The FCC Wireless Bureau approved on Thursday a request from GeoLinks that it surrender some local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) licenses in return for others from the commission’s inventory. GeoLinks proposes using federal funding to serve some 47,000 locations across Arizona, California and Nevada that now lack high-speed broadband access. The bureau sought comment on the request in May (see 2405170028). “The proposed modifications will enable GeoLinks to rationalize its LMDS spectrum holdings by providing access to more contiguous spectrum, which will allow GeoLinks to improve its network performance and lower its equipment and deployment costs,” the bureau said: “This will benefit rural consumers who would be able to access robust and affordable broadband service more quickly.” The modifications could also “increase the utility of the LMDS band overall, by returning spectrum to the Commission for future reassignment that could create synergies with existing LMDS licenses” in the FCC inventory, the order said.
Federal prosecutors allege former Comtech Chairman-CEO Ken Peterman sold or tried to sell tens of thousands of shares of company stock earlier this year based on insider information. DOJ said Wednesday a federal grand jury indicted Peterman on one count each of insider trading, securities fraud and wire fraud. Peterman, 67, of Encintas, California, is charged with making the transactions March 12 upon learning about a forthcoming negative earnings report and that he would lose his job, while neither of those pieces of information was public.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New cases since the last update are marked with a *.
The California Public Utilities Commission should proceed with its proposal to lift its carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations, carriers said in reply comments posted this week in docket R.24-06-012 (see 2410020037). Several commenters backed AT&T's proposal for identifying areas throughout the state where lifting the commission's COLR rules is justified. For example, COLR obligations aren't necessary in competitive markets, said Frontier. The carrier urged the commission to prioritize COLR relief in urban and suburban areas to "avoid ongoing competitive disparities" between incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) and rivals. Frontier was among the commenters that backed AT&T's proposal. Consolidated Communications agreed, adding the PUC should reject calls to expand the proceeding and examine the merits of the COLR rules. A coalition of TDS carriers also backed AT&T's proposal. The first phase of the proceeding should consider areas that are well-served before addressing "not yet well-served" areas in the second phase, they said. Should the commission include broadband within the scope of its rulemaking, the carriers will seek a separate, third phase. The commission should request additional comments on issues that "have not been adequately addressed yet are critical to understand in order to revise and update the COLR rules," said The Utility Reform Network, Communications Workers of America and the Center for Accessible Technology in joint comments. The groups urged the PUC to clarify that rules updates don't allow the withdrawal of a COLR solely based on a community's U.S. Census Bureau designation as an urban area. "The mere fact that a community is designated as an 'urban area' within the Census Bureau data should not justify the diminution or elimination of a COLR obligation," they said.
Private-sector communications companies interpret the record in the FCC's proposed customer service standards proceeding as going against the agency, while states and localities say the need for agency action is clear. That according to docket 24-472 reply comments this week. Industry groups pushed back against the NOI's proposals in initial comments last month (see 2411250020). In comments posted Tuesday, Mosaicx said tech such as virtual assistants and interactive voice response can be tailored to meet service providers' customer service needs. Accordingly, the FCC should let these technologies continue evolving, giving industry flexibility to tackle customers' needs. While many communications providers have "problematic" customer service practices, the FCC shouldn't proceed with a rulemaking, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said. This would add unneeded customer service regulations and administrative burdens on entities, with rural electric coops "a prime example," it said. Applauding the NOI, 15 state attorneys general said it's valid for the FCC to consider extending cable customer service rules to cover satellite TV, voice and broadband service providers. They added that changing technologies mean there are decreasingly few distinctions between customer service needs of various providers. Accordingly, they urged the FCC to require that customer calls are recorded and that customers may request the recordings. In addition, missed service appointments is an issue that cries out for solutions, the attorneys general argued. Signing the filing were the AGs of Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and the District of Columbia. The cable industry's argument that customer service rules are unnecessary because market forces and competition ensure good customer service ignores the fact that cable operators don't always provide good customer service, said Fairfax County, Virginia, which applauded the proceeding. "The market forces on which the industry relies consist of corporate executives wondering whether spending serious money to improve customer service would capture enough new customers to justify the costs," it said.