The Q3 USF contribution factor would grow to 24.4 percent, its highest ever, under an FCC proposal in Thursday's Daily Digest and on docket 96-45. The USF contribution factor rose above 20 percent for the first time in Q4 (see 1809120035). Some advocates for the USF urged the FCC to find new sources of contribution to help sustain the program (such as from fees on broadband service) since revenue from interstate telephone charges continues to decline (see 1904020022). The prospect of ever-rising consumer fees played into a recent NPRM on an overall budget cap for the USF program (see 1905310069). The new contribution factor rate for Q3 would be set within 14 days of the announcement without further action from the agency, said an Office of Managing Director public notice.

DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim gave his most aggressive speech yet toward the tech industry Tuesday, signaling structural remedies are a possibility against Google and Apple, Cowen’s Paul Gallant said (see 1906110076). The speech want further than Delrahim's talk in May 2018, when he suggested companies offering free services aren’t “immune from antitrust enforcement,” the analyst emailed investors Wednesday.

The FCC granted the North American Numbering Council a three-month extension to file a document on the technical requirements for establishing a comprehensive database containing reassigned phone numbers, said a Wireline and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus order Wednesday in docket 17-59. The report is due Sept. 13, and status update July 12. In April, NANC requested an extension until April 13, 2020, due to the complexity of FCC's initial request, delays stemming from the government shutdown early this year, and scheduling conflicts among working group members engaged in other commission work, it said. "The additional time will ensure the development and consideration of a complete record to address the complex technical aspects of the database's establishment, operation, and funding." Commissioners voted in December for the new database to let callers check whether a number has been permanently disconnected to help prevent robocalls intended for others (see 1812120026).

Saying user equipment out-of-band emissions limits proposed by the C-Band Alliance could impair 5G operations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, Charter Communications told FCC officials it backs AT&T's call for a public notice seeking comment on C-band proceeding technical issues (see 1906070044), posted to docket 18-122 Wednesday. Charter had meetings with aides to the commissioners and with the heads of the Wireless Bureau and Offices of Engineering and Technology and of Economics and Analytics.

Womble Bond asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to force the FCC to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of 75 rural phone carrier clients concerned about T-Mobile’s alleged rural call blocking. The pleading cites T-Mobile’s “illegal practice of, inter alia, inserting false ring tones into calls made by T-Mobile’s customers and intended for rural destinations.” The practice saved T-Mobile millions of dollars in call-completion costs, the law firm said. “Inexplicably, the Commission has missed its deadline to respond to the FOIA Request, and in response to Requestor’s informal follow up inquiries, has failed to provide an estimate of how long it will take to complete its review,” said Monday's complaint (in Pacer) in 1:19-cv-01690-RDM. “No justification of any type has been provided for the failure to grant or deny the FOIA Request. Coincidentally, however, during the pendency of Requestor’s FOIA request, certain Commission members have been issuing announcements of their intent to support T-Mobile’s planned merger with Sprint.” T-Mobile didn't comment.

Expanded use of dialing code 211 for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline -- as recommended by the FCC's North American Numbering Council (see 1905080020) -- got both support and criticism in docket 18-336 comments this week. The proposal doesn't have consensus in the mental health community (see 1905160054). Using 611 isn't realistic, given the amount of calls it receives annually, and 211's dual use is technically feasible and compatible, said the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. It suggested a "press one/press two" command putting callers into one of two independent systems, or an enhanced integration. It said the veterans service line should remain separately governed, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) -- working with the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration -- should head the suicide prevention aspect of any joint use. It said 211 staffers today handle crisis calls for domestic abuse, child protection and homelessness on a daily basis. It said some believe there would be initial confusion about 211 as a suicide prevention number, and there were similar perceptions in the early days of 211 about possible confusion between it and 911. The 211 National Leadership Group backed a 211/NSPL collaboration, directing calls "to the best people to handle them as quickly as possible." It said expanded 211 use will necessitate more funding for operating the NSPL via 211. Some see expanded 211 as giving short shrift to suicide. The Trevor Project said expanded 211 use "would ... be inefficient and diminish the importance of the issue," and such operators aren't properly trained to handle emergency calls. It advocated a dedicated three-digit number. It suggested FCC recommendations include training of NSPL counselors in LGBTQ cultural competency and creating an integrated voice response to route calls to the group. Centerstone said expanded 211 use would likely result in insufficient coordination and delays "as people filter" through the system, and instead a sole-purpose number should be designated. It gave no recommendations. A collection of Utah United Way agencies said 211 doesn't work in some parts of the state and a suicide prevention hotline would dilute the core mission and purpose of 211.

