The Regulatory Information Service for Communications Professionals
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Each week on Monday TheDCoffice.com® delivers a detailed Weekly Summary to its clients, covering telecommunications, broadcasting and the Internet at the FCC, Congress & the Courts. The client version also includes dynamic links to source documents and past activity.
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What did you miss last week?
The wide range of regulatory activities reported by TheDCoffice.com for the week ending May 10th included the following:
Broadcasting and Media
The FCC extended to June 19 and July 18 (from May 20 and June 18, respectively) the deadlines for comments on whether to make changes to its current broadcast indecency policies or maintain them as they are in response to the June 2012 decision by the US Supreme Court in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. vacating and remanding to the FCC three decisions in which the FCC concluded that the use of offensive language and nudity during broadcast television shows constituted indecent behavior.
Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) introduced the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 (S.912) to allow multichannel video programming distributors to provide video programming to subscribers on an a la carte basis.
Consumers
The FCC:
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clarified that under the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991), which makes it unlawful to call a residential telephone line using a prerecorded voice to deliver a message without prior consent of the called party, while a seller does not generally “initiate” calls made through a third-party telemarketer within the meaning of the TCPA, it nonetheless may be held vicariously liable for violations of the law committed by third-party telemarketers;
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reported that during the fourth quarter of 2012 the number of consumer complaints in the top five reported categories, bundled and VoIP services; cable and satellite services; radio and TV broadcasting; wireless; and wireline telecommunications, increased by more than 4% over the prior quarter, to 78,608 and the number of consumer inquires increased by nearly 1% to 13,190.
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Internet
Net Neutrality
On Tuesday the FCC’s Open Internet Advisory Committee (OIAC) met at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago for its fourth meeting to track and evaluate the effects of the FCC's Open Internet rules and to provide any recommendations it deems appropriate to the FCC regarding policies and practices related to preserving the open Internet.
Privacy
Representative Matt Salmon (R-Arizona) introduced the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013 (H.R.1847) to strengthen the 27-year old ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) to better protect digital privacy rights, including personal emails, a companion to a bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) (S.607) earlier this year and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Representative Henry Johnson Jr. (D-Georgia) introduced the Application Privacy, Protection and Security (Apps) Act of 2013 (H.R.1913) to provide greater transparency in and user control over the treatment of data collected by mobile applications and to enhance the security of such data.
Taxation
The Senate passed and sent to the House the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (S.743) to require all sellers with gross receipts exceeding $1 million to collect and remit sales and use taxes for remote sales, i.e. sales into a state in which the seller would not legally be required to pay state or local sales taxes unless required by this act.
IP Transition
The FCC’s Technology Transitions Policy Task Force proposed real-world trials of the ongoing migration to Internet Protocol (IP) networks, for VoIP interconnection, emergency call (911) systems, and wireless instead of wireline service in certain geographic areas, to gather a factual record to help determine what policies will promote investment, innovation, and competition, protect consumers and ensure that the emerging all-IP networks remain resilient through the transition.
Spectrum and Wireless
The FCC:
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proposed rules to expand the availability of in-flight broadband connectivity for airline passengers flying in the contiguous U.S. by establishing an Air-Ground Mobile Broadband service in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band using a ground-based network to communicate with planes, while ensuring that existing users are protected from interference;
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proposed rules addressing two portions of the commercial space sector: the commercial space launch industry, to provide spectrum for communications during commercial space launches, and the commercial communications satellite industry, to facilitate the use of commercial satellite networks by U.S. government agencies on an equal basis with the private sector, and the future spectrum needs of the industry.
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On Tuesday May 14:
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the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a hearing on the State of Video at 10:30 a.m.
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the FCC will hold a workshop at the FCC on the environmental compliance process required for the construction of all new communications towers and for the collocation of communications equipment on other structures.
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On Wednesday May 15 FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority) will hold the first in a series of six two-day regional workshops to consult with states, tribes, territories and localities to solicit input for the design of a public safety broadband wireless network that meets the requirements of police, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in their respective jurisdictions.