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners opposed a NumberBarn application for authorization to obtain numbering resources. NARUC’s Telecom Committee last month raised concerns and urged that the FCC take a deeper look at organizations like NumberBarn that receive numbers from phone companies and sell them to customers (see 2411120066). “The Commission should defer any action on NumberBarn’s application until it can complete an audit of NumberBarn’s practices and address the other compliance concerns raised by the comments filed in this proceeding,” NARUC said in reply comments posted Monday in docket 19-99. It cited comments that state regulators from California, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia filed last month. There hasn’t been a numbering audit of a telecom carrier or VoIP provider “in at least 15 years and NumberBarn’s business practices provide an obvious target for investigation,” NARUC said. NumberBarn defended its business model. The company “is not ‘hoarding’ or ‘warehousing’ numbers; it provides a search engine for numbers available from wholesale carriers,” it said in the filing. “These numbers are unassigned numbers made available by carriers to their thousands of wholesale customers (of which NumberBarn is one), on a first come, first served basis, and NumberBarn does not have exclusive access to these numbers.” NumberBarn said state PUC concerns that it could “cause or exacerbate number exhaust [are] ... speculative and unsupported by any factual data.” Public interest and consumer groups also raised concerns in reply comments. “The multiple comments filed by state governmental entities responsible for regulating utilities and protecting consumers in their jurisdiction describe numerous problems with NumberBarn’s practices and its application,” the groups said: “All of these state commissions are unanimous in their request that NumberBarn’s application be rejected because it is not in the public interest.” The National Consumer Law Center, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Consumer Action, the National Consumers League and Public Knowledge signed the filing.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned Saturday that “rhetoric” on China is no substitute for the hard work of making the U.S. a stronger competitor in areas like semiconductor chips, which are critical to the U.S. wireless and other industries. “Today, more than ever, national security requires technological security, requires the United States to lead … all of our competitors in technology, particularly in AI and semiconductors, and requires secure supply chains,” she told the Reagan Defense Forum in California. Raimondo was asked about President-elect Donald Trump's comments, made during the campaign, that he opposes subsidies in the Chips and Science Act of 2022 and that the act was a bad deal for the U.S., Responding to calls for overturning the act, Raimondo said, “It’s a horrific idea. It’s a reckless idea. ... Sometimes you say things on the stump, and I can only hope that was something to be said on the stump and won’t be acted out.” In November, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted interest in having the House repeal the Chips Act but reversed course following a bipartisan outcry (see 2411040062). Raimondo noted that 100% “of leading-edge chips used in fighter jets, AI technology, nuclear simulation, drones” are made in China and Taiwan. By the end of the year, the department expects to complete $35 billion of the $39 billion allocated in awards to 26 companies to build plants in the U.S. In addition, it expects it will award nearly all $11 billion targeted for research funding. “We’re getting the job done,” she said. "It has been brutally difficult.” Taiwan’s TSMC makes 100% of the world’s most sophisticated chips and people said the company would never expand in the U.S., Raimondo said: “Wrong -- they’re doing it” and TSMC is building three facilities in Arizona. “It’s an incredible thing, and you’re all safer because of it.” Raimondo said ultimately the U.S. will need to invest more to compete with China. She noted that China is now building 21 semiconductor factories. Permitting reforms are critical, she noted. “It can’t take two years to go through permitting in order to build a factory -- that is not competitive."
Frontier agreed it will pay California $3.5 million in penalties to settle an investigation of illegal disposal of hazardous waste, Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Friday. "For years, Frontier's careless and unlawful hazardous waste disposal practices jeopardized the health and environmental well-being of California communities," Bonta said. Inspections of more than a dozen facilities found in excess of 300 "potentially hazardous items" in regular trash dumpsters. Under the settlement's terms, Frontier will pay $2.8 million in civil penalties, $1.6 million to the AG's office, $450,000 in attorneys' fees, and $250,000 for "supplemental environmental projects." Frontier will also pay "at least $500,000 toward supplemental environmental compliance measures," Bonta's office said.
Verizon and the California Office of Emergency Services have mutually agreed to an alternate deadline of Jan. 6 for the carrier to initiate location-based routing to 911 in the state, said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-64. That’s four days later than the date Verizon noted in a November filing.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 Thursday, approving an order updating the state LifeLine program to adopt an enrollment path for individuals without Social Security numbers. The PUC delayed the item in September (see 2409250016). Commissioner Matthew Baker abstained from the vote.