The Lifeline national verifier now connects with the national Medicaid database to test eligibility, the FCC said Wednesday: Eligibility of about 60 percent of the population can be confirmed automatically. It’s “a major step in the implementation of the Verifier,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The NV also connects with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and 12 states, the commission said. State officials, Congress members and Lifeline providers ask why the NV rollout had continued without such access (see 1908280013). Connecting the NV with federal Medicaid is a big step, but verifying up to 60 percent of the Lifeline population isn't enough, emailed John Heitmann, counsel for the National Lifeline Association: It should be at least 85 percent. That's happening in Pennsylvania where there's access to the state Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases, he said. Manual processes don't reasonably serve needs of the eligible, and the NV shouldn't hard launch "until it has electronic access to both Medicaid and SNAP databases or before service providers have access" to an application programming interface "that allows them to help consumers navigate the verification and enrollment process, including the ability to transmit documentation via the API," Heitmann said. CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Matt Gerst applauded that "eligible low-income consumers will be able to get support for [their] mobile wireless services."

The Benton Foundation is now the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, as it puts a particular focus on broadband policy, it said Tuesday. It said its priorities will include affordable, open broadband access for U.S. residents and supporting legal and policy experts interested in the public benefits of broadband. It said Andrew Schwartzman is joining (see the personals section).

CEO Randall Stephenson defended AT&T's vertical integration strategy Tuesday at a Goldman Sachs media conference, a week after an activist investor questioned such focus (see 1909090020). Stephenson said if he had been asked five years ago whether it made sense to vertically integrate media and network assets, he would have been hard-pressed to say yes, but content creation is changing radically, and growth now is digital. Having a direct path to consumers provides a better way to offer new digital platforms such as HBO Max. Though Stephenson, 59, has no immediate plans to retire, WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey would be in a good position to be heir apparent if he executes on the company's strategy of integrating premium content and distribution, the current AT&T chief said. Stephenson doesn't plan to participate in more consolidation. He noted that given regulatory uncertainty over mergers and acquisitions, it's hard to predict outcomes. Among current deals is T-Mobile's buying Sprint, which states are challenging (see 1909170035). Stephenson noted AT&T has 170 million customer relationships in pay TV, broadband and mobile, plus it's in 55,000 retail locations: "We touch customers 3.2 billion times a year." Dish Network did a "hard drop" of HBO in Q2 after they failed to reach contract renewal (see 1902130039), but the network grew 3 percent that quarter, he said. AT&T shared the activist letter with its board, Stephenson said, and will see what makes sense for shareholders.

Addressing better emergency alert origination and possible security risks 5G networks might inherit from previous communications networks, the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will issue reports next year and into early 2021, said CSRIC working group chairmen Tuesday. The 2018 false emergency alert in Hawaii (see 1801160054) shows there's no good emergency alert system differentiation between tests and actual alerts, said Craig Fugate, former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator. Broadcasters voluntarily carry alerts, and without a strong working relationship between them and originators, there's a risk of fatigue, especially for amber and silver alerts, he said. Fugate said focus also is needed on cybersecurity and spoofing, to be sure alert originators are authenticated. He said the working group plans to produce recommendations by September 2020. Broadcasters increasingly use social media to communicate when they lose power to transmitters, newsrooms or towers due to disasters or major weather events, and social media will be a focus of reports on improving broadcast resiliency, said Florida Association of Broadcasters President Pat Roberts. It will look at updated best practices for prepping for natural disasters, he said. Its draft is due in January and final report in March, he said. Two working groups are looking at 5G security. Nsight Chief Technical Officer Lee Thibaudeau said network architectures sometimes incorporate security risks from other networks, and in 5G's case that could lead to confidentiality and network availability issues. He said the group looking at 5G vulnerabilities possibly carried forward from other wireless networks expects to have a report in June on those risks, followed by December 2020 recommendations on updates to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards. Qualcomm Director-Engineering Farrokh Khatibi said his group's related reports on risks potentially introduced by 3GPP standards will come in September 2020, and on ways of mitigating those in March 2021. The 911 move from legacy to IP networks carries potential security risks, especially when those networks are blended, said Mary Boyd, West Safety Services vice president-government and regulatory affairs. A working group report identifying the security risks in legacy, transition and next-generation 911 networks is expected in June, she said, followed by a December report measuring the risk magnitude and remediation costs. Verisign Chief Security Officer Danny McPherson said a report on session initiation protocol security vulnerabilities that could affect communication service provision is expected by March 2021.