On Friday June 21 the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) will meet at the FCC to further consider implementation of the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 focusing on NG 9-1-1 access matters.
Coming up
During April regulatory, legislative and judicial events focused on the following subject areas: Broadband, Broadcasting & Media, Call Completion, Consumers, Disabilities, Access, Forbearance, Foreign Ownership, Governance, International, Internet Cybersecurity and Privacy, Numbering, Public Safety Communications, Spectrum & Wireless and Universal Service.
In April TheDCoffice.com reported on these events and many more
Broadband
The FCC denied a December 2011 petition for reconsideration by ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio, of the October 2011 Second Report and Order affirming FCC rules for Access BPL (access broadband services over power lines).
Broadcasting and Media
The FCC:
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requested comments on whether to make changes to its current broadcast indecency policies or maintain them as they are in response to the June 2012 decision by the US Supreme Court in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. vacating and remanding to the FCC three decisions in which the FCC concluded that the use of offensive language and nudity during broadcast television shows constituted indecent behavior.
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announced May 20 and June 18 deadlines for comments on whether to make changes to its current broadcast indecency policies or maintain them as they are in response to the June 2012 decision by the US Supreme Court in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. vacating and remanding to the FCC three decisions in which the FCC concluded that the use of offensive language and nudity during broadcast television shows constituted indecent behavior.
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Call Completion
The FCC announced May 13 and May 28 deadlines for comments on proposed rules to help address problems in the completion of long-distance telephone calls to rural customers, with evidence indicating that some long distance wholesale providers may be failing to deliver a significant number of calls to rural telephone company customers, and that the retail long-distance providers may not be adequately examining the resulting rural call completion performance.
What did you miss recently?
Consumers
The FCC:
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presented a status report on the October 2011 “Wireless Consumer Usage Notification Guidelines” announced jointly by CTIA-The Wireless Association, Consumers Union, and the FCC, reporting that participating U.S. wireless companies have met the April 17, 2013 deadline to provide free, automatic alerts to customers when they approach or exceed plan limits for data, voice, and text, or when international roaming charges may be applied;
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hosted a workshop on bill shock, the sudden and unexpected appearance of overage charges on wireless bills, and cramming, the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading or deceptive charges on telephone bills, at the FCC.
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The FCC’s Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age met at the FCC, following renewal of its charter in December 2012.
The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee held the first meeting under its renewed charter at the FCC.
Representative Eliot Engel (D-New York) introduced the Cell Phone Theft Protection Act (H.R.1730) to prohibit mobile service providers from providing service on mobile devices that have been reported stolen, to require such providers to give consumers the ability to remotely delete data from mobile devices, and to prohibit the alteration or removal of mobile device identification numbers.
Disabilities Access
The FCC:
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adopted rules implementing provisions of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) that impose an obligation on manufacturers and service providers to provide access to Internet browsers in telephones used with public mobile services by blind or visually-impaired individuals.
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adopted rules implementing provisions of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) that require emergency information to be made accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, and that certain equipment be capable of delivering video description and emergency information to those individuals.
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Internet - Cybersecurity
The House of Representatives:
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passed the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013 by a vote of 402-16 to advance cybersecurity research, development and technical standards.
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passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a vote of 288-127 to provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities.
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Internet - Privacy
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved and sent to the floor of the Senate a bill (S.607) to strengthen the 27-year old ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) and better protect digital privacy rights, an amended version of the bill introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on March 19, 2013.
Public Safety Communications
The FCC:
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implemented and proposed additional changes to rules governing the 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum (769-775/799-805 MHz) by eliminating or updating outdated technical requirements, offering public safety licensees additional flexibility to operate their 700 MHz narrowband land mobile radio systems, and addressing recommendations for changes to the 700 MHz narrowband rules;
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adopted a reconfigured channel plan for the 800 MHz band along the U.S.-Mexico border based on the June 2012 Amended Protocol signed by the United States and Mexico modifying the international allocation of 800 MHz spectrum in the U.S.-Mexico border region;
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announced May 16 and May 31 deadlines for comments to refresh the record of a Notice of Inquiry released in April 2008 addressing the problem of fraudulent 911 calls made from non-service-initialized (NSI) wireless phones.
