Supplemental coverage from space service will provide a huge backstop to terrestrial networks' coverage, especially when disasters and emergencies strike terrestrial networks. But SCS also will carry significant challenges for pinpointing callers' locations, speakers said Tuesday at an FCBA CLE.

Sometime in October 2025, expect the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to issue rules requiring that companies report cyber incidents and ransomware payments, Wiley's Sydney White said during the second part of an FCBA CLE on Thursday (see 2405090051). The rules are part of additional authority CISA received under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA). Numerous cyber incident-reporting requirements exist, so new requirements will add to companies' reporting burden, experts said.

Alabama will re-up its statewide 911 board until Oct. 1, 2026. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed SB-136 to enact the law Monday.

Lumen disagreed with a local 911 authority on whether the Colorado Public Utilities Commission should be required to investigate all “apparent” outages of basic emergency services (BES). Separately, the Colorado PUC opened a rulemaking on incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS). Current state rules on 911 outages say that PUC staff “shall commence an informal investigation regarding each apparent basic emergency service outage meeting criteria established by the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force.” The PUC should change “shall” to “may,” Lumen commented Wednesday in docket 23R-0577T. Making it optional wouldn’t reduce the commission’s oversight authority, the carrier argued. “It would simply allow the Commission the discretion to initiate an investigation.” Use of the word “apparent” in the current rule “sweeps within its scope occurrences that are not in fact BES outages yet grants the Commission no discretion,” said Lumen: That’s inefficient at best, the company said, stressing it’s not saying the commission shouldn’t investigate BES outages but instead is saying a probe might not always be warranted. “For example, a fiber cut by a third party that results in an interruption of BES services should not always require an investigation.” However, the Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority argued that the commission “would be delinquent if it did not require investigation of apparent outages of [BES] to identify means of avoiding future outages and better mitigating or more expeditiously remediating future outages which do occur.” Also, the Boulder authority noted that “apparent outages subject to investigation are only those meeting criteria of the 9-1-1 Advisory Task Force,” which considers factors such as when an outage affects multiple public safety answering points, lasts more than four hours or repeats in the same area over a short period of time. Meanwhile, the Colorado PUC sought comments by May 31 and replies by June 14 on an NPRM to change to change IPCS rules in response to two recent state laws. A 2021 law included requirements for reports and testing, while a 2023 law expanded the definition of covered communications services to include video calls, email and messaging, said the Monday notice.

Digital equity and 911 bills passed the Hawaii State Legislature on Wednesday. The House and Senate voted unanimously for the bills after a conference committee reached consensus on final versions. The digital equity bill (HB-2359) would require the state to implement a grant program by Jan. 1. The 911 bill (HB-2339) would remove the term “enhanced” from state 911 law so that Hawaii can fund future emergency-number technologies. The bills next need sign-off from Gov. Josh Green (D).

Pennsylvania lawmakers should reject a plan deregulating incumbent local exchange carriers, the state’s Consumer Advocate Patrick Cicero said Tuesday. Yet with two 7-4 party-line votes, majority Republicans on the Senate Communications Committee advanced a deregulation bill (SB-85) with an amendment that says the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission lacks VoIP and broadband authority. The Democratic minority -- which controls the governor’s office and has a slim House majority -- raised concerns that the bill would harm consumers.

The Senate Commerce Committee will likely advance an amended version of the draft Spectrum and National Security Act during a Wednesday executive session with unanimous support from the panel’s 14 Democratic members, but lobbyists will watch closely how many Republicans don’t openly object to the measure as a means of determining its viability. The spectrum bill, led by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction mandate through Sept. 30, 2029. The measure proposes using future license sales revenue to repay a proposed loan to the commission to fund the affordable connectivity program in FY 2024 and $3.08 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2404250061).

The FCC's supplemental coverage from space (SCS) licensing framework that commissioners adopted 5-0 in March (see 2403140050) becomes effective May 30, according to a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Comments are due May 30 and replies July 1 in a Further NPRM adopted with the order, said a separate notice. The NPRM asks questions about SCS delivery of 911 service and protection of radio astronomy.

The Senate Commerce Committee confirmed Thursday the panel plans to mark up the draft Spectrum and National Security Act and five other tech and telecom-focused bills during a Wednesday executive session, as expected (see 2404240074). The 108-page draft measure from committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, also as expected (see 2403210063). The proposal also provides a new vehicle for allocating stopgap funding for the commission’s ailing affordable connectivity program amid a delay in advancing a separate House-side bid to force a floor vote on providing that money, lobbyists told us.

Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will build a system for monitoring 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline contacts and evaluate outcomes as a way of supporting quality improvement, HHS said Tuesday. That was among an array of 988-related federal government pledges in HHS' national suicide prevention strategy and action plans, released Tuesday. The action plan said Housing and Urban Development will disseminate communications and educational material, including information about 988, to housing counseling grantees, fair housing grantees, homeless services organizations and public housing authorities. It said HHS would work with other federal agencies involved in suicide prevention to share information about 988 and other resources at monthly meetings with tribal community officials. It said HHS also would provide support for people diagnosed with both intellectual and developmental disabilities in accessing behavioral health crisis services through 988 centers. In addition, SAMHSA will fund a mobile crisis team locator for 988 centers and the Veterans Crisis Line, as well as develop a toolkit on 988/911 coordination. It said SAMHSA would work with others including the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and the National Association of State 911 Administrators to increase the number of states with established processes. Moreover, it will collaborate to increase the number of 911 diversion programs to 988 centers. The strategy's recommendations include raising awareness of 988 and other crisis services "with communications that are grounded in the principles of health equity and cultural sensitivity" and greater local collaboration and coordination between 988 call centers and 911 public safety answering points, as well as with police, fire and emergency medical services. The strategy also recommends ensuring 988 crisis counselors "provide effective suicide prevention services to all users, including those with substance use disorders."