The Wi-Fi Alliance released the Wi-Fi Certified 6 program, a compliance program for devices based on IEEE 802.11ax, Monday. The new features and capabilities "enable substantially greater overall Wi-Fi network performance in challenging environments with many connected devices such as stadiums, airports, and industrial parks,” the alliance said. “High speed 5G services need Wi-Fi 6 and so do consumers who want to seamlessly share the moments they create on their mobile devices,” emailed Inkang Song, head-technology strategy group of the IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. Song noted Samsung released the Galaxy S10, the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 phone, earlier this year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., urged the FCC to open a proceeding to review revoking Communications Act Section 214 certifications of China Unicom and China Telecom to operate on U.S. networks. Chairman Ajit Pai “has made it clear” the FCC “is reviewing” the two Chinese government-owned telecom companies' Section 214 statuses, a spokesperson said. The agency has had the two providers' Section 214 licenses in its crosshairs since May, when commissioners voted 5-0 to revoke the license of Chinese government-owned provider China Mobile (see 1905090039). China Mobile's license “posed special concerns due to its size and resources,” but “the evolving national security environment and increased knowledge of the Chinese government’s role in economic and other forms of espionage suggest that effectiveness of prior mitigation measures require re-examination” for China Telecom and China Unicom, Schumer and Cotton wrote Pai Monday. Both providers “continue to have access to our telephone lines, fiber optic cables, cellular networks and satellites in ways that could give it the ability to target the content of communications of Americans or their businesses and the U.S. government, including through the 'hijacking' of telecommunications traffic by redirecting it through China.”

As 5G launches, everyone and every community must benefit, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference Friday. We're “talking about a world with smart manufacturing, automation, and driverless cars,” Starks said: “I don’t have to tell you how many people drive cars for a living -- whether it is a taxi cab or an Uber or a Lyft. The benefits of a 5G world need to do just that -- benefit all of us.” Starks said the U.S. must “re-train and up-skill our most senior workers who will be displaced” by new technology. Low-income communities are taking a hit because of technology, he said. “These communities are disproportionately targeted by biased artificial intelligence systems yet at the same time they are not captured by hiring algorithms that scour the internet to make determinations about job candidates,” he said. Starks said Congress should pass HR-4008 by House Democrats to ban the Department of Housing and Urban Development from using facial recognition technology in most of its housing (see 1907250062).

Federal policymakers are looking backward in technology assessments, observers said on a podcast emailed Friday. FAANGs -- Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google -- "are the past," said Needham & Co.'s Laura Martin Aug. 20 after moderating a panel on content (see first Notebook 1908200027) at the Technology Policy Institute in Aspen, Colorado. "They’re the past decade. They got big, now they’re being looked at. But the thing that’s going to get big based on consumer time will get ignored" by government "until it’s really, really big and hurtful." Esports and videogame dominance are rising in terms of time consumers spend there, the analyst noted. "Even Wall Street is just coming to grips with this, which means it’s probably three years in the future." CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who earlier that day spoke with DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim, noted government "isn’t the fastest moving entity." That mantra could be "move slow and break things," responded podcast moderator and TPI President Scott Wallsten. DOJ didn't comment and the FTC declined to comment now. While media companies are focused on over the top video, they may be missing out on the rise of esports popularity, especially among those younger than 25, Martin said in an interview Friday. "They’re not even watching TV," she said of that demographic. Scrutinizing advertising-based incumbent platforms means "government is late," Martin told us. "All those monopolists are going to compete with each other, they are going to put each other out of business. The government doesn’t need to." Policymaker views tend to look "backwards, but only a few years. They seem to have no historical perspective," Wallsten emailed us Friday. "It's difficult to know how to look forward since nobody can predict the future, but they do seem inclined to believe that the present is forever despite being much different than even a few years ago."

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly wants a U.S. unified nonemergency wireless number. Keep 911 for emergencies, yet "streamline the myriad of existing wireless numbers that are used in many parts of the country to report critical situations that do not rise to the level of true emergencies,” he told the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association Thursday. “These calls offload routine incidents and other non-emergencies, usually to the state police or highway patrol, while preserving 9-1-1 for more serious purposes.” Many states have a number, including #77 in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey for dangerous driving, he said. “If you live close to state lines, jurisdictional boundaries, or travel extensively, good luck remembering all of the different short codes,” he said. O’Rielly also highlighted the work he did to fight 911 fee diversion and that colleagues of both parties are against such fee shifting. ATSC 3.0 offers “super-advanced emergency alerting” beyond what's available on most platforms, he said. “No one is quite sure how ATSC 3.0 will develop, if at all, or whether it will be a smashing success,” he said: “While a number of the larger broadcast station groups have embraced the technology and see the benefits that it can bring, the technology remains in the testing phase.”

Wireless carriers need to explain to the FCC Public Safety Bureau how they plan to maintain wireless service in areas of California should there be intentional power outages to prevent wildfires, said bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes Thursday in a blog and letters to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular. “California energy providers have announced plans to potentially shut down power at times and in areas where the wildfire risk is high,” Fowlkes blogged. The letters noted reports about the planned outages quote wireless companies as saying they can maintain service. The bureau “would like to understand how AT&T intends to provide continued wireless service in the event of a power shutoff,” said a letter. She gave the companies 10 days to provide a written description of each step to continue service, including customer outreach and coordination plans with local public safety officials. The bureau wants to know what the carriers have done to protect their own infrastructure from the fires. AT&T received the letter and will respond, a spokesperson said. The other carriers didn't comment.