USF contribution relief while the agency seeks to revise the subsidy system's assessments of industry for funding. The commission should provide "targeted, temporary forbearance from the application of USF contribution requirements ... with respect to broadband Internet access transmission services provided by RLECs pending the completion of comprehensive USF contributions reform," they said in a petition Wednesday in docket 06-122. The groups sought the USF contribution relief for such RLEC broadband services until the commission decides whether any and all broadband services "should be required to contribute to support of federal USF programs or completes some other form of contributions reform." They said regulatory forbearance would have a "de minimis effect" on USF contributions. RLECs are being subjected to "discriminatory and anti-competitive treatment" under a 2005 wireline broadband order that allowed them to offer broadband on a common-carrier basis -- to recover costs for such service via access rates and USF -- but only if they agreed to make USF contributions, NTCA and USTelecom said. Other providers haven't been required to make USF contributions, even under the 2015 net neutrality order that reclassified broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service because the agency provided USF contribution forbearance, they said. A federal-state joint board is looking at USF contribution issues in an effort to make recommendations to the FCC for possible changes. The FCC, CTIA, NTCA and Public Knowledge didn't comment.
The FCC approved the first grants of licenses purchased in the TV incentive auction and will let “phase zero” low-power TV stations and translators displaced far ahead of the special LPTV displacement window move to temporary channels or temporarily channel share. Among those 2,317 licenses in the wireless band OK'ed were licenses bought by T-Mobile, Dish Network through ParkerB, Comcast through CC Wireless Investment, and AT&T -- 52 pages of licenses in all -- said a public notice by the Incentive Auction Task Force and Wireless Bureau. Fifty bidders paid $19.3 billion in the auction for a total of 2,776 licenses. The licenses approved cover some of the largest U.S. markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. “We have received information from T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile), one of the recipients of the licenses granted today in the 600 MHz Band, indicating that it may commence operations or conduct FFA [first field application] testing using some of its 600 MHz Band licenses later this year,” the PN said. The displacement window for LPTV and translators likely won’t open until Q1, which could leave some LPTV and translators in the cold, said filings from the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, T-Mobile and NAB (see 1706050066). To address a gap, the IATF and Media Bureau will allow low-power broadcasters that are notified by the new owners of 600 MHz spectrum that they have 120 days to cease operations to request a waiver of the current freeze on displacement applications and apply for special temporary authority (STA) to operate on a temporary channel or seek a temporary channel sharing arrangement, another PN said. The temporary channels requested must be in the bands allocated for TV and can’t interfere with existing broadcasters, the PN said. “In considering the STA request, we will assess whether the proposed displacement facility complies with our technical and interference rules.” For temporary channel sharing, “two or more eligible LPTV/translator stations may each request a waiver of the Displacement Freeze and submit a displacement application that proposes to share a channel with the other eligible LPTV/translator,” the PN said. “Relief, if granted, will be temporary.” The Media Bureau meanwhile gave special permission for KCRA (DT) Riverside, California, a winning bidder in the incentive auction, to consummate a transaction before disbursement of incentive auction payments, said another PN. Under incentive auction rules, stations that were winning bidders would have to wait until the auction payments went out, the PN said. KCRA sought to “consummate a pro forma intra-corporate reorganization” before the payments are disbursed, the PN said. The timing is sensitive and “tied to the maturity of certain notes and a new bond offering,” the PN said. Since the deal is pro forma and won’t change the holder of the license, the bank accounts or the FCC registration number involved, the Media Bureau granted the request, the PN said. “Our decision is limited to the specific facts and special circumstances before us.”
The FCC asked a court to remand a business data service investigation case in which AT&T is challenging a 2016 order that found certain incumbent telco BDS tariff provisions were unlawful (see 1604280057). In its statement of issues to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, AT&T had said the order is contrary to the court's 2006 BellSouth v. FCC ruling that vacated a previous commission tariff order. "The Order on review did not address BellSouth," said an FCC motion for voluntary remand Tuesday in AT&T v. FCC, No. 16-1166. "Because that case, like the Order on review, addresses the lawfulness of BDS tariff terms, the Commission believes that it would be appropriate to consider the extent to which the reasoning in the Order is compatible with the BellSouth decision." The FCC said DOJ and intervenor CenturyLink consent to its motion; intervenors Sprint and Incompas are studying it; intervenor Ad Hoc Telecommunications Committee doesn't consent; and the agency discussed the motion with a counsel to intervenor Level 3 but the company didn't respond. Sprint, Incompas, Ad Hoc and Level 3 didn't comment Wednesday.
Beyond implementation of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, FCC efforts at expanding digital opportunities for people with disabilities included improving video relay services and implementing rules to improve video captioning quality, Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday at the M-Enabling Summit in Arlington, Virginia, according to provided material. The FCC announced winners of the Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility: the Ava app for transcribing multiparty conversations on smart phones; Facebook's automatic alternative text feature, which describes on-screen images for people with visual impairments; Accessible Media's Integrated Described Video Best Practices Guide; and Amazon's VoiceView feature, which speaks on-screen text as a user navigates menu options.
The FCC's proposed USF contribution rate for Q3 is 17.1 percent of carrier revenue from interstate and international telecom service end users, said the Office of Managing Director in a public notice Tuesday in docket 96-45. That would be down from Q2's 17.4 percent and the same as what industry analyst Billy Jack Gregg recently projected after Universal Service Administrative Co.'s latest revision to its estimates for USF demand and industry revenue (see 1706050008). If the FCC doesn't act within 14 days, the proposal will take effect.
