Verizon General Counsel Craig Silliman urged Congress Wednesday to “modernize” the 1986 Stored Communications Act amid two Supreme Court cases and other “important questions and policy matters about applying the outdated law to new technologies.” The court is considering Stored Communications Act implications in the U.S. v. Carpenter Fourth Amendment cellsite location case (see 1711290043) and U.S. v. Microsoft, the “Microsoft Ireland” case challenging a U.S. government warrant demanding emails stored in a server based in Ireland (see 1801190047). “Congress needs to address” outdated provisions in the law, Silliman blogged. “When the Stored Communications Act was written 32 years ago we did not entrust so many and varied types of sensitive data with scores of technology companies. And we did not contemplate that those companies would have reason to store so much of that data half-way around the world.” He highlighted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Modernization Act (S-1657) and the International Communications Privacy Act (S-1671) as vehicles for revamping the statute. “Neither bill is perfect; with so many important interests at stake, perfection is likely impossible,” Silliman said.

Communications Workers of America rallied union and nonunion wireless employees at AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to clasp hands in Wireless Workers United for fair wages and on-shore jobs, said a Tuesday news release. AT&T and Verizon have union and nonunion workers, while T-Mobile has few union workers, a CWA spokeswoman said. Asked about Sprint workers, she said the group is “primarily focused on the largest and fastest growing wireless carriers, but all wireless workers across the industry are invited to join Wireless Workers United in the coming months.” Verizon Wireless worker Ristan Trim from Brooklyn said, “The wireless industry makes billions in profits each month, but executives have chosen to drive a race to the bottom in recent years, slashing our pay and benefits.” Verizon is encouraged "to see that the union is using an organization effort as an opportunity to call for great customer service," and the carrier believes most of its employees find Verizon to be "a great place to work," a spokesman said. AT&T is "the only major wireless carrier with a unionized workforce," provides "more full-time union jobs than any other company in America" and "employees are very well-compensated," a spokesman said. CTIA and T-Mobile didn't comment.

Conflicting draft resolutions on Lifeline are set to return for NARUC’s winter meeting Feb. 11-14 in Washington. NARUC Tuesday revealed four draft telecom resolutions on Lifeline, number portability and overlashing. District of Columbia PSC Chairman Betty Ann Kane and Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades previously proposed the resolutions for NARUC’s November meeting, but the Telecom Committee decided to delay action (see 1711030024 and 1711130035). Kane and Rhoades disagreed on the FCC proposal to take away support for reseller services, with Kane in support and Rhoades against. The committee also plans to consider a Kane resolution about nationwide number portability (NNP). It would urge the FCC to carefully consider a North American Numbering Council report dated May 16, 2016 (see 1605170007), and to disclose for comment costs to consumers to implement NNP, cost recovery options for NNP implementation and timeline options for NNP implementation before adoption of rules. A fourth telecom resolution on pole attachments urges the FCC require “meaningful advance notice of overlashing to the pole owner” and compliance with all safety and engineering practices required of and by the pole owner. The draft resolution by U.S. Virgin Islands Public Services Commissioner Johann Clendenin responds to the FCC Nov. 29 further NPRM in docket 17-84 on streamlining wireline broadband infrastructure deployment.

The FCC Technological Advisory Council meets March 7 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room, said a public notice Monday. The TAC has been focused on promoting broadband advances and is expected to discuss its proposed work program for 2018, the PN said.

Cable interests supported FCC actions to usher in nationwide number portability (NNP), but others urged caution and cited industry efforts. Replies were posted Friday and Monday on an NPRM and notice of inquiry text (see 1710240074), after some initial commenters, including AT&T, Verizon and CTIA, recommended the FCC go slow (see 1712280027). The commission "should adopt its proposal to forbear from the toll dialing parity obligations that apply to [CLECs], but not to incumbent LECs," NCTA said in docket 17-244. It also urged the FCC to scrap an "N-1 query requirement, which requires the penultimate carrier in a call path to query the number portability database" while still ensuring "that the necessary database queries" occur. Charter Communications backed the FCC’s "aggressive but incremental approach" to ensure NNP benefits "as soon as practically possible," including by eliminating the N-1 and dialing-parity duties. Numbering administrator Neustar called a "Non-Geographic Location Routing Number" (NGLRN) approach "the only solution" that will achieve key objectives, and it said the FCC should task a North American Numbering Council working group to make recommendations. Backing "commercial agreements," CenturyLink urged the FCC to delay implementing NNP until after the transition from "legacy TDM" to IP networks, while Sprint said the NNP and IP transitions should coincide. Mark Lancaster -- who said he's a former NANC member with 39 years of telephony experience, the last 22 consulting for AT&T -- suggested the FCC set a date for changing the "terminating default" from TDM to IP. NTCA also backed commercial agreements, "pending a comprehensive consideration of other alternatives by industry experts." ATIS said its Packet Technologies and System Committee will "undertake a deeper technical analysis" of potential NNP approaches, with a final report expected late this year. General Communications said the FCC should "draw on the expertise of the NANC and its working groups, as well as ATIS" but shouldn't take away the ability of Alaskan consumers to choose long-distance providers under dialing parity. Iowa Network Services (Aureon), a provider of "centralized equal access," said the FCC should preserve CEA service so consumers can continue to choose their long-distance providers. INS opposed scrapping the N-1 requirement and requiring rural carriers to make "expensive" NNP upgrades, and offered to be a "gateway" to implement NGLRN in rural areas.

