The FCC awarded $26.6 million of the $100 million Connected Care pilot to 14 projects Friday, serving 150 treatment sites in 11 states. The most, about $5.8 million, goes to Ochin, a consortium of 44 providers in Ohio, Oregon and Washington state. Temple University Hospital got $4 million for telehealth in the Philadelphia area. The University of Mississippi Medical Center will receive about $2.4 million to provide broadband access to patients to enable remote monitoring and telehealth. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement the funding "lays the groundwork for this connected care future as these projects will help us better understand how telehealth can reduce costs and increase the quality of care."
A distributed transmission system signal “is a broadcast TV signal by any other name,” and TV white space rules should apply, said Microsoft in a call with aides to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Tuesday, per a filing posted in docket 20-74 Friday. The FCC should maintain existing rules and institute an expedited waiver process for ATSC 3.0 stations that seek to allow the DTS signal to extend a minimal amount beyond their current maximum service areas, Microsoft said. The agency's DTS item has sufficient votes for approval (see 2101050063).
The process for canceling Amazon Prime potentially constitutes unfair and deceptive practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act, Public Citizen wrote the agency Thursday. Users have to click through several pages to cancel memberships, and it’s a confusing process with numerous links in an effort to get the user to maintain the subscription, the organization wrote: “Amazon Prime’s subscription model is a ‘roach motel,’ where getting in is almost effortless, but escape is an ordeal. As a general rule, it should not be more difficult to unsubscribe than to subscribe from a digital service.” The agency received the letter, a spokesperson emailed. “Amazon makes it clear and easy for Prime members to cancel their subscription at any time, whether through a few clicks online, with a quick phone call, or by turning off auto renew in their membership options,” emailed a spokesperson. “Customer trust is at the heart of all of our products and services and we strongly disagree with any claim that our cancellation process creates uncertainty.”
Including an automatic dispatchable location to be conveyed with calls to the 988 suicide prevention hotline is seen raising technical and privacy concerns (see 2012220022), so some telecom interests urged the FCC to get interested parties together to reach consensus, in replies posted Tuesday in docket 18-336. USTelecom said the FCC's report to Congress about geolocation feasibility should include a recommendation for more study "in a proper forum by a field of experts from the public safety, voice service provider, and mental health communities." NCTA said the FCC should create an industry forum to tackle these issues and try to get consensus on operational requirements of Lifeline call centers and how to best design a location information solution for 988 calls. CTIA said the FCC should gather stakeholders to evaluate and provide specific recommendations. Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the Lifeline call center network, said Lifeline counselors will need to access caller location information "only in rare but urgent circumstances" and Lifeline policy is to access location information only in "imminent risk situations."
Comments opposing a petition for reconsideration of portions of the FCC's call authentication trust anchor second report and order by CTIA and Voice on the Net are due by Jan. 29, replies Feb. 8, in docket 17-97, says Thursday's Federal Register. CTIA and VON asked to eliminate the prohibition on voice service providers accepting calls from foreign voice providers that use North American numbering plan resources and aren't listed in the robocall mitigation database.
The FCC one-ring phone scam rule takes effect Feb. 12, says Wednesday's Federal Register. The rule lets voice service providers block all calls from a number identified as "highly likely to be associated with a one-ring scam" and extend the safe harbor for providers.
Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday a top challenge for the next FCC is the rising USF contribution factor (see 2012150018). “The current funding mechanism is regressive, hitting low-income Americans and seniors the hardest. We need to fix this problem, and fix it soon,” he said. Pai repeated his support for setting aside auction funds for broadband deployment in unserved communities and suggested Congress allocate $50 billion to fund USF for the next five years so lawmakers can identify a better contribution system. Pai also touted his efforts to close the digital divide during the event with the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and National Grange. It's one of several events he is attending as he prepares to leave Jan. 20. Pai called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 2012070039) his proudest initiative, saying it will “connect millions of Americans living in some of the hardest-to-serve places.” He continued responding to critics that providers may be unable to provide the services they successfully bid on (see 2012210026). The auction was “overwhelmingly a success,” he said. “There will always be those who are upset that other people are getting the money instead of themselves.” Part of the COVID-19 relief law provided funds to improve broadband mapping before the RDOF Phase II auction. “I hope that the next FCC will approach that phase with vigor,” Pai said. With millions relying on internet access for work and education, the $3.2 billion emergency broadband relief fund (see 2101070052) “will go a long way,” Pai said: “Our staff is moving quickly to stand up this program to help consumers who need that help." Pai touted his efforts to close the digital divide by visiting 49 states and two U.S. territories -- he would have visited all 50 if not for the pandemic, he joked. “I learned about a woman who was found dead in her home, clutching her cellphone,” Pai said. The woman dialed 911 38 times, but the calls never went through, Pai said: “There just wasn’t wireless coverage in her area.” The pandemic underscored the need for access to telehealth services, he said, praising the commission’s efforts to increase the budget for the rural healthcare program.
Benefits of 5G should come without jeopardizing satellite in 12 GHz, Microsoft representatives told aides to FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, per an RM-11768 post Monday. It said it plans to use SpaceX's Starlink constellation to offer satellite connectivity between its field-deployed modular data center and cloud resources globally, with connectivity on a primary or secondary basis using the band. It said the ruggedized data center is intended for areas where temperature, humidity and surfaces are challenging. Citing possible harmful interference to Starlink user terminals from mobile service, Microsoft urged rejecting the NPRM on Wednesday's agenda (see 2101060061). It said spectrum sharing between mobile services and non-geostationary orbit satellites isn't achievable in the band, and if the FCC goes forward, it should issue a notice of inquiry.
The CBRS Alliance is expanding its focus beyond the citizens broadband radio service band and is now the OnGo Alliance. The group will look at 3rd Generation Partnership Project “technologies operating in shared spectrum bands around the globe.” The FCC, NTIA and DOD “are actively considering other bands for sharing,” said Executive Director Alan Ewing: “Additionally, the Alliance is being contacted by international organizations that would like to engage and become affiliated.”
The Wireless ISP Association welcomed revised rules for over-the-air reception devices approved by the FCC Thursday (see 2101070068). The decision is “a major win for WISPs and the customers they serve,” the group said Friday, after initially declining to comment. “It will facilitate the placement of broadband-only ‘hubs’ and ‘relay antennas’ -- pizza box-sized technology -- on homes, multi-tenant buildings and vertical structures, providing a potent tool for WISPs and other small innovators to grow broadband deployment beyond past limits imposed by the former rule.”