The Iowa Utilities Board outlined a possible evolution of its telecom authority in final draft legislation for 2023. "The board shall regulate telecommunications service providers, interconnected voice over internet protocol services providers, or wireless telecommunications service providers to the extent authorized by this chapter and may obtain from a telecommunications service provider all necessary information to enable the board to perform its duties as authorized herein,” said the draft posted Wednesday in docket NOI-2021-0002. The board would have authority to investigate complaints about service quality, outages lasting more than 48 hours, failure to respond to customer complaints within 10 days, unauthorized changes in telecom providers or services and failure to repair or remove damaged, downed or partially installed communication lines within 10 days of being notified. Telecom providers found in violation, including interconnected VoIP or wireless providers, could be subject to civil penalties or have eligible telecom carrier designations or other certificates suspended or revoked, it said. Also, the draft bill would require the board to "adopt rules concerning universal service and duties related to designation and oversight of eligible telecommunications carriers" that are consistent with FCC regulations. Those rules should address application requirements, service area covered by designation, compliance standards, reporting obligations and non-compliance penalties, it said. The draft also covers issues including video relay service, cable franchises and public, education and governmental access channels. The draft bill follows workshops, technical conferences and written comments over the past year, an IUB spokesperson emailed. “The docket goal was to evaluate a bill draft for the 2023 legislative session and prepare a recommendation for the Board in order to meet legislative drafting deadlines.” Industry raised concerns about expanding authority to VoIP and wireless in comments earlier this year (see 2205230029).
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
FirstNet is expected to file soon an application for renewal of the nationwide 700 MHz license it received in 2012, which expires Nov. 15, government officials told us. FirstNet Authority officials say renewal of the license is a top priority for the public safety network, being built by AT&T (see 2208170043). Industry experts said renewal likely won’t be a problem, though it would make sense for FirstNet to apply as soon as possible.
Fiber company LS Networks taps Meta’s Randy Brogle as CEO ... Xerox board promotes President-Chief Operations Officer Steven Bandrowczak to CEO; he was interim CEO since June death of Vice Chairman-CEO John Visentin ... PayPal names Blake Jorgensen, ex-Electronic Arts, chief financial officer, replacing interim CFO Gabrielle Rabinovitch, who's promoted to new role of treasurer in addition to her responsibilities as senior vice president-corporate finance and investor relations; PayPal also says Mark Britto will retire as chief product officer, effective year-end, and an external search is underway to find his replacement ... Digital customer experience platform Hero Digital adds Gorilla Group’s Ryan Noel as senior vice president-growth and alliances ... Mobile app experience company Airship names Tracey Ryan O’Connor, ex-Coveo, senior vice president-global sales and adds her to its executive leadership team ... BMC, autonomous digital enterprise company, adds Corning Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Lewis Steverson to its board, replacing Nate Taylor, who left to return full-time to his duties at global investment firm KKR.
The FCC found no agreement between Microsoft and NAB on how often narrowband devices should have to check a database to operate in the TV white spaces (TVWS). In January, commissioners approved 4-0 an order requiring other devices to check the database at least once hourly. After NAB and Microsoft clashed as the order was before commissioners, the FCC decided to further explore the rules for narrowband IoT devices in a Further NPRM (see 2201270034). Wireless mic companies supported NAB.
Pole policies and participants must respond to climate change, said current and former state utilities regulators during an FCBA virtual event Monday. Pole replacement backlogs and insufficient information about attachments are challenges, they said. Florida could finalize its process this summer to become the 23rd state, in addition to Washington, D.C., to reverse preempt FCC pole attachments authority, said Berger Singerman cable attorney Floyd Self on another panel.
A 2017 European Commission antitrust decision on Google Shopping was correct, as was the $1.7 billion fine (see 1903200004), the EU General Court confirmed Wednesday in Google and Alphabet v. Commission, case T-612/17. The court mostly dismissed Google's appeal. The ruling, which Google can appeal to the Court of Justice within two months, was cheered by consumers, rivals and the EC, which said it clears the path toward better platform regulation.
As states prepare for a significant role spending broadband funds from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, telecom industry representatives cautioned NARUC Tuesday against applying traditional telephone rules. “States will have a bigger role than they’ve ever had before” since the infrastructure package includes $42.5 billion for broadband deployment that NTIA will distribute to states, said Verizon Director-Public Policy Paul Vasington on a livestreamed, partially virtual NARUC conference panel. State commissioners asked companies to do more to help them resolve customer complaints.
The FCC or FTC is likely to investigate, and possibly impose sanctions on, T-Mobile for a data breach, experts said Wednesday. The breach included information from about 7.8 million current T-Mobile postpaid customer accounts and the records of more than 40 million former or prospective customers, T-Mobile said. Data from about 850,000 prepaid customers was also exposed. A Dish Network spokesperson confirmed that Boost customers weren’t affected.
A Further NPRM proposing to tighten secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens rules is expected to be approved 4-0 by commissioners Thursday. Commissioner aides got little public feedback after the Stir/Shaken item circulated. The consensus is smaller providers likely pose a robocall problem and the FCC should investigate, agency officials said. A few changes, none major, are expected.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) vowed to fight six telecom associations challenging the state for requiring all ISPs to sell a $15 monthly internet plan to low-income households. Claiming the program is preempted rate regulation, the New York State Telecommunications Association, CTIA, ACA Connects, USTelecom, NTCA and Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association sued Friday in the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York (case 21-cv-2389). Industry is “turning a blind eye to the needs of its most vulnerable customers once again,” said New York Public Utility Law Project (PULP) Executive Director Richard Berkley.