The Ecommerce Innovation Alliance and other petitioners asked the FCC to issue a declaratory ruling finding that people who provide prior express written consent to receive text messages cannot claim damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for messages received outside the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. “The TCPA, while intended to shield consumers from unwanted calls and texts, has become a weapon for opportunistic litigators,” said a petition posted Monday in docket 02-278. A single law firm based in Florida, “through aggressive social media campaigns, actively recruits plaintiffs to file TCPA lawsuits based on a misapplication of the law,” the petition said: “They lure individuals with promises of money and false claims that all messages delivered during Quiet Hours are ‘illegal texts’ and boast about recovering ‘millions of dollars’ under the TCPA.” Among those signing on to the petition were Sand Cloud Holdings, Spyder Lifestyle Strategies and ModWash.
Comments are due at the FCC April 3 regarding privacy issues stemming from potential georouting of texts being sent to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register, the FCC Wireline Bureau said that feedback it received in the 988 text georouting proceeding (see 2501100033) raised privacy issues. It said it wanted to obtain a more comprehensive record and was seeking comment on such issues as privacy implications raised by the different text-to-988 georouting solutions discussed in the proceeding. Reply comments are due April 18. Filings are to be made in docket 18-336.
The Wireline Bureau has dismissed Sonic Telecom’s 2021 petition for reconsideration of portions of the FCC's unbundling network elements rules, said an order on reconsideration Friday. “We find that Sonic fails to show any material errors or omissions, raise any new or additional facts or arguments it could not have raised during the original proceeding, or provide any reason otherwise warranting reconsideration,” the order said. Sonic had argued that the FCC’s UNE rules were based on unsubstantiated predictions and untrustworthy data (see 2102090077). “Sonic’s Petition merely restates arguments the Commission has already rejected, and to the minimal extent it may raise new evidence or arguments, such evidence or arguments could have been raised earlier,” the bureau said.
The House Commerce Committee said Saturday that it plans a vote Tuesday on the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act (HR-1618) and six other telecom bills as part of a markup session.
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington wants his colleagues to speak only English during FCC proceedings in the wake of a White House executive order declaring it as the U.S.’s official language, he said in a post on X Monday. The post seemed aimed at fellow FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who sometimes reads a Spanish version of her meeting statements. During last week’s FCC open meeting, Simington -- who was born and raised in Canada -- read out one of his statements in Romanian, seeming to mock Gomez.
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) and other users of the 1675-1680 MHz band raised interference concerns in response to a January notice from the FCC (see 2501080067). The agency is seeking to refresh the record on the future of the band for shared use between federal incumbents and nonfederal fixed or mobile operations. It initially received comment in 2019 on reallocating the band for 5G, as urged by Ligado (see 1905090041). Comments were posted Monday in docket 19-116.
The FCC and two groups that support FirstNet asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit not to stay the FCC’s order giving use of the 4.9 GHz band to the FirstNet Authority, and indirectly AT&T. The briefs were filed in response to the request for a stay by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), the National Sheriffs' Association and the California State Sheriffs' Association.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told the Mobile World Congress on Monday that he will push to simplify the regulatory regime that carriers face in the U.S. The FCC also must make enough spectrum available for 5G so that “billions and billions of dollars” are invested in networks, he said. “We need more certainty both in America and Europe."
Mike O'Rielly, former FCC commissioner, joins Information Technology and Innovation Foundation board ... Keith Woods retiring as NPR's chief diversity officer, effective May 2 … California Senate confirms Matthew Baker's reappointment to California Public Utilities Commission.
Globalstar's expanded contract with Apple (see 2411010003) will fund its next satellite constellation, CEO Paul Jacobs told analysts Thursday. In an application earlier this month with the FCC Space Bureau, Globalstar said its planned next-generation low earth orbit mobile satellite service deployment, with a price tag of more than $1 billion for the satellites and ground infrastructure, would augment its connectivity in areas where there's no terrestrial coverage. It said that C-3 system would have greater signal strength and multiple satellites overhead, meaning better in-building and in-vehicle connectivity for users. The constellation will consist of 48 satellites and six orbiting spares, enabling new IoT and consumer-based offerings. Globalstar said its existing direct-to-device SOS emergency messaging service to iPhones is available in the U.S., Canada, 12 European countries, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Apple’s September release of iOS 18 enabled satellite-delivered two-way messaging in the U.S. and Canada between users, it said. When asked about a deployment timeline, Jacobs didn't comment.