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announced May 13 and May 28 deadlines for comments on proposed steps to improve the reliability of 9-1-1 service nationwide, in response to severe storms that caused widespread communication outages, by ensuring that service providers implement best practices in network design, maintenance, and operation, and by amending FCC rules to clarify how service providers can more effectively and uniformly notify 9-1-1 call centers of communications outages and cooperate to restore service as quickly as possible;
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announced May 24 and June 10 deadlines for comments on proposals to implement provisions of the February 2012 Spectrum Act governing the deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network (PSBN) in the 700 MHz band, including adoption of initial rules to protect against harmful interference in the spectrum designated for public safety services.
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FirstNet, the independent authority within NTIA assigned responsibility for establishing a nationwide public safety broadband network, posted an RFI (Request for Information) on smartphones, routers, tablets, modems, specialized devices, and other wireless equipment and applications to plan for the potential future acquisition of devices to run on the FirstNet Network (FNN).
Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) in the House (H.R.1575) , and Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) in the Senate (S.721) introduced companion bills entitled the Kelsey Smith Act to require wireless and IP-enabled voice service providers to provide call location information in an emergency situation that involves risk of death or serious physical harm.
Spectrum and Wireless
The FCC:
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announced limitations on the filing and processing of license modification applications for full power and Class A TV Stations to facilitate implementation of provisions of the February 2012 Spectrum Act, which authorizes the FCC to conduct “incentive auctions” of TV spectrum voluntarily relinquished by TV stations for broadband use in exchange for a portion of re-auction proceeds.
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announced May 28 and June 24 deadlines for comments in a proceeding to revise and streamline its Part 15 (Radio frequency devices) rules for U-NII devices (unlicensed national information infrastructure devices), which currently share spectrum on a non-interference basis with federal operations, in the 5 GHz frequency band, and to make up to 195 megahertz of additional spectrum in the 5 GHz band available to unlicensed wireless devices.
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adopted additional rule changes to Part 90, PLMRS (Private Land Mobile Radio Services) of its rules that were proposed in a March 2010 Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by increasing the power limit for end-of-train devices; modifying the trunking rules for PLMR stations below 800 MHz; and permitting digital transmission of station identification by PLMR stations with exclusive use of their spectrum;
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announced June 18 and July 18 deadlines for comments on proposed additional changes to rules governing the 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum (769-775/799-805 MHz) by eliminating or updating outdated technical requirements, offering public safety licensees additional flexibility to operate their 700 MHz narrowband land mobile radio systems, and addressing recommendations for changes to the 700 MHz narrowband rules.
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announced June 21 and July 8 deadlines for comments on a white paper prepared by its Technological Advisory Council (TAC) entitled Interference Limits Policy-The use of harm claim thresholds to improve the interference tolerance of wireless systems, which addresses the role of receivers in ensuring the efficient use of spectrum, and provides recommendations on avoiding obstacles posed by receiver performance to making spectrum available for new services.
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Universal Service
The FCC:
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adopted the form to be used to conduct an annual survey of urban rates for fixed voice and fixed broadband residential services to implement some of the universal service reforms adopted in the November 2011 USF/ICC Transformation Order;
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announced April 29 and May 13 deadlines for comments on proposed new forms developed to implement the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) adopted in December 2012 to provide support for broadband connectivity for eligible individual and consortium health care provider applicants.
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requested comments on a petition by the United States Telecom Association for reconsideration and clarification of the December 2012 Report and Order establishing a Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) as part of an effort to reform the FCC’s universal service health care support mechanism.
