Comments are due Sept. 26, replies Oct. 11 on Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority petitions asking that guaranteeing interoperability be a FirstNet responsibility, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Wednesday on docket 19-254. The bureau dismissed as untimely a BRETSA petition for reconsideration that the bureau revisit an order dismissing a Colorado Public Safety Broadband Governing Body request for clarification (see 1810230043). CPSBGB asked to clarify that FirstNet has responsibility for guaranteeing interoperability with networks, services, applications and devices. The bureau said Wednesday that since the Colorado dismissal was an interlocutory action, not final, it's unripe for review.

A Commerce Department agency clarified more questions (see 1908210078) about what amounts to an partial ban related to Huawei products, without saying if the reprieve would be extended past Nov. 18. The Bureau of Industry and Security isn't offering more export license exceptions, said FAQs, as of Tuesday. Current authorization allows certain activities supporting existing U.S. networks with Huawei, including supporting operators on “debugging, configuration, and other activities to maintain services." Also OK: “emergency and planned software updates necessary to maintain network operability; in-life upgrades of equipment and components to maintain (but not expand) capacity; and in-life replacements of defective hardware.” Not allowed are things that would "increase or enhance the functionality of the network." Services “are generally not subject” to these restrictions, though in the telecom industry, services describing “export or transfer (in-country) of software or technology in terms of, inter alia, operation and/or management of a telecommunications network” do fall under restrictions, said additional new FAQs. “General purpose computing devices” aren't covered under the mandates, which do include “personal consumer electronic devices” of “phones and other personally-owned equipment, such as tablets, smart watches, televisions, and mobile hotspots such as MiFi devices.”

The FCC deactivated the disaster information reporting system Saturday “at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, National Coordinating Center for Communications, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” said a public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. The final DIRS report for Hurricane Dorian Saturday reflected only affected counties in the Carolinas, and showed no public safety answering points down. Plus 2.1 percent of cell sites in North Carolina were out of service, as were 0.9 percent in South Carolina. Cable and wireline subscriber outages in South Carolina improved to 48,484 subscribers from over 106,000. North Carolina’s out-of-service subscribers increased to 53,000 from 40,999. South Carolina had one TV station and two FM radio stations inoperative.

CTIA petitioned the FCC for a declaratory ruling to put additional pressure on local governments to act on wireless siting applications: Clarify that under 2012 Spectrum Act Section 6409, if a siting authority “fails to timely act on an application,” it's “deemed granted” and “applicants may lawfully construct.” And “clarify that the term ‘concealment element’ in its rules applies only to a stealth facility or design element, such as an artificial tree limb or screen, and that concealment requirements may not be used to disqualify an application as an eligible facilities request,” the wireless association asked. It requests more certainty on pole attachments, citing 5G, and posted Monday in docket 17-79. Commissioner Brendan Carr, the FCC lead on changes to wireless infrastructure rules, says more work is likely (see 1908060065). The National League of Cities declined to comment. Best Best local government attorney Gerard Lederer noted the Wireless Infrastructure Association is making a similar push (see 1908230052). “CTIA has now joined WIA in predictably pressing for additional FCC preemption of community authority without a legal foundation or factual basis for additional FCC action,” Lederer emailed. “Every complaint raised against a local government in the CTIA Petition has an avenue for resolution in the local federal district. If CTIA and its members were so positive that local government action was inconsistent with the FCC’s rules, why not pursue that avenue and let the FCC complete its work on a revised RF standard that would help providers and communities alike deal with the explosive growth in wireless deployments,” he asked.

