The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will host a robocall and caller ID spoofing workshop Sept. 16, the agency said Tuesday. The workshop builds on the FCC’s June declaratory ruling on implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which includes a provision allowing carriers to help consumers curb unwanted robocalls (see 1506180046). “The workshop will continue the Commission’s recent work helping consumers fight unwanted robocalls by examining the current state of robocall-blocking solutions, steps industry is taking to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls, and potential solutions to caller ID spoofing,” the FCC said. The all-day workshop will take place at FCC headquarters. Other details will follow.

A federal court modified its remaining briefing schedule for AT&T's challenge to an FCC ruling that changed its VoIP symmetry rule to allow competitive LECs partnering with over-the-top VoIP providers to charge long-distance carriers higher end-office switching fees for connecting calls to customers. Responding to a joint motion from the parties, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order Monday setting the due date for the FCC's reply brief on Sept. 23, for intervenors supporting the commission on Oct. 14, for petitioner's reply brief on Oct. 18 and final briefs incorporating a deferred index on Nov. 18 (AT&T v. FCC, No. 15-1059). The FCC sought more time to file its reply brief, which had been due Sept. 14, because that's the same day it is to file its response in the net neutrality case. AT&T filed its opening brief on July 23 (see 1507310057).

The FCC authorized $11.2 million in government funding for four parties to carry out experiments to provide broadband to 15,000 rural consumers, the agency announced Friday in a release. Skybeam will extend fixed wireless service in several counties of Illinois, Kansas and Texas; Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative will extend hybrid fiber/fixed service in an Iowa county; Consolidated Communications Networks will extend fiber broadband in a North Dakota county; and Delta Communications will extend fiber in various Illinois counties.

The FCC online system for filing 911 reliability certifications in now available, said a public notice from the Public Safety Bureau. Those 911 service providers that are covered may now begin submitting information here for the Initial Reliability Certification due Oct. 15.

A federal court set the briefing schedule for Neustar's challenge to an FCC order that gave Telcordia the conditional rights to the next local number portability administrator (LNPA) contract (Neustar v. FCC, No. 15-1080). Under an order issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Neustar's brief is due Sept. 14; the FCC's is due Oct. 14; the brief of intervenors CTIA and USTelecom in support of the FCC is due Oct. 29; Neustar's reply is due Nov. 12 and final briefs incorporating a deferred appendix are due Dec. 3. The court issued a notice saying oral argument typically will be scheduled at least 45 days after briefing is completed. Neustar had no comment; it had filed a motion May 7 asking the court for an expedited briefing schedule that resembled the one the court issued Wednesday, albeit almost three months later. In the meantime, the FCC filed a motion May 21 asking the court to dismiss Neustar's challenge as premature, or alternatively hold it in abeyance pending further regulatory actions, because the agency considered its order an interim step in the LNPA selection process. A court motions panel July 21 issued an order that rejected the FCC request to hold the case in abeyance and referred its dismissal motion to the panel that will consider the case on its merits (see 1507210039).

Various groups petitioned the FCC to repeal a rule requiring telcos to retain toll-call data for 18 months. "The mandatory retention of call toll records under Section 42.6 violates the fundamental right to privacy," said the letter submitted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center's advisory board, joined by 26 consumer rights, human rights and civil liberties organizations. "It exposes consumers to data breaches, stifles innovation, and reduces market competition. It is outdated and ineffective. It is not necessary or proportionate for a democratic society." The letter said the FCC opened a rulemaking in 1985 aimed at removing the rule when it required the calling information to be retained only for six months, but in response, the Department of Justice asked and convinced the commission to extend the retention requirement to 18 months. "Many years later, it is abundantly clear that the 18-month data retention rule serves no purpose," said Tuesday's letter. The letter said the DOJ itself acknowledged in 2006 that "the efficacy of the Commission's current Section 42.6 requirement to meet law enforcement needs has been significantly eroded." The DOJ didn't comment. "Telephone service providers are in a much better position than the FCC to decide what call data is worth storing and for how long. By imposing a one-size-fits-all retention model on telcos, the FCC has eliminated any incentive for these companies to compete on privacy and develop more cost-efficient recordkeeping systems," said Berin Szoka, president of Tech Freedom, one of the groups signing the letter, in a release. "It's long past time the Commission repeal this mandate."

The Rural Utilities Service is seeking comment by Sept. 28 on an interim rule incorporating 2014 Agricultural Act ("Farm Bill") changes to its rural broadband loan and loan guarantee program. The comments are to help guide RUS in writing final rules implementing the statutory changes, the agency said, publishing the interim rule in Thursday's Federal Register. RUS was required to incorporate the Farm Bill changes before accepting new applications. In a companion notice, the agency said it was accepting applications through Sept. 30 for the broadband program for FY 2015. The interim rule changes include: (A) setting the minimum level of broadband service initially at 4/1 Mbps; (B) new RUS efforts to determine if an incumbent broadband service provider is present in proposed funding area, which "is critical to whether a loan is eligible for the program"; (C) removing the definition of "underserved" and defining "unserved" as a household or area that isn't offered broadband service, with all proposed funded service areas required to have at least 15 percent unserved households; (D) lending term modifications intended to help loan applications aimed at serving areas with at least 50 percent unserved households; and (E) a requirement that applications be evaluated and prioritized at least twice a year.

The California PUC asked the FCC for a 30-day extension to file comments on Lifeline USF overhaul proposals, adding to the joint call by three telco trade associations on Friday for such an extension (see 1507310061). The current deadlines are Aug. 17 for initial comments and Sept. 17 for replies, the CPUC said. The CPUC said in a filing posted Monday to docket 11-42 that it needed more time because it runs a Lifeline program that's more comprehensive than the FCC's, "and is accordingly, more complicated to manage." The CPUC also said it needed more time to write comments on the potential interplay between the federal and California Lifeline programs. CTIA, ITTA and USTelecom said an extension was warranted because of the complexity of the FCC proposals to cover broadband and restructure the program's administration, and because the initial comment deadline fell in the middle of the traditional summer vacation period.

The FCC Technological Advisory Council will meet Sept. 24 at agency headquarters, the commission said in last Tuesday's Federal Register. The meeting in the Commission Meeting Room is to start at 1 p.m. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler chaired the TAC before he was named to the commission.

USTelecom, CTIA and the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance asked the FCC to extend the comment deadlines by 30 days in the rulemaking to revamp Lifeline USF subsidies to cover broadband and make administration of the program more efficient. Instead of initial comments being due Aug. 17 and replies Sept. 15, they would be due Sept. 16 and Oct. 15, the telco associations said Friday in their request. The groups said the extension was warranted because the reform proposal was "unusually complex" and the current initial deadline fell during the traditional summer holiday period.