TracFone told the FCC it's time to address problems with the Lifeline national verifier, in reply comments posted Thursday in docket 17-287 (see 1812200018). “Despite numerous efforts by TracFone and other Lifeline carriers to engage” with the Universal Service Administrative Co. “the rollout of the National Verifier remains haphazard and mired in confusion,” TracFone said. “Its decision-making process is opaque, with ensuing outcomes that reflect little, if any, input from the Lifeline community who are on the frontline serving millions of eligible customers each day.” The Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority, in its reply, said the FCC should pause use of the verifier until changes are made. “Lifeline service for residents of Tribal lands is critically important for their health, safety, and welfare,” it said.

The FCC should investigate a CenturyLink nationwide outage, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted after customers across the U.S. reported problems Thursday, including through Twitter and DownDetector.com. Reports to the latter website began in the early morning and spiked around noon. CenturyLink tweeted that its “network is experiencing a disruption affecting customer services,” that “some customers are currently unable to generate tickets through the CTL help portal," and CenturyLink is “working to restore services as quickly as possible.” A CenturyLink spokesperson gave the same statement. The Idaho Lottery tweeted that the outage threw off its game. The lottery can’t sell tickets or pay claims on winning tickets until the problem is resolved, it said: “As of 11:00 AM MT, we do not have a timeline on when service will be restored.” The outage affected the non-emergency number for police, fire and emergency medical services in Edina, tweeted the Minnesota city’s police department, among other customers complaining on Twitter. The FCC declined comment.

The FCC Wireline Bureau approved a temporary waiver the California Public Utilities Commission sought for Lifeline recertification and non-usage rules for subscribers in Butte County, California, affected by the Camp Fire. The CPUC last week asked the FCC to waive the rules from Nov. 1 to May 1, for 12,686 subscribers affected by the massive wildfire (see 1812200016). “Based on the record before us, we find that good cause exists to temporarily waive these rules and deadlines,” said a Wednesday order in docket 11-42.

Commissioners voted for the FCC to no longer be accounting authority of last resort for those customers in maritime mobile and maritime mobile-satellite radio services who haven't otherwise designated one. “The public interest would be better served by relying upon private accounting authorities,” said Friday's 4-0 order. “Such private authorities are certified under Part 3 of the Commission’s rules and operate under the Commission’s regulatory oversight.” The order instructs FCC staff to work with the Coast Guard and other federal agencies to announce this transition within 120 days. “We are providing a substantial transition period of up to one year following announcement” to complete the transition, the FCC said.

Two FCC Office of Managing Director drafts circulated last week, said the agency's updated list Friday. A Part 0 item would implement a statutory change on the authority of the commission's chief information officer, and a Part 1 item concerns a lockbox used to collect certain fees for the Enforcement Bureau, said a spokesperson. A Media Bureau item is an order on New Life Community Temple of Faith.

Sprint will pay $330 million to settle a New York state lawsuit alleging the carrier knowingly failed to collect and remit more than $100 million in state and local sales taxes owed on flat-rate wireless calling plans, Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D) said Friday. The AG said it’s the largest-ever recovery by a single state in an action brought under a state false claims act, and it followed another record-breaking New York settlement with Charter Communications about internet speed claims (see 1812180027). The AG said it has already distributed “a substantial portion” of the $330 million to localities directly harmed by Sprint’s conduct. Per terms of the New York False Claims Act, the whistleblower who brought the case in 2011 will receive $62.7 million, the AG said. Sprint collected state and local taxes for only the portion of the flat-rate charge it deemed intrastate, even though tax law and guidance doesn’t differentiate among intrastate, interstate and international calls, the AG said. Sprint violated tax law from 2005 to 2014, including after New York started investigating and after the state sued, the AG said. “Sprint knew exactly how New York sales tax law applied to its plans -- yet for years the company flagrantly broke the law, cheating the state and its localities out of tax dollars that should have been invested in our communities,” said Underwood. Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion said that “Sprint violated the trust of its customers and deprived communities across New York State of revenue needed.” The company didn’t comment.

