Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., touted her bid to use a rider in the FCC’s FY 2020 budget to pressure it to complete an investigation into wireless carriers' location tracking practices, including the sale of customer location tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters (see 1805240073), during a podcast released Monday with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The House passed the FY 2020 budget bill in June including FCC appropriations (HR-3351) with Trahan’s amendment, which proposes reallocating $1 in FCC funding to “highlight the importance of completing its investigation” (see 1906260081). “It's been over a year” since Congress requested the review “so that we could better assess” the “policy prescriptions to safeguard American consumers,” Trahan said. “It was mind-blowing … to hear that, for just for a few dollars” bad actors “could buy this information and … enable them to prey on victims.” Congress “will be in a position, once we have the data, to remedy this situation,” she said. “Passing this was a great first step” in “getting the results” of the probe so “we can then legislate and make sure that consumers' personal security isn't” at risk. House Communications Subcommittee Democrats criticized FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over the length of the investigation during a May hearing (see 1905150061). House Communications Democrats pressed Pai in November to provide an update (see 1911080051). The agency didn’t comment.
The FCC approved over a dissent by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel rules requiring carriers to provide height above ellipsoid (HAE) data from wireless calls to 911, within 3 meters accuracy for 80 percent of calls, starting in the largest markets in April 2021. APCO and some others in public safety are concerned the mandate will mean an FCC retreat from dispatchable location. Such more specific location is a concept endorsed by commissioners 5-0 in January 2015 under former Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1501290066).
Lobbying continues for and against proposed rules requiring carriers to identify the vertical location of indoor wireless calls to 911. APCO questions whether the requirement will help first responders locate callers (see 1911130030). Officials in the office of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai say the preponderance of public safety groups support the order, set for a commissioner vote at the Nov. 22 meeting.
The FCC's likely to approve a draft order Nov. 22 requiring carriers identify the vertical axis of wireless calls to 911. Many questions are expected when commissioners vote. The FCC's proposing to mandate 3-meter z-axis 911 location accuracy starting in April 2021. Public safety is divided. Carriers are concerned whether industry can meet the timetable. They have been relatively quiet, however, FCC officials said.
The FCC is again under pressure to mandate backup power for cellsites, after widespread outages during California wildfires. The issue isn’t new, and questions are growing. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told us now is time to act.
The FCC released a draft proposal Tuesday to ban equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF. Industry officials largely welcomed the order. Huawei signaled it will fight. Commissioners are scheduled to vote Nov. 19, after Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the item Monday (see 1910280054). The FCC also posted proposed new 911 location accuracy rules.
The FCC released a draft proposal Tuesday to ban equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF. Industry officials largely welcomed the order. Huawei signaled it will fight. Commissioners are scheduled to vote Nov. 19, after Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the item Monday (see 1910280054). The FCC also posted proposed new 911 location accuracy rules.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order Monday for the Nov. 19 commissioners’ meeting that would bar providers from using USF support to buy from suppliers deemed a threat to national security. Pai mentioned Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE (see 1910280021). FCC officials said the order singles out those two. Pai proposes to seek comment on rules requiring eligible telecom carriers remove from their networks existing equipment from the suppliers and on how to provide financial assistance to carriers to help them transition to a trusted supplier.
Broadcasters aren't expected to have to make sweeping changes to how they maintain political files after an FCC order made clearer what information needs to be in them. The clarification could make it easier to get compliance from advertising agencies that sometimes provide incomplete information. That order and a related one were ostensibly released Wednesday afternoon but not available online that night. The agency said at a little past noon Thursday that the links were working.
State Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service members asked the FCC to expand the contribution base for federal USF programs to include a fee on broadband internet access service, filing in docket 96-45 Tuesday. Commissioners Chris Nelson of South Dakota, Sally Talberg of Michigan and Stephen Bloom of Oregon recommend "a connections-based assessment on residential services and an expanded revenues-based assessment on business services." Having different contribution methodologies for residential and business services is "equitable and nondiscriminatory," they said. Under a new contribution mechanism, the FCC would assess fees on businesses that use virtual private network services, video conferencing, web conferencing, unified communications and business wireless broadband access services. For residential customers, a separate fee should be assessed for voice and broadband connections, they proposed. "A connections-based mechanism will provide stability for the Commission, administrative efficiency for carriers, and transparency for customers." About 50 percent of USF support would come from residential connections, and an initial surcharge for wireline, wireless and broadband would be 55 to 60 cents per connection, they suggested. The state commissioners recommend the FCC establish a firm budget for each of the four USF programs "with those budgets not growing any more than the Consumer Price Index for any given year." They want the FCC to "take specific steps to assure the continued viability of state universal service mechanisms promoted by Congress." It's "up to the FCC to determine what to do with the State Members’ recommendation," emailed South Dakota's Nelson (R), the joint board's state chair. "It became clear to the State Members that it was not going to be possible to get a recommendation from the full joint board, so we moved forward with this release of our work product." The other state Joint Board members didn't comment right away. The contribution factor for this quarter is a record 25 percent (see 1909130003). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel this summer asked the states to raise their concerns about needed action on revisions to the USF contribution mechanism and not wait for an FCC rulemaking (see 1907110020). Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who chairs the Joint Board, opposes a fee on broadband access or use (see 1906250011). His office didn't comment now. "The filing is very interesting, and we are looking at it closely," said Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen.