Industry and others should take many steps to ensure phone customers are aware of call blocking options, an FCC advisory panel recommended. At Monday's Consumer Advisory Committee meeting, CAC members unanimously approved the recommendations to the commission (see 1909160019). Text was released Wednesday in docket 17-59. People should get "blocked call information where consumers customarily view information about the call-blocking and labeling service," such as in wireless and wireline customers' online account information, the proposal said. "Consumers should have options to manage robocall blocking preferences, such as through a customer portal, in-store, by phone, or other choices." Customer service personnel should be trained to help, the committee said. "Providers should maintain a webpage that includes information about opt-out blocking and labeling tools, clearly explaining to consumers the robocall-related services provided, which calls are blocked, and how to opt in and out. The service should be provided at no additional line-item charge." Don't forget traditional wireline service, CAC suggested. "Explore potential means to protect legacy copper line customers from illegal robocalls," it asked of telcos. "The FCC should continue to directly collaborate with consumer advocacy groups and industry to educate consumers on the options for and risks of various methods of combatting robocalls." Stakeholders should together consider "public service ad campaigns, possibly including a celebrity spokesperson, to educate and alert consumers to the efforts of government and industry to tackle the robocall epidemic, and to educate and alert consumers to the robocall-blocking options," the group said. The agency seeks default call blocking services to be free, an agency spokesperson confirmed. FCC representatives wouldn't say whether CAC wants the same. “NCTA voted in favor of the recommendation" by CAC, emailed a spokesperson for the association. "We appreciate all the hard work of the ... committee in developing it.” The Competitive Carriers Association, amid its conference in Providence, Rhode Island (see 1909180061), declined to comment. America's Communications Association backed the declaratory ruling allowing "robocall blocking, including popular third-party robocall blocking tools, on an opt-out basis," an ACA spokesperson emailed. It hopes "CAC’s recommendations will provide helpful guidance to voice providers in deploying opt-out call blocking that protects their customers from the torrent of unwanted and illegal robocalls.” Incompas declined to comment, while USTelecom said it didn't have a comment right away.
Stakeholders disagree if the FCC should draft new regulations on multi-tenant environment competing broadband services. NPRM comments posted through Tuesday in docket 17-142 (see 1907110015). San Francisco said competing broadband providers can be discouraged from building networks in certain markets or neighborhoods if they can't expect to serve MTE tenants. It wants the FCC to strengthen its prohibition of anti-competitive agreements, such as exclusive wiring arrangements, revenue-sharing agreements, and sale-and-lease-back deals. CenturyLink has seen "worrisome and growing trends" in its attempts to serve MTE residents. It said landlords increasingly sought to monetize access, and when those costs were too high, CenturyLink rejected tenants' request for service. NCTA said cable providers spent hundreds of billions of dollars in the past 20 years deploying broadband, so "be careful not to disrupt the marketplace." Doing so could undermine investment in broadband and video to MTEs, the group said. Without assured access to local MTEs, some competitors may avoid an area, Incompas said. Access "is a significant economic factor for firms in determining their ability to deliver competitive broadband networks to areas that are lacking broadband choice," it said. The association noted mandatory access laws in the San Francisco area allowed fiber provider Sonic to gain entry to over 1,000 buildings to deploy gigabit service. Crown Castle said prohibiting revenue-sharing arrangements could slow broadband deployment because building owners would have less incentive to allow infrastructure installation. "Because many MTEs do not want to deal with carriers directly or negotiate agreements on a carrier-by-carrier basis, they engage experienced neutral host operators to manage and maintain installations of facilities that permit the provision of broadband services," it said. As broadband becomes increasingly wireless, the FCC should "expand its assessment of where broadband services are consumed and the infrastructure needed to deliver them," recommended T-Mobile. The FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee developed a state model code that could inform rules, Uniti Fiber said. RealtyCom Partners opposed a further rulemaking on arrangements between landlords and telecom providers because "the market is functioning well." The National Multifamily Housing Council, with other real estate associations, opposed new regulation as unnecessary and unwise.
