Requiring providers to unlock handsets within 60 days of activation, even if not paid off, would encourage handset-related arbitrage, fraud and trafficking and increase providers’ bad debt, according to AT&T. It said an unlocking requirement would create a disincentive for providers to continue offering aggressive handset promotions and flexible handset financing. Recapping a meeting with FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staffers, AT&T said in a docket 24-186 filing posted Wednesday that arguments for 180-day unlocking periods for prepaid and postpaid handsets miss that the different business models of the two offerings dictate various results. It said prepaid customers may not pay every month, so prepaid providers might need more than 180 days from device activation to recover subsidies on a device. AT&T said prepaid unlocking shouldn't be required any sooner than six months after activation, as that is typically enough time to recover the subsidy on most prepaid devices and to mitigate most device fraud and theft risks.
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) backed the FCC's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling on the Universal Service Fund contribution mechanism. SIIA said in an amicus brief Wednesday (No. 24-354) that it's "incumbent upon the Court to tread lightly, and to fully account for the consequences, before disrupting that massively important (and enormously beneficial) status quo" (see 2410180007). The group cited the USF-funded E-rate program's importance, saying a "downstream consequence" of affirming or declining to review the decision would include a "sharp reduction in funding" and "exacerbate the very inequities that the Universal Service Fund in general ... was meant to redress."
NTIA approved more than $12 million in Digital Equity Act state digital equity capacity grant program funding to Minnesota Wednesday. The state plans to use the funding for launching a digital opportunity leaders network pilot program and exploring potential models for a program similar to the FCC's affordable connectivity program. "For the first time, every state in the nation has a digital equity plan in place to promote widespread adoption of high-speed internet services," said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: "Minnesota can now request access to the funds to put its digital equity plan into action." The agency also approved more than $9 million for Connecticut. That award "comes at a perfect time" to further the state's existing initiatives addressing the digital divide, said Gov. Ned Lamont (D): "We are grateful for this investment." Connecticut plans to use the funding to create an urban and rural digital navigator pilot program and build digital literacy and equity resources.
Petitions to deny the transfer of UScellular authorizations and spectrum licenses to T-Mobile are due Dec. 9, the FCC Wireless Bureau said in a public notice posted Wednesday in docket 24-286. It said oppositions to petitions are due Jan. 8 and replies Jan. 28. The companies in May announced a $4.4 billion deal that would see T-Mobile buying UScellular's wireless operations (see 2405280047). T-Mobile also would pick up about 30% of UScellular's spectrum holdings, the bureau said.
The FCC “is not in the business of regulating content, full stop,” said Commissioner Anna Gomez Tuesday in a speech on the dangers of disinformation at The Media Institute’s Free Speech Gala. “Mis- and disinformation cloud our view of reality and inhibit our ability to discern the truth,” said Gomez, adding that “regulatory options are limited” in combating the problem. Modern technology and the decentralization of news have made it easier for false stories to spread further, Gomez said. She noted the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton as a recent example of the harms of disinformation. “Unworthy news sources” spread rumors that “dissuaded survivors from seeking help, and weakened morale among our first responders.” Gomez said “preserving local media” is a possible antidote to misinformation, because it offers “community specific information in an easy-to-access, reliable format.” As the U.S. “contends with a growing frequency in weather-related disasters, it is imperative that we make preserving local media a priority.” During the event, The Media Institute honored former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley with a lifetime achievement award. In addition, it presented former America’s Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler with the American Horizon Award. Cahill Gordon Senior Counsel Floyd Abrams, who represented The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case, received the Institute’s Free Speech award.
NextNav's FCC petition on a proposed terrestrial complement to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services is "a strong step toward addressing" the U.S.' national security PNT risk, according to cybersecurity expert David Simpson. The former head of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau wrote Wednesday in Breaking Defense that a commission order establishing a ground-based PNT service category "would let the market introduce and sustain competitive solutions without the tail of a new federal program." Now Pamplin Business College Professor in Leadership and Cybersecurity at Virginia Tech, Simpson said that while the FCC is reviewing the record on the NextNav proposals, DOD and other agencies overseeing GPS should motivate a diverse mix of PNT solutions. NextNav provided partial support for a Simpson paper about the need for a terrestrial alternative for GPS PNT services (see 2409110035).
The FCC could potentially use merger conditions as a replacement for regulations the courts knocked down after the overturning of Chevron deference, said Jeffrey Westling, American Action Forum director-technology and innovation policy. In a blog post Wednesday, he wrote, “If the agency fails to defend its signature rules in court, it could follow the lead of the Biden Administration’s FTC and DOJ and use merger review as a venue for regulation through condition setting.” Westling pointed to device unlocking rules as an example: the agency is considering requiring broadband providers to unlock devices within a certain time frame, but some providers -- including T-Mobile -- are already subject to such requirements because of merger conditions. These conditions let the agency “go around existing rulemaking procedures,” are often negotiated in haste, and aren’t subject to judicial review, Westling said. The agency is reviewing a number of large telecom deals, including DirecTV/Dish, Verizon/Frontier and T-Mobile/USCellular, Westling noted. “How the FCC reviews these transactions can give additional insight into how the agency may approach its merger review process after the overturning of the Chevron doctrine.” If the agency begins using conditions to block acquisitions, then Congress should act to reign in the agency, or even take away the FCC’s merger review authority. Though transactions would still be subject to FTC or DOJ review, those agencies lack the FCC's expansive authority to impose conditions that aren’t related to competition, Westling said.
The FCC is eyeing undertaking its first major comprehensive review of its submarine cable rules in 23 years, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted Wednesday as she announced the agency's Nov. 21 meeting agenda. Also on the agenda are additional robocall steps and a permanent process for authorizing geotargeted FM radio broadcasts, she said. While the technology, economics and security challenges involving submarine cables have changed notably since 2001, "FCC oversight has not," she said. That year saw the agency adopt procedures for streamlining the processing of landing licenses. The Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication framework is one of the FCC's most effective tools for mitigating deceptive robocalls, Rosenworcel said. With third parties used for Stir/Shaken implementation, Rosenworcel noted there have been "concerns about improperly authenticated calls and diminished accountability." The FCC will "vote to establish clear rules of the road for the use of third parties in the caller ID authentication process," she said. Industry groups urged the commission to allow third-party caller ID authentication last year (see 2307060045). In April, the FCC unanimously approved an order creating a temporary authorization process for broadcasters to use FM boosters to offer geotargeted ads. Along with that order, the agency sought comment on a more permanent process, which seems the focus of the November order. Geobroadcast Solutions, the primary company offering geotargeted FM tech to broadcasters, has pushed for the permanent authorization process to loosen restrictions on broadcasters offering geotargeting. GBS has called for the FCC to raise the number of commonly owned booster stations allowed to originate content and to increase the amount of time per hour the geotargeted content can be broadcast. The current limit is three minutes per hour. NAB and NPR have called for the FCC to closely monitor geotargeted radio users and impose additional interference protections. Two entities, Press Communications and REC Networks, have petitioned the agency to reconsider the original radio geotargeting order. The November agenda also has an unspecified enforcement item scheduled.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The California Public Utilities Commission should consider recent federal actions on incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS) before adopting a permanent intrastate rate cap, industry and consumer groups argued in comments posted Wednesday. However, The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) suggested lowering the cap again on an interim basis. The CPUC received comments Tuesday on a Sept. 30 staff proposal recommending a permanent intrastate rate cap of 4.5 cents per minute for IPCS voice calls.