Advocacy organizations and industry groups welcomed an FCC notice of inquiry seeking ways to expand access to the Lifeline and affordable connectivity programs for survivors of domestic and sexual violence (see 2207140055). Some sought additional flexibility in providing eligibility documentation for survivors, in comments posted Friday in docket 22-238.

Frontier Communications sought rehearing of an Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) decision requiring it to invest in redundancy after a 911 outage. The commission’s July 27 decision responded to a June 11 outage caused by gunfire (see 2206290010). Commissioners issued the order without giving Frontier due process or following administrative rules, said the carrier: The order is “unlawful, unreasonable, and unsupported by substantial evidence.” The ACC should vacate the order and work with Frontier “to develop a remedy plan that will accomplish, rather than undermine, the Commission’s legitimate goal of ensuring safe and reliable 911 access for the people of Arizona,” the carrier said Tuesday in docket T-20680A-21-0198. Requiring the carrier to invest in redundancy and diversity will likely result in a $78 monthly surcharge for customers, which is more than three times the average customers’ monthly bill in the affected area, said the company: “Frontier’s customers would likely drop their services in droves” if that happened.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and other panel leaders are hopeful they can use the August recess to negotiate a deal on a spectrum legislative package before Congress returns after Labor Day, or at least decide whether to seek a stopgap FCC spectrum auction authority renewal in hopes of reaching a consensus later. Panel Democrats and Republicans divided along party lines (see 2208020076) during a Communications Subcommittee hearing last week on whether they back the 18-month authority extension included in the House-passed Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624).

Nex-Tech Wireless told the FCC it will soon be able to offer real-time text (RTT) to its customers. The provider “expects to complete implementation of RTT to 911 within the next 30-60 days based upon the latest information provided to Nex-Tech Wireless by its RTT vendor,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 16-145. The company is one of a group of smaller carriers that struggled to implement RTT (see 2012220031).

Revised draft rule changes on emergency service network reliability will be due Sept. 7, Colorado Administrative Law Judge Conor Farley said at a partially virtual hearing Friday. State 911 Program Manager Daryl Branson said workshops involving industry and other stakeholders are nearly complete. The group has been seeking consensus on changes meant to improve basic emergency service (BES) network reliability and set a tariff-based mechanism for funding network improvements (see 2206090050). Two more workshops are scheduled for Aug. 9 and 16, Branson said. Farley, Branson and parties agreed to deadlines of Sept. 19 for comments and Sept. 30 for replies on the upcoming revised draft rules. The PUC would then have a public comment hearing 11:30 a.m. Oct. 13, the ALJ said.

With more than 13 million households now enrolled in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, commissioners approved an order Friday establishing an outreach grant program to further boost participation (see 2207150063). Commissioners at the monthly meeting also adopted an order establishing a one-year pilot program to increase ACP enrollment among households receiving federal housing assistance and a notice of inquiry seeking comment on space innovation and operations.

Public safety groups and carriers continue to clash on what actions, if any, the FCC should take to ensure use of location-based routing (LBR) to 911 call centers. The disagreement surfaced in replies to a June public notice, approved by commissioners 4-0 (see 2206080040). T-Mobile warned that no consensus is emerging as a result of the record refresh.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and other House Commerce Committee members urged the chamber Tuesday to pass the Spectrum Innovation Act legislative package (HR-7624) by a lopsided bipartisan margin ahead of floor votes as soon as that evening on several telecom and tech measures. The House planned floor votes on HR-7624 and two other telecom and tech bills on the docket: the Reporting Attacks from Nations Selected for Oversight and Monitoring Web Attacks and Ransomware from Enemies Act (HR-4551) and Safe Connections Act (HR-7132). The chamber was also expected to consider the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-4990). The Rules Committee, meanwhile, began considering Tuesday afternoon a set of proposed amendments to the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (HR-4040) amid Republicans’ concerns that the measure didn’t first get House Commerce clearance.

The House is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday under suspension of the rules on the Spectrum Innovation Act legislative package (HR-7624), as expected (see 2207180067), the office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Friday. The chamber will also consider two other telecom bills the Commerce Committee cleared earlier this month: the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-4990) and Safe Connections Act (HR-7132). HR-4990 would provide statutory authority for ITS’ role in managing NTIA’s telecom and spectrum technology programs. HR-7132 and Senate-passed companion S-120 would let domestic abuse survivors separate a mobile phone line from a shared plan involving their abusers without penalties or other requirements and require the FCC to establish rules that ensure calls and texts to domestic abuse hotlines don’t appear on call logs (see 2203180070). The HR-7624 version House Commerce advanced would extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through March 31, 2024, and authorize a 3.1-3.45 GHz auction with some sales proceeds allocated to pay for next-generation 911 tech upgrades and additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2207130066). Hoyer’s office also confirmed plans (see 2207210063) to vote as soon as Wednesday on the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (HR-4040).

Eighteen wireless carriers and stakeholders are urging Congress to fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program amid ongoing concerns about the FCC’s final estimate that lawmakers will need to appropriate an additional $3.08 billion to pay the costs of replacing the unsecure equipment (see 2207150067). Industry experts told us the outlook on whether Congress will act on the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624) or other proposals to provide additional funding is unclear, but the risk for industry and negative implications for closing the digital divide are real.