Cause of Action Institute (CoA), which represented LabMD in its FTC fight (see 1701050044), filed an amicus brief Tuesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, backing AT&T Mobility against the FTC (see 1705090068). In September, the full court will review the case, which could decide whether the agency has authority to regulate ISPs (see 1705100063). In its filing (in Pacer), CoA said the court's decision in the case could directly affect the nonprofit's ability to protect businesses from the agency in litigation in the circuit. "CoA is concerned that the FTC would weaponize, misinterpret, and exploit any dicta on matters not directly within the scope of the narrow issue presented (even if not briefed) in other ways to extra-statutorily expand its powers, as it has done before," the filing said. CoA said it's concerned about the "emerging pattern" of the FTC not waiting for legislation to allow the commission to regulate broad areas "that not only flips basic administrative law on its head but threatens the separation of powers vital to liberty." CoA said its brief provides a "different account" of the FTC's enforcement activities in privacy, data security and technology than offered by those supporting the commission. The FTC declined to comment. In the LabMD case, the agency alleged the medical-testing lab was liable for lax data security practices and exposing sensitive patient information. That case is now in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 1701050044).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to tap people from outside the agency to lead the Wireless Bureau and possibly the International Bureau, industry lawyers said, as he promoted acting Chief Lisa Fowlkes to permanent Public Safety Bureau chief. Pai has promoted a number of other longtime officials in recent weeks, including Kris Monteith as Wireline Bureau chief, Michelle Carey as chief of the Media Bureau and Timothy Strachan as director of the Office of Legislative Affairs. Donald Stockdale, an economist and lawyer formerly at the Wireline Bureau, is seen as likely choice as Wireless chief (see 1706070059).
This iteration of the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council meets for the first time June 23, with Brian King, T-Mobile senior vice president-national technology service delivery and operations, at the helm, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Monday. Pai indicated in April that CSRIC was rechartered, though with less focus than it had in the past on cybersecurity (see 1704100059). The three working groups are: Transition Path to NG911, with Mary Boyd of West Safety Services as chair; Comprehensive Re-imagining of Emergency Alerting -- chaired by Farrokh Khatibi of Qualcomm; Network Reliability and Security Risk Reduction, chaired by Travis Russell of Oracle. “The CSRIC’s first meeting will introduce members of the Committee, set out initial assignments, and provide more information about the working groups,” said a public notice. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room. A full list of members is in the notice (and see the personals section of this issue of this publication).
Building and real-estate groups backed a bid for FCC pre-emption of a San Francisco code that requires multi-tenant buildings to allow occupants to request access to competing communications service providers (see 1612150006). Initial comments "overwhelmingly support" the petition of the Multifamily Broadband Council to pre-empt Article 52 of the San Francisco Police Code, which "conflicts with federal law, will impede broadband deployment and infrastructure investment in multiple dwelling units ('MDUs') and will increase prices and reduce service quality for MDU residents," replied the National Multifamily Housing Council. Most replies were posted Friday and Monday in docket 17-91. Initial comments (see 1705190040) showed Article 52 "will harm competition, MDU residents, and building owners in San Francisco" by stripping "providers of the ability to secure financing for broadband deployment," replied MBC. Others filing replies backing the petition were: Alliance Residential; Camden Property Trust, Essex Property Trust; InfoSmart Partners and Converged Service Partners; Mill Creek Residential Trust; Sares Regis Group, Sequoia Equities and RealtyCom Partners; and a group of 24 apartment owners. San Francisco replied that the advocates of the petition largely ignored that it concerns whether federal law and FCC regulations pre-empt Article 52: "While many of the proponents ask the Commission to find that Article 52 'conflicts' with federal law and Commission policy, they provide scant legal analysis and nothing supporting such a finding. Rather, they urge the Commission to find that the policy reasons for adopting Article 52 are misguided and that San Francisco’s law, while intended to foster competition, 'discourages competition' and 'infrastructure investment' in [MDUs]. ... What is clear from the proponents’ comments is that they like the status quo." Industry providers and property owners backing the petition want the FCC "to allow them to continue to operate under the exclusive access agreements they have enjoyed," San Francisco said. Also filing replies in opposition to the petition were Boston, Fiber Broadband Association and Incompas. Article 52 is a "pro-competitive, barrier-removing local ordinance, with a now-proven track record for helping providers gain access" to MDUs, Incompas replied. FCC members tentatively plan to vote June 22 on a notice of inquiry that would seek comment on ways to improve competitive broadband access in multi-tenant buildings (see 1706010049).
Five consumer and privacy organizations are urging acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen to resolve a year-old complaint that cable and satellite providers "continue to deceive consumers about their privacy practices" (see 1606090054). In a Monday letter, the coalition -- including Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Public Knowledge -- said "the time is ripe" for the commission to act since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to rehear FTC v. AT&T Mobility, which restored the commission's authority to oversee non-common carrier activities of ISPs (see 1705100063). In the June 9, 2016, complaint, several members of the coalition plus other groups alleged AT&T, Cablevision and Comcast didn't disclose how much consumer information they were collecting through their TV subscription services, how they shared the data and how they created consumer profiles with it. "Now that the AT&T Mobility decision has been vacated, it is time for the FTC to do some policing," the groups said. "We ask that you now publicly and expeditiously resolve the pending complaint." An FTC spokeswoman emailed that the agency has received the letter but doesn't comment on investigations or even if they exist.