FCC commissioners approved 5-0 a voluntary cyber trust mark program based on National Institute of Standards and Technology criteria during their open meeting Thursday. As expected, commissioners noted changes in the item since a draft circulated three weeks ago (see 2403130047). Also, as expected, the FCC will ask additional questions in a further notice about software and hardware from countries of national security concern and whether data from U.S. citizens will be stored abroad. The FCC was under pressure to make changes.
The FCC should dismiss SpaceX’s “procedurally deficient” petition seeking greater access to the 2 GHz spectrum band (see 2402230027), EchoStar said in an opposition filing posted Wednesday. SpaceX’s petition calls for a rulemaking proceeding on whether sharing the 2 Ghz band is possible while going from the premise that it can’t share the band with EchoStar’s existing mobile satellite service and 5G mobile advanced wireless service, EchoStar said. The FCC “should not begin such a futile and self-defeating rulemaking proceeding and should dismiss immediately the petition without placing it out for public comment,” it said. Entities that seek to operate in a portion of the spectrum others use for existing services must show they can share the band without harmful interference into the existing service, the filing said. SpaceX “fails to even try to make such a showing, and “effectively admits the only way to deal with harmful interference from its 2 GHz entry would be for EchoStar to accept that interference,” EchoStar said. Even starting a rulemaking on the SpaceX petition would “imperil” innovation in the 2Ghz band, the filing said. The FCC “should consider the chilling message that commencing such a proceeding would send to licensees: the signal that such consequences are thinkable.” SpaceX didn't comment.
An FCC rule requiring mobile service providers to "block texts purporting to be from" North American numbering plan numbers on a reasonable do not originate list that includes "numbers that purport to be from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers" takes effect Sept. 3, said a public notice Wednesday in docket 02-278. Commissioners adopted the item in March 2023 (see 2303170056).
Representatives of both companies met virtually with FCC staff on T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of Mint Mobile (see 2303150032), a low-cost prepaid wireless brand, and other assets from Ka’ena. T-Mobile “provided an overview” of its “internal processes and business policies, including with respect to customer information and data management,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 23-171. The companies “emphasized that the applications have now been pending for eleven months, that no filings opposing the applications were submitted during the comment period, and that Team Telecom carefully reviewed the Applicants and the proposed transaction and filed its no-objection letter with the Commission over two months ago.” The filing references a presentation made at the meeting, which was redacted. Team Telecom refers to the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector.
A January FCC order requiring that carriers implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls and real-time texts to 911 is effective May 13, a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register said. Under the January order, compliance is required within six months of when the rules become effective for nationwide providers and 24 months for small providers. A follow-up notice will announce compliance dates. The order was approved 5-0 (see 2401250044). “Wireless 911 calls have historically been routed to [public safety answering points] based on the location of the cell tower that handles the call,” the notice said: “Sometimes, however, the 911 call is routed to the wrong PSAP because the cell tower is not in the same jurisdiction as the 911 caller.”
Communication Service for the Deaf urged the FCC to approve direct video calling (DVC) as a compensable telecom relay service for "interactions with customer service centers." Oppositions to the company's petition on the issue from video relay service providers "lack merit" and consumers "wholeheartedly agree" DVC should be approved for TRS funding, CSD told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. The request is "narrowly tailored" to enable callers fluent in American Sign Language "to effectively communicate with call centers that do not otherwise have anyone who can communicate in ASL," CSD said.
Public interest groups and two academics urged the FCC to update its approach to net neutrality rules to address issues concerning new services like network slicing, which industry, particularly T-Mobile (see 2402260058), has raised. “Open Internet protections primarily focus on providers’ practices when providing broadband Internet access service [BIAS],” the filing said: “But ever since the FCC first adopted comprehensive open Internet protections in 2010, the agency has recognized that other services that are delivered over the same last-mile connection … may also undermine the open Internet, harming innovation, competition, investment, and user choice.” The FCC should consider how the service is defined “in the first sentence of the BIAS definition … or a functional equivalent of regular BIAS,” advocates said. The technology shouldn’t harm the open internet “by negatively affecting the capacity available for, and the performance of, BIAS, either dynamically or over time” or “have the purpose or effect of evading Open Internet protections,” the filing said. The filing was made by the Open Technology Institute at New America; Public Knowledge; Barbara van Schewick, director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society; and Scott Jordan, computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Proposed conclusions in the draft of the FCC's annual report to Congress about the state of broadband deployment and competition raised eyebrows among industry groups, with some calling for the commission to consider additional data. The FCC also defended proposing higher broadband speed goals in the draft report. Commissioners will consider the item, required by Section 706 of the Telecom Act, Thursday during their open meeting (see 2402220059).
Industry officials expect changes in the cyber trust mark rules, set for a vote Thursday, though the extent is still evolving, said lawyers in the proceeding. One wildcard is whether the FCC will attach a further notice, asking questions about issues including the country of origin of security updates under the program. The item is expected to be approved 5-0, with Commissioner Nathan Simington getting some edits to reflect his initial concerns, officials said.
The Senate Commerce Committee plans a March 21 spectrum policy hearing that will focus at least in part on a potential clean FCC auction mandate renewal in the face of stalled talks on a more comprehensive package, panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday. Senate Commerce hadn’t yet formally noticed the hearing Thursday afternoon. Cantwell has been eyeing a five-to-seven-year FCC reauthorization and has received a score on the proposal from the Congressional Budget Office, communications policy lobbyists told us.