A trial is underway and expected to end this year on the use of cross-border call authentication (CBCA) technology, ATIS told FCC Wireline Bureau staff. CBCA will let calls be "verified end-to-end, even if they originate in a country that has not yet deployed Shaken" technology, ATIS said in an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 17-97. It expects to launch CBCA live service this year and said the next steps include formally requesting the Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority's "recognition of CBCA to allow cross border calls to be fully authenticated" and signing additional international service providers.
Broadcasters expect a draft order that updates the foreign-sponsored content rules to contain language requiring entities buying political issue ads to certify that they aren’t foreign agents (see 2403210071). However, the final version of the order remains in flux, an FCC official told us.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau told U.S.-based voice service providers that they may stop carrying Alliant Financial's call traffic following a cease and desist letter sent Monday to Alliant regarding an illegal robocall campaign. The bureau told providers in a public notice that Alliant appeared to originate a "substantial volume of unlawful robocalls related to purported debt consolidation loans." Alliant sent "prerecorded messages claiming to be from One Street Financial, Main Street Financial, and Alliant Financial," said a news release, saying about 78 million calls were placed to consumers between Nov. 1 and Feb. 24. The bureau noted that service members, veterans and their families "face an increased risk from campaigns of this nature." EB's move was part of the bureau's "Spring Cleaning" initiative. “There are scammers who try to exploit people working to get out of debt and veterans and military families are at a higher risk for this kind of fraud,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "We are putting these bad actors on notice that they can’t keep targeting people with this junk and taking advantage of their attempts to build a better financial future for themselves."
Minnesota legislators supported net neutrality, data privacy, social media and broadband labor proposals before they adjourned Monday. Gov. Tim Walz (D) will next consider various omnibuses that include the proposed rules. The House voted 70-58 Friday to pass a commerce omnibus (SF-4097), which included net neutrality and social media disclosure proposals that cleared the Senate earlier last week (see 2405160033). On Saturday, the House voted 72-59 to pass a transportation and labor package (HF-5242) including industry-opposed broadband safety rules (see 2405070043). On Sunday, the House voted 70-11 to pass another commerce package (SF-4942), which included language from a comprehensive privacy bill (see 2405100047). Lawmakers passed the House’s broader version of the labor proposal, which includes a controversial provision allowing the state to prioritize broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and other internet funding for contractors that pay prevailing wage and meet other standards. Senate Labor Committee Chair Jen McEwen (D), who sponsored the Senate's original bill, expects Walz to sign, her spokesperson said Monday. McEwen said she’s “very pleased” the legislature passed the proposal that “will improve worker safety and reduce interruptions to public utilities.” Minnesota Telecom Alliance CEO Brent Christensen, who opposed the labor proposal, told us a veto is unlikely since the governor’s staff was heavily involved in getting the bill passed. Christensen called the net neutrality measure "a really bad bill that didn’t need to happen." The state Commerce Department, which would investigate complaints, doesn't have the right skills to "determine what is a violation and what is normal traffic management," he said. "Any net neutrality action should come from the feds, not individual states." The privacy bill mostly looks like Washington state’s model, which was adopted in states like Virginia and Connecticut, “but with some significant and unique variations,” Husch Blackwell privacy attorney David Stauss blogged Sunday. Differences include “a novel right to question the result of a profiling decision, privacy policy provisions that increase interoperability with existing state laws, and new privacy program requirements such as a requirement for controllers to maintain a data inventory,” he said.
NAB, NPR and other opponents of the FCC’s authorization of geotargeted radio used Thursday’s comments deadline to take additional shots at the technology, while proponent GeoBroadcast Solutions said the agency should “keep an open mind.” Two broadcast entities, Press Communications and REC Networks, have called for reconsideration of the agency’s order allowing content origination on FM booster stations. Geotargeted radio will “erode public confidence in FM radio broadcasting” and harm stations “baited into employing the technology,” NAB said in docket 20-401.
The FCC will take a series of steps aimed at addressing cybersecurity challenges during the commissioners' June 6 open meeting (see 2405150042). A draft NPRM released Thursday would seek comment on a proposal to impose specific reporting requirements on nine service providers as part of the agency's effort to increase border gateway protocol and resource public key infrastructure security, which assist routing traffic across the internet.
A possible $2 billion clawback "would keep broadband as a key state priority," California Assembly Communications Committee Chair Tasha Boerner (D) said this week. With the state facing a tough fiscal situation, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Friday announced a May budget revision that included taking back promised additional funding for the state’s middle-mile network and eliminating a broadband fund for local governments. However, some digital equity advocates are sounding the alarm with state legislators.
The FCC will address "additional measures to combat emerging security challenges of the digital age" during the commissioners' open meeting June 6, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a note Wednesday. Commissioners will consider a proposal requiring that ISPs comply with new rules concerning border gateway protocol (BGP) security and a pilot program supporting cybersecurity services for E-rate participants. Also on the agenda is a proposal that would change existing bank rating standards for high-cost programs and updates to the commission's low-power television rules.
The Utah Public Service Commission refused to reconsider its decision not to relieve Lumen’s CenturyLink of carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations. In March, the Utah PSC denied CenturyLink’s original petition in docket 23-049-01 (see 2403180034). On April 11, CenturyLink sought rehearing. But the agency’s three commissioners decided Monday they were right the first time. "CenturyLink has not effectively marshaled the evidence in its Petition and thus has not carried its burden of persuasion,” the commission said. “The errors of fact and law it claims support the exemption largely ignore the persuasive opposing evidence and misconstrue our reasoning.” The Utah PSC added, “While a day may come when CenturyLink is relieved of its COLR obligations, based on the present record, CenturyLink has not carried its burden herein to eliminate this fundamental obligation of the incumbent carrier.” The company didn't "meaningfully contradict or even attempt to explain" the error of the PSC's finding that the carrier provided incomplete evidence showing effective competition, the commission said: CenturyLink didn't show there are functionally equivalent, substitutable and reasonably available alternatives at comparable prices and quality. And the commission disagreed that wholesale broadband can be considered functionally equivalent because it receives funding from Utah USF (UUSF). "The plain language of" Utah Code Section 54-8b-3 "provides no basis for concluding that the wholesale broadband services addressed in the UUSF statute constitute a telecommunications service that is functionally equivalent to, or substitutable for, CenturyLink’s stand-alone voice service." In addition, the record “shows that satellite and broadband services typically only provide voice service as an add-on at an additional cost,” the PSC said. The company’s promise that it will continue serving existing customers doesn’t save the petition for COLR relief, the commission added: "Utah’s population is rapidly growing,” and granting relief “could eliminate the option for customers to have a basic residential voice line if they relocated.” The company can seek Utah Supreme Court review within 30 days. Lumen declined to comment Tuesday.
Supplemental coverage from space service will provide a huge backstop to terrestrial networks' coverage, especially when disasters and emergencies strike terrestrial networks. But SCS also will carry significant challenges for pinpointing callers' locations, speakers said Tuesday at an FCBA CLE.