An NPRM on curbing 911 fee diversion (see 2101270060) is likely to receive unanimous support during Wednesday's meeting, FCC officials told us. Congress in December passed the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act, which required the commission to issue rules defining what constitutes a 911 fee or diversion.

Revisit the FCC 2011 rulemaking on videoconferencing requirements of the Communications and Video Accessibility Act, accessibility advocates asked FCC staff, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 10-213. Representatives of the Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, National Association of the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America, Gallaudet University Technology Access Program, American Council of the Blind and American Foundation for the Blind attended. "As people move from conversing over phone calls to video conferences, users who are accustomed to connection through relay services cannot participate in this mode of calling as they previously did," they said. Open a docket to facilitate wireline real-time text and interoperability between wireless and wireline RTT, because calls to emergency numbers, for example, can't accept RTT messages, they said: "Especially in light of the prevalence of mental health issues over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is frightening that deaf and hard of hearing people cannot access 988 and 911 services" (see 2101270051).

The California Public Utilities Commission adopted wireline resiliency rules for emergencies, including a requirement to provide 72-hour backup power in tier one and two high fire threat districts. Earlier Thursday, New York Department of Public Service (DPS) staff recommended the Public Service Commission revise cable and telco storm response rules, following alleged Altice and Frontier Communications violations during Hurricane Isaias.

An FCC order dismissing petitions for reconsideration by CTIA and APCO of a July order updating rules for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 (see 2007160055) is effective March 11, said Tuesday's Federal Register.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., hoped the COVID-19 aid package Democrats are aiming to pass via budget reconciliation includes additional E-rate funding. Pallone emphasized during an Incompas event the committee’s part of the pandemic bill, which it intends to mark up Thursday, is unlikely to address other telecom matters. More broadband money is almost certain to make it into additional economic aid measures and an infrastructure bill targeted for later this year, Pallone said.

Precision Broadband CEO Charles Simon told an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that FCC actions on rules for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 have been detrimental to the development of dispatchable location technology. “Without a government mandate, private companies have no incentive to invest” in dispatchable location, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 07-114.

The North American Numbering Council met Thursday to discuss costs, feasibility and consumer privacy issues of the 988 suicide prevention hotline that goes live in July 2022. Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel thanked NANC for its work on this front: “I’m glad the FCC has been working on it for years and glad for the work my predecessor has done on it as well.” The commission is required to submit a report to Congress by April that includes 988 geolocation (see 2101130051). NANC members largely agreed that additional discussion is needed about the technological challenges, policy issues and potential costs before making a recommendation. Wireline voice service providers have a “significant history” of providing location information for a 911 call, but “it’s not just as easy as leveraging that system and flipping a switch” for the hotline, said Kristine Hackman, USTelecom vice president-policy and advocacy. Privacy concerns about automatic location information “warrant further consideration” by the commission, said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs. “There are privacy questions and a lot of folks saying people in a mental health crisis want to maintain their privacy,” Gerst said: “It’s not the same as a 911 call.” Time can be “critically of the essence” for a call placed to a crisis center, said James Wright, acting deputy director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line, and at times, there can be a “significant challenge” in trying to identify a caller's location. Operational questions must be answered on how a 988 call affects callers because it's a “highly complex issue,” said Comcast's Tim Kagele, co-chair of the North American Portability Management (see 2101110055). He cited call routing. It’s important to understand what's necessary to facilitate a call and how it’s used appropriately, said Philip Linse, Lumen director-public policy. Call centers might need the ability to transfer a call placed to 911 that involves a mental health crisis, Linse said. Glenn Clepper, Charter director-regulatory, said the FCC should have industry experts to identify operational requirements. The commission could consider using a general fund to cover operational costs instead of applying fees to telecom services or on access lines or channels rather than phone numbers and capping the total number of lines per customer in which a state should impose fees, Clepper said.

Local and state officials oppose Comcast capping the amount of broadband data residential subscribers can use monthly without financial penalties. That's despite the cable operator pledging to delay implementation until summer. Comcast and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said Wednesday the ISP will pause overage fees until August on the 1.2 TB limit in Eastern and Northeastern states (see 2102030017). Baltimore City Council Member Zeke Cohen (D) responded, “We will not be satisfied until the data caps are removed.”

Facebook promotes Kevin Martin to global head-economic policy and hires Henry Moniz from ViacomCBS to lead the social media company’s global compliance team in a newly created job ... House Commerce Committee new ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., announces committee senior staff: Kate O’Connor remains chief counsel, Communications Subcommittee, and Tim Kurth continues as chief counsel, Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee ... Babette Boliek joined DOJ Antitrust Division Dec. 28, on detail there from her post as professor, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.

House Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said Friday he’s working with President Joe Biden’s administration to tweak a coming infrastructure spending package but is “ready to move pretty quickly.” The Biden administration appears to “like the thrust” of the Moving Forward Act infrastructure bill the House passed last year (see 2007010071) but may “want to go bigger” in some aspects or “modify parts” before its refiling, DeFazio told The Hill's webcast Friday. The act included $100 billion in broadband and next-generation 911 funding (see 2006180062). House Infrastructure ranking member Sam Graves, R-Mo., said he remains interested in an infrastructure package but is concerned by proposals to increase the gas tax and other avenues to pay for the extra spending. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said an infrastructure package should include a broadband element and suggested a 25 cent gas tax increase could be used to pay for the overall measure. Joint Economic Committee member Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., suggested lawmakers consider alternatives to traditional fiber deployments to increase broadband connectivity as they consider infrastructure spending. Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., emphasized the need for broadband spending, noting the federal government has “waited an inordinate amount of time for the private sector to take up the slack.”