TRENTON -- A state senator wants to amend New Jersey’s constitution to stop about 90 percent of 911 fee revenue from being used for unrelated purposes. "It's high time that we say enough is enough,” said Sen. Michael Testa (R) alongside county and wireless officials at a Friday news conference.

Groups asked the FCC to seek additional information before accepting applications on automatic speech recognition for IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS), in meetings Friday and posted Tuesday to docket 13-24. Representatives from the Hearing Loss Association of America, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, National Association of the Deaf and Technology Access Program met with staff from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics. They said pending applications from Clarity, MachineGenius and VTCSecure for ASR-based IP CTS services "lack sufficient information about the applicants proposed services on dimensions of quality, privacy and 911 connectivity."

The 5G Spectrum Act, even if it doesn't become law, could benchmark how satellite communications incumbents get compensated for clearing part of the C band, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly told reporters Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview. S-2881 "does have weight," especially as there seemingly has been a general shift from Capitol Hill resistance to any incentives, said. If satcom incumbents receive a percentage of the $40 billion in auction proceeds, as the legislation says (see 2001090021), debate will likely center on between 30 and 50 percent, though compensation could be a hard number for incumbents, or a combination of percentage and hard number, he said.

Efforts to end 911 fee diversion face more headwinds in four states that the FCC found continued the practice in 2018 (see 1912190077), 911 advocates said in interviews. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us he’s following up with West Virginia, which hasn’t acted despite a 2018 promise by Gov. Jim Justice (R), and Rhode Island, which last year addressed the practice in a way he called problematic.

The FCC activated its disaster information reporting system for Puerto Rico communications infrastructure after recent earthquakes (see 2001070043), it said Tuesday. The agency wants updated information on telecom providers' communications equipment, restoration efforts and power sources (commercial or backup) daily by 10 a.m. until the DIRS is deactivated. The FCC’s first status report Wednesday showed 31.7 percent cellsites out of service, mostly due to power outages. Cable and wireline companies reported more than 258,600 subscribers out of service but no broadcast or 911 outages. A public notice had guidance on special temporary authority and relief requests. The FCC provided 24/7 emergency contacts. About 26 percent of the territory's network is operating with connection problems, with power outages the main reason, said Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board President Sandra Torres Lopez in an interview Tuesday. Industry is relying on backup batteries, but they aren’t lasting, with electricity out more than 12 hours, she said. After batteries went down, industry faces the difficult task of replenishing the generators for antennas, she said. Industry is more prepared than it was for Hurricane Maria, including having more generators, Torres said: “They have enough generators, but they need to move [them] from area to the other area because they are not in place.” The commission is telling Puerto Ricans to use phones only for emergency calls to prevent network congestion, she said.

California can’t make AT&T provide next-generation 911, and a penalty “would be unjust, unwarranted, and arbitrary,” the company said at the California Public Utilities Commission in docket R.18-03-011. An administrative law judge ordered AT&T show cause last month why it shouldn’t be found in contempt or violation of CPUC rules (see 1912230045). AT&T California "has no plans to provide, and was not selected by” the California Office of Emergency Services to provide NG-911, the company said Monday: Carriers of last resort aren’t required to provide 911 service to public safety answering points; they must provide access to 911/E-911 through basic service to end users.

Comments are due Jan. 29, replies Feb. 28, on call blocking issues, said a Monday notice by the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in docket 17-59. On Dec. 20 the bureau sought comment on “the availability and effectiveness of call blocking tools offered to consumers, the impact of the Commission’s actions on illegal calls, and the impact of call blocking on 911 services and public safety.” The bureau plans to use the comments to the commission’s first staff report on call blocking (see 1912200017). A June declaratory ruling allows carriers to block telecommunications traffic without a consumer request (see 1906060056).

The Boulder Emergency Telephone Service Authority asked the FCC to reconsider part of rules commissioners approved 4-0 in November requiring carriers to provide height above ellipsoid data from wireless calls to 911, within 3 meters accuracy for 80 percent of calls, starting in the largest markets in April 2021 (see 1911220034). “It was arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion, for the Commission to have declined to adopt proof of performance testing at limited locations in the 50 markets in which carriers will be required to provide Z-axis location data, on the grounds that it would be impractical and burdensome,” BRETSA said, noting carriers have conceded more testing is necessary. “It is inappropriate for the Commission to reject a new proposal as inconsistent with a prior Commission decision, when the accuracy of the assumptions underlying the prior decision have been drawn into question by the very parties implementing that decision,” the authority said. The petition was posted Friday in docket 07-114.

AT&T must show cause why it shouldn’t be found in contempt or violation of California Public Utilities Commission rules for refusing to comply with and maintain 911 tariffs with the agency, said CPUC Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer in a Friday ruling in docket R-18-03-011. The ALJ required AT&T to respond in writing by Jan. 6 and appear at a Jan. 23 evidentiary hearing in San Francisco. The commission usually fines $500-$50,000 for violations, said Bemesderfer. “In addition to imposing monetary fines, penalties, and holding a utility in contempt, the Commission can do all things necessary and convenient in the exercise of its power and jurisdiction.” The carrier didn’t comment Monday.

The Senate passed several telecom measures Thursday, including the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151). House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders called the bills part of a series of 2019 tech and telecom successes. They also noted some policy priorities for 2020.