The FCC's blogs can be useful in such areas as explaining new rules or providing advice, but industry should rely on commission rules and orders for definitive word, General Counsel Tom Johnson and Office of General Counsel lawyer Michael Carlson blogged Thursday in what they said was a return of the OGC blog after an eight-year hiatus. Blog posts don't "carry the same force of law" as rules and orders, and "cannot serve as a sword or a shield in litigation [or] supersede or alter the laws it is attempting to explain," it said. That a blog carries a byline makes clear it doesn't bind the agency and isn't an authoritative pronouncement, even if it comes from the bureau chief or chairman, the OGC officials said. They said there hasn't been case law specifically about whether blog posts are binding on an agency, but "ample authority" makes clear informal staff advice isn't, such as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's 1991 Malkan FM Associates case about what an official mentioned at an FCC-sponsored seminar.

The FCC restarted the 180-day informal shot clock on its review of T-Mobile buying Sprint Thursday, at day 122. It paused the shot clock in early March, seeking additional comment on new data from the companies (see 1903070045). The 4Competition Coalition said none of the late data submissions by the two carriers makes a bad deal better. The group said: “The evidence in the record is clear: None of these submissions change the reality that this merger would mean more concentration, less competition, and higher prices for millions of American consumers. As the shot clock resumes, we look forward to the completion of the thorough review process and, ultimately, the rejection of this merger.” Completion of the deal would mean more jobs, from the beginning, T-Mobile CEO John Legere blogged Thursday. “This merger is all about creating new, high-quality, high-paying jobs, and the New T-Mobile will be jobs-positive from Day One and every day thereafter. That’s not just a promise. That’s not just a commitment.” The combined company will create nearly 5,600 new American customer care jobs by 2021, he said: “New T-Mobile will employ 7,500+ more care professionals by 2024 than the standalone companies would have.” A top T-Mobile official expressed optimism Thursday. “We are very optimistic about the combination and its approval,” T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said at the CTIA 5G summit (see 1904040048). The two companies are “moving the ball up the field,” he said. “We are scoring big points.” T-Mobile and Sprint reached agreement with Hawaii’s consumer advocate to clear the path to state OK, the carriers and advocate told the Public Utilities Commission. In a letter posted Thursday, they urged the PUC to adopt parties’ stipulation and OK the deal before June 1, the expected end date of the FCC’s review. The carriers agreed to “strive to deliver” 5G coverage to 90 percent of its Hawaii points of presence within three to five years of the deal closing, and annually meet with the consumer advocate and PUC to review T-Mobile Form 477 data through 2024. The carriers also need state OKs from California and Pennsylvania.

Bid commitments reached almost $1.8 billion Wednesday in the 24 GHz auction, on a gross basis, said the FCC's dashboard for the 24 GHz auction. The bidding rounds starting Thursday will increase to five a day, the agency said. There were said to have been three rounds Wednesday.

All current contracted C-band satellite services will be maintained within a transitioned 300 MHz environment, even in the event of any in-orbit satellite failure, C-Band Alliance (CBA) members Intelsat and SES pledged in a customer commitment to be posted in FCC docket 18-122. They said there will be no fees for any C-band transition, with services to remain at previously contracted levels for the duration of those contracts. They said any needed dual illumination during the migration will be provided on the existing and post-transition transponder for up to 90 days, and uplink services will be provided at no extra cost during the dual illumination period. They said along with providing and installing filters at no cost to customers, spare filters will be made available for five years. They said they will establish an escrow to ensure funds are available for customer clearing costs equal to 120 percent of the estimated spectrum clearing costs, and they'll set up a three-year "completion fund" beyond the transition period to cover any additional costs. The pledges are part of a set of auction and transition plan details CBA has said it would enter into the record (see 1903050038). A separate docket posting Wednesday recapped a meeting between Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler and SES CEO Steve Collar with Chairman Ajit Pai at which they argued the merits of the CBA proposal for clearing part of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band. They said it's working with stakeholders on technical, logistical and operational issues. Filings in support of the CBA plan also recently came from Encompass Digital Media and Televisa (see here and here).

Stakeholder frustration at the FCC not releasing a draft FCC USF NPRM on setting a budget for the fund mounted after Tuesday's blog post by Commissioner Mike O'Rielly defending the rulemaking against criticism of its reported substance (see 1904020022). That evening, 16 groups wrote him to request he release "the text of the item prior to any consideration or approval of it on circulation." The office of O'Rielly, the FCC point person on the draft, didn't comment Wednesday. The groups "appreciate your recent attempts to clarify a few points regarding the item, but we need to know more," wrote the Benton Foundation, Common Cause, Common Sense Media, Communications Workers of America, Free Press, NAACP, New America Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, United Church of Christ and others. "You have suggested in the past that items on circulation should be made public." On the substance of the item, the groups wrote, "Reforms to the funding structure of USF cannot tilt so far as to undermine the core purpose of these programs: to connect all people in the United States to reasonably comparable, robust communications services." The FCC declined to comment Wednesday. Also at a congressional hearing that day, the USF budget came up (see 1904030082).

