Artificial intelligence, a vastly larger amount of knowledge online and incorporation of holograms and 3D video into communications will bring huge benefits to humanity in coming years, but technological progress also will bring a variety of problems, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a Silicon Flatirons speech Monday, according to prepared remarks. He said areas of concern include naïveté by the tech community about how its products might raise concerns, and the tendency of government agencies to want to expand their authority.
MVPD interests back the FCC's proposed change of a rule that subscribers get 30-day notice of a possible service change in a nonrenewed carriage agreement's last 30 days. Local franchise authorities (LFA) raised red flags, in docket 19-347 comments posted Friday. Commissioners approved the NPRM 5-0 in December (see 1912120063). NCTA supported FCC proposals for "ASAP" notifications of a blackout due to failing carriage negotiations and for streamlined notices to LFAs, and urged going further. It said the FCC should end requirements to notify LFAs about rate and service changes, or send subscribers advance notices of any big change in the information reported in annual notices and notices of the deletion or repositioning of a broadcast channel. It sought clarification that rules require advance notice to stations only when the change is within the MVPD's control. America's Communications Association backed ending notification of an annual notice change. Altice suggested that atop the NPRM revisions, look for notice obligation changes. The operator said there's no need to define ASAP because operators "have every incentive" to explain to subscribers a breakdown in negotiations to avoid confusion and minimize customer dissatisfaction. The notice requirement doesn't "empower consumers; it harms them" since they face false alarms from MVPDs, Verizon said. It said the best route for ASAP notifications are emails or “channel slates" notices replacing a televised feed. Boston; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; Montgomery and Howard counties in Maryland; and the Texas Coalition of Cities for Utilities Issues oppose ending the requirement of notifying about potentially dropped programming. They support a proposed amendment to require subscribers be notified as soon as possible, if it's in addition to 30-day notice. They urged the agency drop the 90-day notice requirement LFAs provide cable operators for being included in notice distributions. NATOA said the NPRM lacks justification or authority to ax the requirement operators provide LFAs 30-day written notice before rate or service changes. The group rejected cable arguments of potential consumer confusion: "We have every confidence that cable operators can clearly communicate to their subscribers that a channel lineup change is a possibility that will come to pass only if negotiations fail to result in an agreement."
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel denied en banc petitions in cases challenging the FCC's 2017 net neutrality order (see 1912130020) in a pair of orders Thursday (see here and here, in Pacer, docket 18-1051). The court upheld much of the agency's net neutrality partial rollback last fall (see 1910010018). Free Press General Counsel Matt Wood said the D.C. Circuit's "boilerplate orders" denying the rehearing requests were disappointing but "not that surprising" since courts routinely deny such rehearing requests. He said the petitioners will "keep weighing our legal options" and arguing the need for internet nondiscrimination laws before federal and state lawmakers. FCC Press Secretary Tina Pelkey said "the Internet has remained free and open, consumers have been protected, speeds have increased, and more and more Americans have gotten access to broadband," tweeting in response to our tweet about the court actions. "It's clear that a light-touch framework, not heavy-handed government intervention, is the right approach."
Major trade associations, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, asked the FCC to provide clarity on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s definition of automatic telephone dialing system. The groups noted a split in the different federal circuits on the definition of ATDS. “Swift action on the Petition will help facilitate the important, and often time-sensitive, calls that customers receive from healthcare providers, pharmacies, grocers, retailers, utility companies, banks, credit unions, and other financial service providers, among others. Action also will help stem the tide of abusive TCPA litigation, which has been fueled by uncertainty regarding the definition of ATDS,” the groups said in docket 02-278, posted Thursday. The American Bankers Association, American Financial Services Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Edison Electric Institute, Electronic Transactions Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, National Retail Federation and Student Loan Servicing Alliance were among signers.