Broadband providers disagree whether and how the FCC should draft new regulations on how occupants of apartment buildings, malls and other multi-tenant environments access competing broadband services. Proponents of broadband competition want the FCC to allow states and municipalities more flexibility in oversight of agreements between landlords and communications providers. Comments on an NPRM posted through Tuesday in docket 17-142 (see 1908300058).
Size matters when considering safe harbor protections for voice service providers' blocking of robocalls. Parties squared off before the FCC about how broad or narrow such protections should be in docket 17-59 replies posted through Friday. There's disagreement on creation of a critical calls list. Some questioned the need for a secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) mandate since industry is implementing it fine.
Size matters when considering safe harbor protections for voice service providers' blocking of robocalls. Parties squared off before the FCC about how broad or narrow such protections should be in docket 17-59 replies posted through Friday. There's disagreement on creation of a critical calls list. Some questioned the need for a secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) mandate since industry is implementing it fine.
The FCC issued an NPRM for its $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and posted it Friday in docket 19-126 (see 1907110031). Comments are due to the Wireline Bureau 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and replies 30 days later. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering on Monday commended FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for moving the rulemaking forward. "We were the first organization to call for USF funding to be tied to 1 Gigabit speed," he said, adding speeds of 25 Mbps downstream, 3 up, are "antiquated, out of date and insufficient." In its proposed reverse auction for bidders who want to participate in the RDOF USF program, the agency seeks comments on how much weight a broadband service's speed and latency should be given in a bid (see 1907230061). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also supports aiming high on performance measures for the RDOF program. In comments at the FCC meeting Thursday, she said the NPRM takes today's performance standards and assumes they make sense "10 years hence." She said the FCC should "think bigger and bolder." Mintz communications attorney Angela Kung issued a report on the RDOF program Monday.
The FCC issued an NPRM for its $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and posted it Friday in docket 19-126 (see 1907110031). Comments are due to the Wireline Bureau 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and replies 30 days later. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering on Monday commended FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for moving the rulemaking forward. "We were the first organization to call for USF funding to be tied to 1 Gigabit speed," he said, adding speeds of 25 Mbps downstream, 3 up, are "antiquated, out of date and insufficient." In its proposed reverse auction for bidders who want to participate in the RDOF USF program, the agency seeks comments on how much weight a broadband service's speed and latency should be given in a bid (see 1907230061). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also supports aiming high on performance measures for the RDOF program. In comments at the FCC meeting Thursday, she said the NPRM takes today's performance standards and assumes they make sense "10 years hence." She said the FCC should "think bigger and bolder." Mintz communications attorney Angela Kung issued a report on the RDOF program Monday.
The FCC granted forbearance from unbundled network element (UNE) analog loop obligations for incumbent LECs to help encourage the continued move away from legacy TDM voice service and to spur further development of next-generation facilities-based networks, it said in an order issued Friday in docket 18-141. The forbearance is conditioned on a two-part transition. Competitive LECs are allowed to order new UNE analog loops for six months after the order's effective date and will grandfather any existing customer relationships for three years. An exception was made for Puerto Rico, where market transition was extended to five years.
In the days before the sunshine period for August's FCC meeting, the eighth floor had a parade of parties urging tweaks or changes to the broadband mapping draft order on this coming Thursday's agenda. That's according to docket 19-195 postings.
After a prolonged negotiation, DOJ reached agreement with T-Mobile/Sprint and Dish Network (see 1907260021). Justice got five attorneys general onboard from states that hadn't tried to block the multibillion dollar transaction. Industry officials said getting some support from states was important to the department and delayed an announcement by a day, though opposing states are expected to continue their lawsuit in federal court in New York. The California Public Utilities Commission also hasn't approved the deal. DOJ’s consent decree with the companies did little to mollify most critics.