The FCC has made “significant progress” in its handling of the affordable connectivity program during 2022, but “improvements were needed” in measuring and providing public transparency on grant recipients’ spending of program money, the Office of Inspector General said in a Jan. 22 memo to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other commissioners that publicly circulated Tuesday. Some congressional Republican leaders have raised concerns about the FCC’s handling of ACP amid a push to provide the program stopgap funding to keep it running through the end of this year. The Wireline Bureau said earlier this month it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 as part of the program's wind-down process.
Before authorizing any supplemental coverage from space (SCS) operation, the FCC must ensure incumbents operating in the same bands won't suffer harmful interference, EchoStar representatives urged during meetings with leaders of the Space and Wireless bureaus. In a Space Bureau filing Friday recapping a meeting with Bureau Chief Julie Kearney and Wireless Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt, EchoStar said interference protection also must extend to adjacent bands and other geographies. No SCS technical rules can be finalized before studies showing these technical requirements will address co-channel, adjacent channel and adjacent geography interference, it said. Alternately, SCS applications could be required to submit evidence subject to public comment showing that there wouldn't be harmful interference, EchoStar said. SCS use of terrestrial spectrum in the U.S. should require consent from, and appropriate lease agreements with, the terrestrial licensee as well as the licensee with a meaningful role in managing interference, it said.
As part of Charter Communications' purchase of CCI Systems, the two companies are seeking FCC approval for a transfer of assets. In an application Friday, the companies said the deal covers CCI's Astrea cable, telecom and internet operations, brand and customers in more than 60 rural communities in Wisconsin and northern Michigan.
Oppositions are due Feb. 13 on a CTIA petition seeking a 12-month extension (see 2401090026) to the FCC's current six-month deadline for carriers to implement rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. Commissioners approved the rules unanimously in November (see 2311150042). The deadline was set in a notice for Monday’s Federal Register.
Tech advocacy group OpenPolicy told FCC staff a robust attestation process is critical to a successful cyber trust mark program for smart devices (see 2311130034). “The success of the Mark, and achieving its goal to support consumers’ trust, requires scaled, automated compliance approaches that leverage advanced technologies and cyber monitoring, to ensure alignment of the product with the underlying regulatory controls, throughout the product life,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-239. Group representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington.
Verizon representatives presented the company's positions on a proposed 5G fund in calls with FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff, a filing posted Friday in docket 20-32 said. The FCC should maintain a $9 billion budget, as proposed in 2020 (see 2310240046), “but consider shifting part of the budget from the Phase I auction to the Phase II auction,” the filing said: Define eligible areas as those lacking unsubsidized outdoor stationary 7/1 Mbps 5G coverage “based on the broadband data collection map at the time of the auction,” and “adopt clear procedures for verifying funding recipients’ compliance with deployment obligations.” Providers should have a choice “to what extent” open radio access network technologies are part of their builds, Verizon said.
The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates urged the FCC to move forward with its Further NPRM on direct numbering access. Commissioners adopted the item in September (see 2401020055). NASUCA backed expanding requirements for existing authorization holders, it said in a letter posted Friday in docket 13-97. There are "serious abuses of our numbering resources and a need for additional oversight of the processes and procedures involved in the use of our nation’s telephone numbers." In addition, the group encouraged that the FCC "explicitly prohibit the temporary rental of outward dialing telephone numbers."
Ligado's takings complaint against the federal government (see 2310130003) mistakenly treats its L-band license as company property, contrary to legal precedent, DOJ said in a motion to dismiss last week (docket 23-1797). Moreover, DOJ said Ligado's complaint before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, asserting the government is unlawfully trying to preclude the company from using its FCC-granted L-band license, doesn't allege authorized government action that could give rise to takings liability. In addition, DOJ said the federal claims court lacks jurisdiction and Ligado hasn't identified authorized government action precluding the company from actually using its modified license. Ligado can't plead the license lost all value, as it still authorizes mobile satellite service use. Moreover, the company can't claim any economic loss is permanent, said the motion. Ligado emailed Friday that as it set out in its lawsuit, "government officials deliberately deprived [it] of its rightfully licensed property, and the government must be held accountable. This attack on an American business by the world’s most powerful institution is contrary to the rule of law and antithetical to the government’s years-long support for the deployment of 5G technology as a vital national priority. We worked diligently and in good faith with government agencies to find a fair resolution but were left with no choice but to pursue litigation to defend our interests."
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit pressed Consumers' Research Friday on its challenge of the FCC's Q2 2023 USF contribution factor (case 23-1091). During oral argument, judges also questioned the group and the FCC about Universal Service Administrative Co. calculations to determine quarterly factors and definition of universal service (see 2401100044).
An FCC draft order on collecting broadcaster workforce diversity data using form 395-B has three votes but may not be approved until next week or later under the agency’s “must vote” procedures, industry officials told us. The draft equal employment opportunity item would make broadcaster diversity data publicly available in an online portal and includes a Further NPRM on extending the rules to cable, industry officials told us. “Broadcasting has such a great influence, it is essential that any hint of discriminatory intent or impact” be considered when assessing a broadcaster’s qualifications to hold a license, said Multicultural Media Technology and Internet Council Senior Adviser David Honig, a longtime supporter of the EEO proposal.