The FCC will consider two NPRMs on defining what constitutes 911 fee diversion and modifying rules for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks reimbursement program during the Feb. 17 commissioners' meeting, a news release said Wednesday. Commissioners will also hear presentations on the emergency broadband benefit and COVID-19 telehealth programs (see 2101260053), plus efforts to improve broadband mapping data. The agency would seek comment on a proposal to raise the cap on eligibility to participate in its Secure and Trusted Communications Networks reimbursement program for providers of advanced communications service with 10 million or fewer customers. In December, commissioners voted 5-0 to put in place a system to replace insecure equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in U.S. networks (see 2012100054). The action is the FCC’s first on network security under the Biden administration, expanding the longtime focus under former Chairman Ajit Pai. The draft NPRM seeks comment on a proposal to change the acceptable use of reimbursement funds to include “the removal, replacement, and disposal of equipment and services subject to the" Huawei and ZTE designation orders and on modifying rules “to use reimbursement funds to remove, replace, or dispose of equipment or services that were purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained on or before June 30.” It asks whether to replace rules with prioritization categories in the combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus law (see 2012220061).

Educating the public, particularly about 10-digit dialing, could be one of the heaviest lifts for LECs in implementing one three-digit national suicide prevention hotline number, regional carriers and experts told us. Meeting North American numbering plan administrator (NANPA) milestones for the unified 988 number could be a challenge, they said, though local carriers didn't foresee big problems. Verizon said Dec. 21 it had implemented such dialing for its wireless customers, though landline customers won't have that until July 2022.

Ajit Pai, who leaves the FCC Wednesday, had one of the busiest conclusions to a chairmanship in recent history as he closed out many items. That was deliberate, Pai said in an interview. We’re “sprinting to the finish," he said Friday evening. Pai said all the big things he wanted to do he started in his first three years. “We didn’t want to leave significant items lingering out there for the last year,” he said: “Things can fall through the cracks before you know it.”

Lumen restored 911 service in eight Minnesota counties where dispatchers couldn’t hear callers’ voices on emergency calls Monday, said the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Emergency Communication Networks division. The division reported 911 service restored at 9:20 p.m. It reported earlier that it was alerted to problems at 3 p.m. Affected counties were Dodge, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha and Winona. “Some customers in southeastern Minnesota experienced a disruption in 911 service,” a Lumen spokesperson said Tuesday. “All services have been restored.” Affected callers could hear the 911 dispatcher, but dispatchers couldn’t hear callers from 12:56-8:08 p.m., the division said in a Tuesday update. As a workaround, public safety answering points used displayed caller information to contact callers over administrative lines. PSAPs urged people to use 10-digit nonemergency numbers, and text-to-911 was working, the division said. No emergency calls went unanswered, it said. Lumen initially blamed a fiber cut, and now blames “a bad card that supports a large national fiber” in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the division said. Engineers restored service by rebooting the faulty equipment. Lumen’s investigation continues and will provide a “reason for outage” in three to five business days, per its contract. The outage occurred during the final year of the state’s five-year contract with the former CenturyLink.

Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday a top challenge for the next FCC is the rising USF contribution factor (see 2012150018). “The current funding mechanism is regressive, hitting low-income Americans and seniors the hardest. We need to fix this problem, and fix it soon,” he said. Pai repeated his support for setting aside auction funds for broadband deployment in unserved communities and suggested Congress allocate $50 billion to fund USF for the next five years so lawmakers can identify a better contribution system. Pai also touted his efforts to close the digital divide during the event with the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and National Grange. It's one of several events he is attending as he prepares to leave Jan. 20. Pai called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 2012070039) his proudest initiative, saying it will “connect millions of Americans living in some of the hardest-to-serve places.” He continued responding to critics that providers may be unable to provide the services they successfully bid on (see 2012210026). The auction was “overwhelmingly a success,” he said. “There will always be those who are upset that other people are getting the money instead of themselves.” Part of the COVID-19 relief law provided funds to improve broadband mapping before the RDOF Phase II auction. “I hope that the next FCC will approach that phase with vigor,” Pai said. With millions relying on internet access for work and education, the $3.2 billion emergency broadband relief fund (see 2101070052) “will go a long way,” Pai said: “Our staff is moving quickly to stand up this program to help consumers who need that help." Pai touted his efforts to close the digital divide by visiting 49 states and two U.S. territories -- he would have visited all 50 if not for the pandemic, he joked. “I learned about a woman who was found dead in her home, clutching her cellphone,” Pai said. The woman dialed 911 38 times, but the calls never went through, Pai said: “There just wasn’t wireless coverage in her area.” The pandemic underscored the need for access to telehealth services, he said, praising the commission’s efforts to increase the budget for the rural healthcare program.

The FCC dismissed petitions for reconsideration of a July order updating rules for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 (see 2007160055). The vote was 5-0 with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concurring. CTIA sought reconsideration in September, citing COVID-19 delays (see 2009290024). APCO asked the agency to require providers to deliver dispatchable location for a minimum percentage of 911 calls. “We dismiss the petitions as procedurally defective and, as an alternative and independent ground for resolving the issues raised, we deny the petitions on the merits,” said Monday's order.

President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) as his pick for commerce secretary and longtime aide Don Graves as deputy secretary, lobbyists told us. The Biden transition team didn’t comment. During Raimondo’s administration, Rhode Island has been one of four states that continued to divert 911 fees, despite FCC admonitions (see 2001070025). She signed a 2018 executive order restricting state contracts to ISPs that follow net neutrality principles (see 1805070029). Biden also nominated U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general (see 2101040070). Garland has been involved in some of the D.C. Circuit’s high-profile telecom and tech cases, including the Tri-County Telephone Association’s challenge against the FCC’s nearly $1 billion USF telecom rebuild program for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 2010150042).

Nebraska cleared an $8 million, five-year next-generation 911 contract with Lumen over the Public Service Commission’s lone Democrat, Crystal Rhoades, the PSC said Tuesday. “Lumen has a proven track record of 911 failures nationally and in Nebraska,” she said. “I don’t believe awarding them the contract is prudent given they are currently under investigation.” The company agreed to pay $500,000 to the FCC and faces a possible $7.2 million fine in Washington state over a multistate 911 outage in late 2018 as CenturyLink (see 2012230021). With Intrado, Lumen will provide NG-911 core services for geospatial locating and routing. Lumen will get $815,000 the first year and $1.8 million each of the next four years. The PSC may extend the contract up to 10 years. “Once the contract is signed, we’ll sit down with representatives of Lumen to set priorities and a timeline to begin the process of connecting regions” of public safety answering points to the ESInet, with the goal of connecting all regions by 2023, said David Sankey, state 911 director. Lumen knows "that when someone calls 911, seconds count and we take that responsibility seriously,” a spokesperson emailed.

The FCC is monitoring telecom and 911 outages caused by the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, a spokesperson said Monday. The bomb was in an RV parked next to a major AT&T central office, which was badly damaged in the blast and a subsequent fire. Industry officials said FCC staff will likely look more closely at the broader implications and how to better protect operations centers from similar attacks. AT&T said Monday most services have been restored. The effects were widespread, with Nashville International Airport halting flights after its internet connections went down and more than a hundred 911 call centers in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama losing data from some callers.

Washington, D.C., 911 Director Karima Holmes remains a FirstNet board member, an NTIA spokesperson said Wednesday. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced Tuesday that Holmes is resigning next month as Office of Unified Communications head (see 2012220047).