Securus not acquiring Inmate Calling Solutions from TKC Holdings is “the right outcome,” DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said Wednesday. The inmate-calling company told DOJ and the FCC of the decision Tuesday, after facing commission pressure (see 1904020076). The Antitrust Division raised concerns the deal would eliminate competition for inmate calling services, DOJ said. “Securus and ICS have a history of competing aggressively to win state and local contracts by offering better financial terms, lower calling rates, and more innovative technology and services,” said Delrahim. “This merger would have eliminated that competition.” Securus believed the ICS deal “would have allowed us to provide even more efficient and high quality services to corrections departments, incarcerated individuals and their families," a spokesperson emailed Wednesday. "We were informed by FCC staff that they were unable to support this merger based on competitive concerns. We respect the authority of the FCC Chairman and staff to make these determinations and have therefore withdrawn our application." The FCC should refocus on inmate calling costs, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted: “Now that two of the largest prison payphone companies have called off their merger, it is time for the @FCC to once and for all fix the sky-high rates inmates and their families pay for phone calls. #phonejustice.”

Dish Network ranked highest in telecom in-home service technician satisfaction with a score of 889, followed by Charter Communications' Spectrum (867) and AT&T/DirecTV (865), J.D. Power reported Tuesday. The industry average is 859, with scores based on quality and timeliness of completed work; a technician’s knowledge, courtesy and professionalism; and appointment scheduling. Overall satisfaction was lower among customers whose technician arrived early or late (750 on a 1,000-point scale) vs. on time (874). Customers who received a notification were much more likely to say their technician arrived on time than those who didn't get one (92 percent vs. 73 percent), and overall satisfaction bumped 86 points when customers were contacted on the day of the appointment before technician arrival. Though the most common means of scheduling service was via phone, satisfaction was lowest there and highest via website or mobile app. Five percent of customers received notifications via mobile app, 11 percent by email and 86 percent by phone. Overall satisfaction with a service experience grew 74 points when the provider contacted the customer after the visit to make sure everything was running smoothly; it rose 90 points when a technician offered to schedule a follow-up visit to fix any outstanding issues. Comcast/Xfinity' score was 855, Verizon 849, Cox 842, CenturyLink 833 and Frontier Communications 808. The most effective brands communicate in advance with customers across multiple communications platforms, said Ian Greenblatt, managing director, J.D. Power. Top support companies make it “easy to request service, accurately project the technician arrival time and follow up to address outstanding issues.” The study, fielded in December-January, yielded 4,391 responses.

The FCC has been too slow to address complaints AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are selling customers' real-time location data to bounty hunters (see 1901080046), Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Tuesday. Starks cited the dangers of the practice during a February news conference shortly after he took office (see 1902080056) and called for action in an opinion article in Tuesday's The New York Times. “Our location information isn’t supposed to be used without our knowledge and consent and no chain of handoffs or contracts can eliminate the wireless company’s obligations,” Starks wrote. “This is particularly true for the misuse and disclosure of GPS-based 911 location data -- which is squarely against FCC rules.” The FCC says it's investigating, he said: “But nearly a year after the news first broke, the commission has yet to issue an enforcement action or fine those responsible.” The FCC didn't comment.

Securus Technologies dropped its planned buy of Inmate Calling Solutions from TKC Holdings after encountering FCC concerns. Wright Petitioners, the Urban Justice Center's Corrections Accountability Project and others earlier urged the FCC to reject the deal, which would have combined two dominant players in prison calling (see 1807170054). Representatives from the two companies were at the FCC last week to discuss the transaction, with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and staff from the Wireline Bureau and Office of General Counsel, said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-193. On Tuesday, the two companies said in a filing not yet posted they're withdrawing their application. The companies didn’t comment. “Sometimes, David does in fact beat Goliath,” said Davina Sashkin, lawyer at Fletcher Heald. "Based on a record of nearly 1 million documents comprised of 7.7 million pages of information submitted by the applicants, as well as arguments and evidence submitted by criminal justice advocates, consumer groups, and other commenters, FCC staff concluded that this deal posed significant competitive concerns and would not be in the public interest," Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday evening. "I agree. I’m therefore pleased that the companies have determined that withdrawing their application is the best course.”

The FCC is starting a Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Job Skills and Training Opportunities Working Group as part of its Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. The working group is charged with “identifying any gaps in broadband infrastructure deployment skills that could inhibit the pace of fixed and mobile broadband deployment across the country and with recommending scalable solutions to bridge any skills gaps and attract more skilled professionals to join the broadband infrastructure deployment workforce,” said a Monday public notice. Nominations for membership are due April 15. Members will serve until March 1, 2021, and the time commitment expected is “substantial,” the FCC said.