While T-Mobile waits to see if it can complete its buy of Sprint, the bigger, would-be buying carrier Thursday reported 1.3 million branded postpaid net additions in Q4 and 4.5 million in 2019. The companies await a ruling from U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero for the Southern District of New York on the challenge of 14 states to block the transaction (see 2001150077). “The state AG trial has concluded and our team did an incredible job making our case and backing it up with the facts,” CEO John Legere said on a call with analysts: “We are 100 percent convinced that this merger will result in a more competitive market, with lower prices and a better network for customers.” T-Mobile remains “confident in a positive outcome,” Legere said: “The facts are on our side.” Legere sat in the front row of Marrero's courtroom Jan. 15 during four hours of closing argument. The California Public Utilities Commission won’t vote until at least March (see 2001290029). T-Mobile is interested in citizens broadband radio service licenses but doesn’t view them as “transformative,” Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said: “We know a lot about CBRS already. We see it as primarily as small-cell spectrum layer” limited by power levels. T-Mobile reported record service revenue of $8.7 billion, up 6 percent over the year-ago quarter, total revenue of $11.9 billion, up 4 percent. Profit was $751 million, up 61 percent. T-Mobile has postpaid churn of 1.01 percent. Legere will step down May 1, to be replaced by Mike Sievert, currently president-chief operating officer (see 1911180038). “We gained [customer] share and were the only one to beat expectations for service revenues and adjusted EBITDA during Q4,” Sievert told analysts. T-Mobile expects Q1 deal-related costs of as much as $300 million.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said one 2020 priority is looking at ways the agency can try to ensure artificial intelligence and facial recognition technologies respect privacy and aren't discriminatory in application. At a Congressional Tech Staff Association/Congressional Black Associates event Wednesday, Starks said it's "a moral imperative" to look at broadband connectivity beyond just the existence of infrastructure but also as an affordability and digital literacy issue. He said his criticisms of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund -- as reflected in his partial dissent (see 2001300001) -- included it not prioritizing "future-proof" connections at speeds that will be relevant a decade from now. The approved RDOF order hasn't been released; Starks said some issues are "still getting tweaked." He said the agency has to put more priority on holding connectivity providers accountable when they decide not to build out networks after all, pointing to more than 10 percent of Connect America Fund Phase II auction winners defaulting. He said federal dollars for rural broadband providers should come with requirements for offering low-income service options. Starks said the FCC "has done good work" tackling supply chain vulnerability with its USF supply chain rules adopted last fall (see 1911220033), but there also needs to be attention paid to Huawei and ZTE technology already in U.S. telecom networks. He said forthcoming enforcement actions announced by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for carriers seemingly disclosing consumers’ real-time location data (see 2001310058) are "long overdue." Starks again supported the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act (HR-3957) sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., which would restore the minority tax certificate. He called the nearly nonexistent full-power TV station ownership by women and minorities "a shame."
Phone companies that allow international robocalls into U.S. networks need to take part in efforts to trace those calls' origins, the FCC said Tuesday. It said Enforcement Bureau Chief Rosemary Harold wrote gateway service providers All Access, Globex, Piratel, Talkie, Telcast, ThinQ and Third Base, requesting they take part in tracking down the originators of illegal spoofed foreign robocalls. It said the seven "are uniquely situated to assist government and industry efforts to combat scam robocalls." The letters come atop proposed rules Chairman Ajit Pai circulated on Jan. 28 that would establish a registration process for naming a consortium to conduct private-led efforts to trace back the origin of suspected unlawful robocalls. Sprint, T-Mobile and Comcast on Tuesday said they had all implemented anti-spoofing technology in parts of their voice networks (see 2002040020).
3rd Generation Partnership Project is canceling some face-to-face meetings because of the coronavirus virus (see 2002040037), the group said. 3GPP cited “the critical situation in China … the fact that the coronavirus outbreak is a global health emergency and represents a risk outside of China” and “travels restrictions/company policies already applied.” The group recognized that the “main driver in this situation is and must be the health and safety of our delegates, we should avoid organizing large [face-to-face] meetings in Q1, even when the location of meeting is not in China, to avoid international flights in this critical period.” Umair Javed, aide to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, tweeted Tuesday: “Apparently the #coronavirus is now slowing down #5G standards work.”
DOJ, reviewing its settlement with T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish Network under the Tunney Act, asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington to move forward with a decision. “The proposed Final Judgment will provide substantial long-term benefits for American consumers by, among other benefits, ensuring that large amounts of currently unused or underused spectrum are made available to American consumers in the form of two new advanced 5G networks,” said a Monday pleading (in Pacer) in docket 1:19-cv-02232: “The proposed Final Judgment further provides for a substantial divestiture which, when combined with the mobile wireless spectrum already owned by DISH … will enable DISH to enter the market as a new 5G mobile wireless services provider as well as an additional nationwide facilities-based wireless carrier.” Justice noted states challenging the deal in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York “have declined again in their second amicus brief to take a position on the specific question before this Court, and they agree with the United States that their merger challenge and this Tunney Act proceeding present different legal questions under two different statutes.” Dish also filed. “The carefully-crafted remedy imposed by the United States addresses the competitive harm alleged to result from the merger by, among other things, facilitating and accelerating DISH’s entry into the consumer mobile wireless market,” the company said (in Pacer). “Having DISH competing head-to-head with AT&T, Verizon, and New T-Mobile will ‘provide substantial long-term benefits for American consumers.’”
Tech companies met an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and staff for the Office of Engineering and Technology on power levels required for 6 GHz band augmented and virtual reality body-worn devices. The FCC is considering rules for sharing the band with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed. “Given the significant body loss that affects connectivity between body-worn devices, 14 dBm radiated power is the minimum level of power that will reliably enable AR/VR applications” but the devices don’t have to “typically or constantly transmit at these power levels,” said the filing in docket 17-183. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm and Ruckus Networks were represented. Meanwhile, cable Interests are pushing for low-power indoor (LPI) Wi-Fi use in the band. Comcast, Charter Communications and Cable Labs told OET it isn't a threat to fixed service incumbents in the band, and data from 500,000 Wi-Fi access points used in simulations helped prove that, per another posting Monday. Comcast in meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks urged allowing LPI use throughout the band without the need for automated frequency coordination.