Comments are due July 24, replies Aug. 23 on the Further NPRM commissioners approved as part of an anti-robocalling item earlier this month (see 1906060056), in docket 17-59. The FCC approved a declaratory ruling allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default, over partial dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly. The FNPRM asks about additional steps, including a potential mandate of secure handling of asserted information using tokens and secure telephone identity revisited technology, if major voice providers don’t comply with demands Shaken/Stir be implemented by year-end.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks sent letters to 14 providers seeking details on their plans to offer free, default call blocking services to consumers aimed at curbing “disruptive and dangerous robocalls.” For Starks and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, cost has been a major issue. Starks voted for the declaratory order and Further NPRM last week (see 1906060056). Also Monday, USTelecom said there are calls for robocall tools to be provided free, but that could lead to every carrier opting for the same, cheapest solution instead of employing a variety of them (see 1906100038).
The argument that changing technology left FCC leased access rules at odds with the First Amendment rights of cable operators is seemingly a step toward axing those and other content carriage requirements, said the public, educational and government channel community and Democratic commissioners Thursday. Commissioners adopted 3-2 the leased access item on their meeting agenda. Big technology and market changes in the video distribution world "cast substantial doubt on the constitutional foundation for our leased access rules," said the draft order. An accompanying Further NPRM would seek comment on whether the remaining leased access requirements can withstand First Amendment scrutiny given those video market changes. The agency is echoing an often-repeated NCTA argument that public interest obligations violate cable's right as a publisher, emailed Alliance for Community Media President Mike Wassenaar. Courts rejected the "zombie idea ... and yet it keeps moving on inexorably," he said. Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel dissented in part on the constitutional issues. Starks said the item's First Amendment analysis "goes too far." He said the abundance of over-the-top outlets doesn't necessitate a reinterpretation of the agency's First Amendment principles on cable. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said the item's affirmation that OTT video is a substitute for traditional video distribution should inform future media actions. He said after the meeting that such a market-based OTT analysis could be important in many proceedings. The leased access rules regime is "the Betamax ... of FCC video regulation," Chairman Ajit Pai said: "This is real progress, even against the backdrop of serious concerns that have been raised (concerns that I share) about the constitutionality of this entire regime." Asked after the meeting whether he philosophically saw First Amendment issues with other existing media carriage rules, Pai said, “I wouldn’t read more into my comments” beyond their applicability to the leased access proceeding.
Regulators approved a declaratory ruling Thursday allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly, who had signaled concerns (see 1906030008 and 1905310061), partially dissented. A Further NPRM asks about additional steps and was strengthened last week to add a proposal that the FCC mandate secure handling of asserted information using tokens and secure telephone identity revisited technology if major voice providers don’t comply with demands Shaken Stir be implemented by year-end.
The argument that changing technology has left FCC leased access rules at odds with the First Amendment rights of cable operators is seemingly a step toward axing those and other content carriage requirements, said the public, educational and government channel community and Democratic commissioners Thursday. Commissioners adopted the leased access item on their meeting agenda.
Regulators approved a declaratory ruling Thursday allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly, who had signaled concerns (see 1906030008 and 1905310061), partially dissented. A Further NPRM asks about additional steps and was strengthened last week to add a proposal that the FCC mandate secure handling of asserted information using tokens and secure telephone identity revisited technology if major voice providers don’t comply with demands Shaken Stir be implemented by year-end.
Some USF program allies raised alarms in interviews and statements about Friday's FCC 3-2 NPRM calling for an overall budget cap for the four programs (see 1905310069). Some plan to spread the word about the rulemaking to the public, hoping for a critical response. Advocates for government fiscal discipline had kinder words about the rulemaking.
Iconectiv will have the job of applying and enforcing secure telephone identity (STI) governance authority rules to make operational the signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) framework for call authentication, ATIS announced Thursday. The company will be charged with trying to ensure STI certificates are available only to authorized service providers and that STI Certification Authorities work to maintain the integrity of the Shaken framework. It's "a major milestone in putting SHAKEN into action, a top industry priority critical to restoring trust in the voice network,” said ATIS CEO Susan Miller. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to Shaken/secure telephone identity revisited framework deployment by major carriers later this year as a route to cracking down on caller ID spoofing and unwanted robocalls. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted that 5 billion robocalls "is BONKERS" and the agency needs "to bite the bullet and require [call authentication technology] NOW." The FCC previously gave Iconectiv a number portability contract that Neustar previously had.
Iconectiv will have the job of applying and enforcing secure telephone identity (STI) governance authority rules to make operational the signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) framework for call authentication, ATIS announced Thursday. The company will be charged with trying to ensure STI certificates are available only to authorized service providers and that STI Certification Authorities work to maintain the integrity of the Shaken framework. It's "a major milestone in putting SHAKEN into action, a top industry priority critical to restoring trust in the voice network,” said ATIS CEO Susan Miller. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai looks forward to Shaken/secure telephone identity revisited framework deployment by major carriers later this year as a route to cracking down on caller ID spoofing and unwanted robocalls. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted that 5 billion robocalls "is BONKERS" and the agency needs "to bite the bullet and require [call authentication technology] NOW." The FCC previously gave Iconectiv a number portability contract that Neustar previously had.
The digital divide is narrowing "substantially," with Americans without a 25/3 Mbps connection dropping from 26.1 million at the end of 2016 to 21.3 million a year later, the FCC said Wednesday in its 2018 broadband deployment report. But the agency's minority Democratic commissioners dissented, saying the report is built on a shaky foundation of invalid data -- sentiments echoed by some observers. "The rosy picture ... is fundamentally at odds with reality," Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. The agency withdrew and reworked an earlier draft due to "drastically overstated" deployment data from one ISP (see 1905010205).