Upward momentum in industry's capital investment in broadband rose an estimated $3 billion last year to $75 billion, USTelecom reported Monday. The group said the administration's forward-looking regulatory framework, signaled in 2017, helped to reverse a capital spending decline from the recent peak in 2014. "Annual broadband investment rebounded in 2017 and the data now confirms that the upward momentum continued in 2018," USTelecom said, based on the providers analyzed in its initial report. It confirms a trend from February when USTelecom released an analysis of the top six broadband providers (see 1902070048). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the preliminary report "reaffirms that our policies are working," and noted other evidence of broadband expansion (see 1905290017).

The Department of Education said the FCC should preserve the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service (EBS) band for educational institutions. The FCC is examining whether to open the band, possibly through an incentive auction, providing mid-band spectrum for 5G. Chairman Ajit Pai was expected to seek changes for the band at the June commissioners’ meeting but didn't (see 1905130054). A year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 an NPRM seeking proposals for changes to the band, including an incentive auction like the one for TV broadcast spectrum (see 1805100053). “The Department's interest in this matter is tied to its mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access,” DOE said. “The Department strongly encourages the Commission to maintain and modernize the current educational priority of the EBS spectrum by keeping the current eligibility requirements for EBS licenses, modernizing the educational use requirement, and issuing new EBS licenses using local priority filing windows.” The letter was posted Monday in docket 18-120. Officials from the National EBS Association and the Catholic Technology Network, meanwhile, met with aides to Pai. They urged “licensing EBS white space through local priority filing windows to new educational entities as proposed in paragraph 41” of the NPRM.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology shouldn’t rush developing artificial intelligence standards and should rely on existing international efforts, stakeholders commented through Monday (see 1905300048). A “rush to impose standards could hamper innovation or lead to standards that quickly become irrelevant as technology advances,” AT&T said. Microsoft said it’s “premature” to develop “sector‐specific vertical standards at this time,” given AI’s continued development. Shift focus to promoting development of “open frameworks, shared definitions, and related tools -- including evaluations, data sets, and metrics,” IBM recommended. “Premature standardization is even more important to avoid given the rapid rate of innovation,” the Information Technology Industry Council said. Rather than creating new standards, “look to existing data standards for acquisition, storage, access and use,” ITI said. The association emphasized existing international standards established by organizations like the International Organization of Standardization/IEC Joint Technical Committee. Microsoft also urged NIST to retain international principles like those from the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development. The agency should address analysis gaps with government, academia and industry, but it needs to avoid “becoming a standards‐setting organization,” the company said. Like Microsoft and ITI, BSA|The Software Alliance backed “robust” U.S. participation in the development of international standards. Global standards “have the added benefit of mitigating the risks that can accompany country-specific standards,” BSA said. Strive for federal standards in the handling and securing AI data, the Center for Democracy & Technology said, and emphasize transparency for AI development. Establish a “uniform vocabulary for describing structures, elements, parameters, hyperparameters, and techniques for developing” machine learning systems, CDT said.

The FCC should “release promptly” a public notice seeking input on “key technical engineering matters relevant to the policy and legal issues raised” in the C-Band proceeding, AT&T told the FCC. AT&T reported on meetings with officials from the Wireless and International bureaus, the Office of Economic Analysis and the Office of Engineering and Technology. The record hasn’t been “developed to the degree necessary to permit the Commission to engage in reasoned decision-making; and given the passage of time since release of the NPRM (i.e., almost twelve months), there is good cause to believe that such record will not develop organically without further Commission encouragement,” AT&T said in a filing posted Friday in docket 18-122.