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adopted the basic cost model platform to estimate forward-looking costs of CAF Phase II (Connect America Fund) to offer each price cap local exchange carrier (LEC) a model-derived support amount to provide both voice and broadband service for five years, in exchange for a commitment to serve all locations in its service territory in a state that fall within the high-cost range and are not served by a competing unsubsidized provider;
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announced support authorizations for seven winning bids from the September 2012 Mobility Fund Phase I reverse auction, and pending support authorizations for 183 additional winning bids effective when the winning bidders identified submit documentation to the FCC, to provide mobile voice and broadband services in 795 biddable geographic areas located in 31 states and 1 territory;
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announced May 9 and May 20 deadlines for comments and oppositions on a petition by the United States Telecom Association for reconsideration and clarification of the December 2012 Report and Order establishing a Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) as part of an effort to reform the FCC’s universal service health care support mechanism;
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announced May 23 and June 7 deadlines for comments on a proposal to clarify the E-rate program (schools and libraries universal service support program) requirements for bundling devices, equipment and services that are ineligible for E-rate support with E-rate eligible services and products to remove any potential uncertainty regarding the requirement for applicants to cost allocate ineligible components when they are bundled with eligible services.
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The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet heard testimony at a hearing on the State of Rural Communications from witnesses representing Ritter Communications, Inc., CenturyLink, Inc., BOYCOM Cablevision, Inc., and U.S. Cellular.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski named 13 members to the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the independent not-for-profit corporation serving as the permanent administrator of federal universal service support programs.
In Congress:
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The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology heard testimony at a hearing on The Lifeline Fund: Money Well Spent? from witnesses representing the Montana Telecommunications Association, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Universal Consulting, CTIA-The Wireless Association, NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners), and the FCC’s Wireless Competition Bureau.
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Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) introduced a bill (S.774) to require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress on the effectiveness of the FCC’s universal service reforms.
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Representative Doris Matsui (D-California) introduced the Broadband Adoption Act of 2013 (H.R.1685) to amend the ‘34 Act to reform and modernize the Universal Service Lifeline Assistance Program to help make in-home broadband services more affordable.
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Forbearance
The FCC
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announced the start of the two-week quiet period required by its rules for forbearance petitions for the February 2012 petition by USTelecom requesting, on behalf of ILECs (incumbent local exchange carriers) and some price cap carriers, that the FCC forbear from enforcing certain “legacy telecommunications regulations”.Numbering
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announced a May 6 deadline for comments on a method for distributing 844 toll free numbers on an equitable basis, specifically whether the number allocation method it adopted in September 2010 to open the 855 toll free code should also be used for the 844 code;
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released a report showing that the telephone number utilization rate, defined as the percentage of telephone numbers allotted to a carrier that has been assigned to telephone subscribers, was 47.9% as of June 30, 2010, unchanged from the rate recorded six months earlier, and providing several additional statistics on numbering.
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Foreign Ownership
The FCC streamlined its policies and procedures for reviewing foreign ownership of U.S. companies with common carrier wireless licenses and certain aeronautical radio licenses to reduce regulatory costs and burdens, estimating that the reforms adopted will lower the number of petitions for declaratory ruling filed annually involving foreign ownership by up to 70%.
Governance
The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill (H.R.1580) to affirm that: “It is the policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.”
International
According to an FCC report covering international telephone and private line traffic between the U.S. and other countries in 2011, U.S.-billed international facilities-based and facilities-resale traffic increased 18.1%, from 62.4 billion minutes in 2010 to 73.7 billion in 2011, to cite just one of many findings in the report.
Numbering
The FCC:
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requested comments on a proposal to allow interconnected VoIP providers to obtain telephone numbers directly from the NANPA (North American Numbering Plan Administrator) and the PA (Pooling Administrator) and on a range of issues on its long-term approach to numbering resources, and established a limited technical trial of direct access to numbers by qualifying interconnected VoIP providers.
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announced May 22 and June 3 deadlines for comments on a recommendation by the North American Numbering Council, including evaluations of benefits and risks, of consolidating the separate contracts of NANPA, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, and the PA, the Pooling Administrator, which is responsible for thousands-block number pooling.
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