Application programming interfaces and a reinstituted FCC port freeze would improve the process for Universal Service Administrative Co.'s Lifeline national verifier of consumer eligibility, said Judson Hill, adviser to TrueConnect and Sage Telecom Communications and a Republican ex-state senator from Georgia, on meetings with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and an aide, and aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr. The NV roll-out "has many challenges" that "will be expensive" and "may very likely contribute to increased waste, fraud and abuse," filed Hill, posted Monday in docket 17-287. He said databases "are difficult to access," sometimes "unreliable" and require "multiple steps necessitating engaging a sales representative." He said USAC's recent requirement that potential customers "must show proof of the issuance or expiration dates of their government benefits" is impractical because most cards don't include dates. The "real solution lies in re-establishing a port freeze" and using APIs similar to proven technologies used by other federal programs that "provide a very efficient way to exchange information between companies, individuals and the government," he wrote, seeking a 60-day freeze. Pai, O'Rielly and Carr spokespersons didn't comment Tuesday.

The Senate Commerce Committee bipartisan working group’s goal is to negotiate privacy legislation differences “in the next month,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told us Tuesday. The group includes Moran, Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. Staffers for the lawmakers are exploring privacy principles and specific legislative provisions, Moran, Schatz and Blumenthal told us. “There is no deadline, but I am encouraging, pushing that this be addressed, that we get to the point at which the senators can sit down and try to resolve any additional, remaining differences in the next month,” Moran said. The group is in more advanced discussions than “principles,” Wicker told us. It hasn’t reached the point where draft legislation is circulating, Blumenthal told us. Staff is weighing principles and “specific provisions,” he said, noting draft legislation can’t be written with principles. “There’s no deadline. We want to get it right,” Blumenthal told us. “We have to make it bipartisan. We have to get the Republican leadership.” Wicker was asked whether he has a privacy hearing in mind for April. “I don’t know that we’ve scheduled that, but we’re going to have lots more witnesses on data privacy,” he told reporters. The committee received criticism from privacy and consumer groups when an initial list for its first privacy hearing of the year featured an all-industry panel (see 1902220041).

Alaska Communications Systems asked the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. to fix problems with updating broadband deployment data in USAC's high cost universal broadband (HUBB) system. Noting it discovered inaccurate data it previously certified, ACS said it's now able to more precisely identify the locations to which it has deployed services through Connect America Fund Phase II support. "ACS is unable to modify the location identification coordinates or remove locations in the HUBB -- the system does not permit these updates," filed ACS, posted Monday in docket 10-90, attaching updated location data as part of a certification requirement. "The HUBB system allows manual edits to address locations but not deleting or updating the geo-coding information," the telco said, noting USAC personnel must handle certain edits and some corrections must be uploaded one location at a time. ACS understands other carriers had similar problems. "We are aware of the carrier’s complaints about the HUBB system, and are working to make certain modifications while maintaining the integrity of the data," an FCC spokesperson emailed. Friday, Frontier Communications told the FCC that further review showed the telco was in compliance with a 60 percent CAF II deployment milestone in Nebraska and New Mexico but fell just short in Arizona and Ohio. "Frontier reached more than 57% of its target in both states and thus does not trigger the Commission's non-compliance measures," the company said, noting a rule saying "a shortfall of less than 5% of locations for a given interim milestone should not be a concern warranting additional monitoring."

An FCC H-block draft order would address a petition for reconsideration filed by the Rural Wireless Association in docket 12-357, said a commission spokesperson Monday. The draft is listed as "Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services H Block-Implementing Section 6401 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 Related to the 1915-1920 MHz and 1995-2000 MHz Bands," on the agency's circulation list. The list has experienced some technical glitches in recent days that have been corrected, said another spokesperson.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks began a tour of the Kansas City area Friday to highlight digital divide issues there, saying “there's work to still be done.” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., accompanied Starks, including to meeting officials in Blue Springs, Missouri, to “talk broadband with folks from state and local government, schools, hospitals and others. 61% of geographic areas in Missouri are unserved.” No one “should have to go to the local truck stop to 'get the good Wi-Fi,'” Starks tweeted. He and Cleaver met the Kansas City Urban Summit to discuss affordable broadband. “You must be connected to succeed,” Starks tweeted.

Some form of broadband regulation is inevitable but may wait awhile for political heat around what's become a politicized issue to die down, said Public Knowledge CEO Gene Kimmelman in an interview posted Friday of the American Cable Association podcast. He told ACA CEO Matt Polka there's more agreement than disagreement over a "reasonable framework" of regulation. "We're in troubled times" due to a particularly polarized political process, even as a rapidly changing digital market requires an active Congress. He said advocates need to stick to substance and avoid hyperbole. Kimmelman is encouraged by interest on Capitol Hill for privacy legislation, which could be a galvanizing moment for Congress. He said any such legislation needs to lead to more transparency for and choice by consumers about what of their data is being handled and how, and perhaps nonnegotiable limits on how data can be used. Asked about the likelihood of a DOJ-led breakup of big tech companies, Kimmelman said there's "some logic" to that, but antitrust laws aren't "well equipped" for that and there needs instead to be a look at other government accountability tools to prevent discrimination and abuse. DOJ's intervening in vertical mergers like AT&T/Time Warner was "very refreshing," though the Justice loss in court was disappointing. He hopes that won't dissuade Justice in the future. Kimmelman said Nexstar/Tribune will surely face the same regulatory scrutiny about concentration in local markets and calls for some station divestiture, but they're likely more willing to work with the government than Sinclair was, so the deal is more likely to go ahead.

The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. should lower entry barriers to Lifeline, said Free Press, Common Cause, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and other consumer groups in Tuesday and Wednesday meetings with USAC and the FCC Wireline Bureau. The advocates raised concerns about requiring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards show expiration dates for proving eligibility and latitude/longitude requirements for individuals lacking a U.S. Postal Service-recognized address, said a notice posted Friday in docket 17-287. Paper applications should “take into consideration obstacles for unhoused individuals who do not have a residence to report on the application and do not have requisite internet access to obtain their latitudinal and longitudinal location as a replacement for a standard street address,” they said. Increasing public awareness of Lifeline could increase participation, and more transparent data on subscribership and demographics might help diagnose causes for attrition, the consumer groups told the bureau. NARUC last month agreed to a resolution urging the FCC and USAC ensure the national verifier accesses state databases required to automatically check user eligibility (see 1902130052).

Ex-FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn doesn't plan to run for Congress "for the foreseeable future," she told us, countering persistent speculation she might seek the seat of her father, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. She noted a recent story reporting her sister, Jennifer Clyburn Reed, an educator, is ready to enter politics and is interested in their father's seat. The elder Clyburn, 78, says he doesn't know if his daughter "will run for office, but I know if she is planning to run for my seat, she’s going to have to wait for awhile.” Incompas announced Wednesday Mignon Clyburn will lead a campaign to boost tech innovation and inclusion in America's heartland (see Notebook at end of 1902270018).

The mail room at the FCC's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, facility was temporarily closed after what was initially believed could be a hazardous materials incident Tuesday, an agency spokesperson said Wednesday. He said a contractor opening mail suddenly felt nauseated and had watering eyes, and that worker was taken for treatment and examination to a local hospital while Federal Protective Services -- already in the building for a routine inspection -- went into the mail room in hazmat suits and tested for contamination. The spokesperson said no evidence of a problem was found. He said the mail room is separate from the FCC offices, which didn't close, and was operating again Wednesday.

March 4 is when consumer groups publicly brief legislators on privacy (see 1902260062).