A draft FCC order that would impose certain requirements on gateway providers would help efforts to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad and is likely to be unanimously adopted during commissioners' Thursday meeting, industry executives told us (see 2204280059). Some providers sought clarifying language in the draft, saying it would streamline efforts and further disrupt bad actors. Several said a requirement for a Stir/Shaken C-level attestation would be too costly.
Industry disagreed on allowing use of session initiation protocol 603 as a permanent notification option for blocked calls, in comments posted Monday in docket 17-59 (see 2201040034). The code allows call recipients to block a call without identifying a reason. The FCC Wireline Bureau previously partially granted USTelecom’s request for reconsideration and clarification that SIP code 603 could be used during the transition to SIP codes 607 and 608 (see 2112150039).
A draft order circulated by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Tuesday would delay a 5G Fund auction until after the commission collects new data through the still-unfunded digital opportunity data collection. That means an auction is unlikely to start until 2023. Commissioners approved an NPRM in April, with dissents by Democrats, that laid out two options -- starting an auction next year based on data then available or waiting for the new numbers (see 2004230046). The Oct. 27 meeting also includes net neutrality and other items (see 2010060056), a controversial order on compound expansions of wireless facilities and revised TV white space rules.
Parties gave the FCC conflicting signals on a contingency rollback plan in the local number portability administrator (LNPA) transition from Neustar to iconectiv. AT&T and Verizon said system testing was going well and they support a North American Portability Management plan for manually rolling back functions to Neustar if iconectiv's new systems suffer "catastrophic failure," which both carriers called unlikely. Verizon said further discussions on a solution are ongoing. But the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) voiced concerns, and Neustar, in a strange twist, entered into the record a correction and retraction from PwC, NAPM's transition oversight manager (TOM), after NAPM apparently refused to do so. The FCC and NAPM didn't comment Friday.
Parties gave the FCC conflicting signals on a contingency rollback plan in the local number portability administrator (LNPA) transition from Neustar to iconectiv. AT&T and Verizon said system testing was going well and they support a North American Portability Management plan for manually rolling back functions to Neustar if iconectiv's new systems suffer "catastrophic failure," which both carriers called unlikely. Verizon said further discussions on a solution are ongoing. But the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) voiced concerns, and Neustar, in a strange twist, entered into the record a correction and retraction from PwC, NAPM's transition oversight manager (TOM), after NAPM apparently refused to do so. The FCC and NAPM didn't comment Friday.
Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC should get tough on siting issues as carriers get set to deploy 5G, in a keynote at the Competitive Carriers Association meeting, live-streamed Wednesday from Seattle. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the CCA Tuesday there's broad support among the commissioners for tackling siting issues (see 1609200058). Pai also endorsed Wheeler’s calls for a new mobility fund. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly also spoke Tuesday on zero-rating, though not at CCA.
Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC should get tough on siting issues as carriers get set to deploy 5G, in a keynote at the Competitive Carriers Association meeting, live-streamed Wednesday from Seattle. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the CCA Tuesday there's broad support among the commissioners for tackling siting issues (see 1609200058). Pai also endorsed Wheeler’s calls for a new mobility fund. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly also spoke Tuesday on zero-rating, though not at CCA.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has concerns about sharing NOAA's 1675-1680 MHz downlink spectrum with terrestrial commercial use. In reply comments posted Friday in FCC RM-11681, Ligado included a NOAA presentation given to Senate staff that was "deliberately and explicitly arguing against any sharing," the company said. In a statement to us Friday, NOAA said it's seen interference with test transmissions on bandwidth it uses for its satellites, and that losing 1675-1680 MHz would disrupt the download of satellite data and "interfere with our ability to receive and transmit data from approximately 27,000 terrestrial and remote systems, such as seismic stations, stream gauges, tsunami buoys and weather stations."
New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) and Public Knowledge told the FCC there's broad support in the record for extending sharing rules developed for the 3.5 GHz band to some of the spectrum the agency is examining in its spectrum frontiers rulemaking. NCTA pushed the FCC to allocate parts of the spectrum for unlicensed use. Federated Wireless, which said it plans to be a spectrum access system (SAS) administrator in the 3.5 GHz band, urged a similar approach for high frequency spectrum. The reply comments were posted in docket 14-177. In earlier comments, industry players, including CTIA, said the spectrum is key for 5G (see 1602290021).
New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) and Public Knowledge told the FCC there's broad support in the record for extending sharing rules developed for the 3.5 GHz band to some of the spectrum the agency is examining in its spectrum frontiers rulemaking. NCTA pushed the FCC to allocate parts of the spectrum for unlicensed use. Federated Wireless, which said it plans to be a spectrum access system (SAS) administrator in the 3.5 GHz band, urged a similar approach for high frequency spectrum. The reply comments were posted in docket 14-177. In earlier comments, industry players, including CTIA, said the spectrum is key for 5G (see 1602290021).