Five states remain to clear T-Mobile buying Sprint after the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities joined 13 other states needed, Sprint said in a Thursday letter to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which is reviewing the deal. The carriers await state OKs in California, Hawaii, Mississippi and New York, Sprint said. The New Jersey BPU cleared the deal Tuesday without conditions, saying it's "not expected to adversely impact competition," rates, jobs or service. The board lacks jurisdiction over wireless infrastructure, it added. Earlier last week, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and Team Telecom, comprising DOJ, the Department of Homeland Security and DOD, withdrew its request the FCC defer action (see 1812180044). The New York Public Service Commission should give more time to file a second round of comments on T-Mobile/Sprint, the Communications Workers of America and Public Utility Law Project said Friday. The commission Thursday gave until Jan. 3 (see 1812200049), but CWA and PULP said they should be due around Jan. 17. Under current deadlines, they would “functionally have five working days” when considering holidays, travel and other commitments, they said. “This time frame will make it impossible to comply with the Protective Order, receive the Confidential material, analyze such material and other parts of the Petitioner’s comments, receive benefit of expert analysis and otherwise fully and fairly participate.”

The FCC is working to make sure the U.S. will lead the world on 5G, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the Israel Business Conference Thursday. “They call Israel the ‘Start-up Nation,’” said his written remarks. “You have more startups here per capita than any other country in the world. And during my trip, I have seen your innovative spirit for myself. I’ve visited companies like Siklu, Sckipio, and Gilat Satellite” (see 1812190058). The U.S. still leads the world on venture investment. “Venture capital investment in the U.S. was 160 percent higher in 2017 than 2010, and we saw more venture investment during the first half of 2018 than we did during most full years of the previous decade,” he said. Pai tweeted about meetings with Intel’s Mobileye and Israel-based OrCam (see here and here). He said the FCC, holding an event on artificial intelligence, isn't trying to regulate AI. Monday, the FCC and Israeli Ministry of Communications convened the first meeting of a new joint working group to exchange information between the two countries. “The relationship between our two agencies has never been stronger, and I look forward to continuing our cooperation,” Pai said.

U.S. government is "always mindful of the uncertainty" about Privacy Shield and is doing its best to ensure the trans-Atlantic personal data transfer framework continues to work for American companies, James Sullivan, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, told reporters Thursday. There are legal and political challenges plus questions about when the Trump administration will appoint the permanent ombudsman required by PS, he said. European Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova said Wednesday she's losing patience over the time it's taking to do so, and that if the position isn't filled by the end of February, the EC will consider cracking down (see 1812190002). Europe calls the role a "permanent ombudsman," but Sullivan stressed that the acting official, Manisha Singh, has all powers needed. Any ombudsman will always be "independent, experienced and empowered" according to the terms of PS, said Sullivan. The nomination process is underway, and so far, no requests for assistance from the office have been received, he said: The State Department has made public the ombudsman's procedures about how the system works. His office is sensitive to EU concerns about the situation, but an ombudsman mechanism has been fully resourced for two years and is functioning, added Sullivan. He cited the European Commission's "very positive second annual review" of the system, saying the EC made clear PS is a success and EU-U.S. collaboration over the past year enhanced it. Since the system's August 2016 launch, over 4,200 companies have committed to it, most small to mid-sized enterprises, he said.

U.S. authorities "are living up to their commitments" and Privacy Shield works, but the European Commission may be forced to act if no permanent ombudsman is appointed by Feb. 28, European Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova told reporters Wednesday. Such actions could include limiting access by U.S. government bodies to Europeans' personal information or even suspending PS, she said. Despite the warning, the EC's second review of the trans-Atlantic personal data transfer system showed the U.S. has implemented most recommendations from last year's report, she said. Asked why it has taken so long to put an ombudsman in place, Jourova said that in March 2017, the U.S. administration asked her to be patient because so many posts needed Senate confirmation. Now, she said, "my patience is coming to an end." The report noted that as of now, "the Ombudsman mechanism had not yet received any requests," but a complaint to the acting ombudsman "had been submitted to the Croatian data protection authority and the relevant checks were ongoing." If the EC is "forced to take steps" over the appointment, it could amend PS in ways that could make compliance by U.S. companies more cumbersome or suspend the system altogether, Jourova said. The review found the Department of Commerce boosted its certification process and introduced new oversight procedures, including requiring first-time applicants to refrain from advertising their membership until their certification is complete. DOC also is "actively" using tools to catch companies that falsely claim membership and has referred more than 50 cases to the FTC, which took enforcement actions when needed, the EC said. The FTC has started issuing administrative subpoenas to seek information from some shield participants, it said. The review noted growing discussion in DOC and FTC on a federal approach to data privacy, and cheered the naming of a full quorum of Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board members. The FTC "welcomes the European Commission’s conclusion that Privacy Shield continues to provide an adequate level of protection," a spokesperson emailed. The DOC and its NTIA and International Trade Administration had no comment. The Computer & Communications Industry Association commended the "thorough review."