There were 106,680 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in South Carolina Friday morning, said a disaster information reporting system report on areas affected by Hurricane Dorian. That’s nearly double the 53,266 reported for South Carolina Thursday. North Carolina had 40,999 cable and wireline subscribers down, compared to 2,894 Thursday. In Georgia those numbers have improved to just 93 subscribers down from 11,805 Thursday. One broadcast TV station was reported out of service in South Carolina, and five South Carolina radio stations. Georgia had one radio station out of service, but North Carolina had no broadcasters down. The report showed 3.4 percent of cellsites out of service in the affected areas, with 4.6 percent -- a marginal improvement from Thursday -- down in South Carolina, and 3.8 percent down in NC. Thursday’s report showed 0.1 percent of cell sites down in NC. Georgia improved in Friday’s report from 0.3 percent of cell sites down to 0.1 percent. Only a single public safety answering point was reported down in South Carolina. In an order posted Friday, the Wireless Bureau granted the American Radio Relay League’s request for a waiver to permit higher speed data transmissions to allow licensed amateur radio users involved in hurricane relief communications to better aid the relief effort. ARRL was already shipping radio modems to the southeastern U.S. for use in connection with Hurricane Dorian disaster relief, the order said.The FCC deactivated DIRS for Georgia Friday evening.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau is seeking comment on ways to streamline administrative hearings, asking about more use of written testimony and documentary evidence instead of live testimony and cross-examination. The NPRM was approved Tuesday and released Friday. Staff would “act as a case manager” and “supervise development of the written hearing record when the Commission designates itself as the presiding officer at a hearing,” the notice said: The FCC would “dispense with the preparation of an intermediate opinion whenever the record of a proceeding can be certified to the Commission for final decision.” Chairman Ajit Pai said in July he would propose the NPRM (see 1907220028). Comment deadlines will come in the Federal Register. “Currently, these hearings typically are conducted like trials in civil litigation and include, among other things, live testimony before an administrative law judge, cross-examination of witnesses, and an initial decision by the administrative law judge that is subject to review by the Commission,” the notice said. “The Commission has observed that such trial-type hearings are costly and impose significant burdens and delays on both applicants and the agency that may not be necessary.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly would have been willing to go even further. “This item’s direction is consistent with process reform recommendations that I have endorsed and advocated for over the last many years,” he said: “The Commission’s current process is not only burdensome, expensive, and time consuming, but it is also inefficient and has resulted in harmful outcomes.”

Even if Pacer fees were excessive in the aggregate, there's no legal basis for treating any fee charged a particular Pacer user as excessive, cross-appellant DOJ said in a reply brief Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (docket 19-1081, in Pacer). It said Congress reserved the power of overseeing the collection and expenditure of Pacer fees for itself, and didn't want that "subject of second-guessing in court." It said the E-Government Act has no private enforcement mechanism that would allow for money to be returned. It also challenged the idea the Judiciary has been unlawfully spending Pacer fee revenue, since all spending was for services that provide access to information. Plaintiff-appellants National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Consumer Law Center and Alliance for Justice challenged use of Pacer fees to fund some non-Pacer expenses (see 1901170031). Counsel for the appellants didn't comment Thursday.

No public safety answering points were reported down in the Hurricane Dorian-affected counties in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, but one Florida PSAP was evacuated and its calls rerouted to a backup PSAPs, said the FCC Thursday morning disaster information reporting system report. Wednesday, two Florida PSAPs were having calls rerouted. The report shows 1.1 percent of cellsites down, compared with 0.1 percent Wednesday. South Carolina has the largest down, with 4.7 percent. The other affected areas each show less than one percent of cell sites down. One TV and an FM station in South Carolina and an FM in Georgia are listed as out of service, compared with none Wednesday. The report showed 22,753 cable and wireline subscribers without service in Florida, an improvement from 35,430 Wednesday. Wednesday’s report didn’t include cable and wireline outages in other states, but Thursday’s showed Georgia with 11,805 subscribers without service, 2,894 in North Carolina and 53,266 in South Carolina. Late Thursday, the FCC deactivated DIRS for Florida.

Disaster reporting for Hurricane Dorian was extended to counties in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, said an FCC public notice Wednesday. No public safety answering points were reported down in the area affected by Hurricane Dorian, but two Florida PSAPs (the Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach police departments) were evacuated and their calls rerouted to backup PSAPs, said a Wednesday morning disaster information reporting system report for 34 Florida counties. The report shows 0.1 percent of cellsites down, compared with 0.2 percent Tuesday morning. No broadcast stations were reported as out of service, but the number of cable and wireline subscribers without service rose to 35,430, from 6,884 Tuesday.

The FCC opened the automated fee filer payment and filing system for 2019 regulatory fees, said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Regulatory fees are due Sept. 24. Though the 2019 regulatory fee order (see 1908280021) won’t be effective until Federal Register publication, regulatees can submit payments beforehand, the PN said.