North American Portability Management said Neustar is resisting a "rollback" to the incumbent local number portability administrator if the new systems of incoming LNPA iconectiv aren't ready for an April 8 regional cutover. Neustar disputed that. NAPM said transition oversight manager (TOM) PwC "established industry-led rollback" as the contingency plan under FCC authority. Neustar "is refusing to support the defined rollback approach and is further sowing confusion among transition stakeholders regarding the history, current state, and next steps for contingency rollback," NAPM filed Monday in docket 09-109. Neustar labeled as "counterfactual" a Jan. 16 Neustar filing blaming the TOM for the lack of a viable rollback plan (see 1801170045). It's "critical" stakeholders "have accurate information regarding transition plans and status," NAPM said. "The TOM has prepared this summary of the history, current state, and required next steps regarding contingency rollback, which would be implemented only in case of a catastrophic, non-recoverable failure after the LNPA transition." The filing detailed TOM rollback plan efforts, including "a pattern of shifting positions and escalating demands by Neustar." The incumbent replied it "cannot be complicit in creating a false sense of security" about the TOM's proposed solution. "The so-called industry-led rollback ignores the question of whether these procedures can be supported by all service providers, and fails to acknowledge the fact that these procedures have never been exercised simultaneously by the entire industry, nor tested when the matter causing the fallout is the NPAC itself," Neustar emailed. "Despite more than two years of effort and with only 10 weeks to go before the southeast region goes live, the TOM has failed to account for the probability that iconectiv’s replacement system will falter." Neustar said its efforts were "mischaracterized" by PwC, and urged stakeholders to focus on "testing and validating" new systems, while "planning for the probability of consumer disruption, and insisting on far greater transparency from iconectiv and the TOM.” Neustar Monday responded to Neustar's Jan. 24 filing (see 1801250037): "Although Neustar unequivocally denies the NAPM's baseless allegations and reserves all its legal rights to respond in the appropriate fora, the Commission should refrain from interceding in contract negotiations between two private parties." It cited an arbitration provision as controlling.

Lifeline USF resellers challenged tribal support restrictions in an FCC order that commissioners adopted 3-2 in November with an NPRM to begin overhauling the low-income subsidy program (see 1711160021). "Petitioners seek relief from portions of the Order that will (1) limit enhanced Tribal Lifeline support to 'facilities-based' service and (2) limit Lifeline support to 'rural' Tribal areas pursuant to a newly established FCC definition," said the National Lifeline Association, Assist Wireless, Boomerang Wireless (enTouch) and Easy Telephone Services in a petition (in Pacer) to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that surfaced Friday in National Lifeline Association v. FCC, No. 18-1026. NLA is a trade group representing Lifeline providers and vendors. The companies said the actions were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, exceeded FCC authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Meanwhile, Chairman Ajit Pai said the FCC had resolved seven notices of apparent liability from 2013 and 2014 against Lifeline providers (see 1712290032), and "expects to resolve two more soon"; three others remained with the agency's Office of Inspector General. The FCC has an enforcement action on its agenda for tomorrow's commissioners' meeting but hasn't identified what it involves. Pai was responding to a Dec. 1 letter from Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. She asked for details on commission steps to recover $89.5 million in proposed fines against 12 Lifeline providers for alleged program violations (only one case had been resolved at that time). McCaskill's office didn't comment Monday.

What bothers CTA President Gary Shapiro about the net neutrality debate is that "both sides have exaggerated so badly” what they see as the likely impact of the FCC’s December vote to roll back 2015 rules (see 1712140039), Shapiro said in a CES-recorded interview on C-SPAN’s The Communicators to have been televised over the weekend. “We are in a position now where there's people who have such malicious intent toward the present chairman of the FCC,” said Shapiro of Ajit Pai. “His kids are being bothered, they’re getting death threats. This is not American to go after a public official, who frankly is a brilliant guy, doing what he thinks is right, with a lot of substance and nuance behind him.” Many “good people" on "both sides” of the debate can disagree, but “the fringes and the extremes on this issue are a reflection of a very bad direction that I believe that the country should not be going in,” said Shapiro. Pai withdrew from a planned visit to CES days before he was to sit down for a Las Vegas interview with Shapiro (see 1801030054).

Correction: Three of President Donald Trump's FTC nominees are Republicans while the fourth, Rohit Chopra, would be the agency's only Democratic commissioner if they all are approved by the Senate and the FTC's only Democratic commissioner, Terrell McSweeny, leaves as would be required with arrival of Joseph Simons (see 1801250066).

The FCC should roll back or eliminate outdated children’s TV rules, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly blogged Friday. Kidvid rules require broadcasters shoehorn unprofitable children’s TV into their packed schedules and impose burdensome paperwork requirements, O’Rielly said. “With today’s dynamic media marketplace there are very little, if any, additional benefits provided by the Kid Vid rules.” Trimming such rules was a frequent request by commenters on the FCC’s media deregulation efforts (see 1707060060). O'Reilly said though the rules were intended to ensure the availability of children’s educational programming, the modern media market offers such content on streaming services, online video and MVPDs. Children’s TV is “booming,” O’Rielly said. “Where is the market failure to warrant the continuation of the FCC’s Kid Vid mandates?” The current rules caused broadcasters to move away from children’s programming shorter than its 30-minute mandate or non-regularly scheduled programming, such as after-school specials, O’Rielly said. By crowding out more in-demand programming, the requirement “depresses the value of broadcast stations and threatens their financial resources to create and air costly programming, like news and community specials” O’Rielly said. “It is high time the Commission consider whether the Kid Vid rules are still necessary,” he blogged. “At the very least, there are substantial portions of these rules that can be rolled back or reconsidered.” The rules are "one of television broadcasters’ last public interest obligations" remaining after the wave of deregulation under the Republican majority FCC, said Benton Foundation Executive Director Adrianne Furniss in a statement posted under the headline "Now They Come for the Children." The proposal "should be dead on arrival," Furniss said. "It is unthinkable that the FCC would turn its back on children -- and the law."