FCC to Tackle Blue Alerts, Caller ID Changes in June Meeting Heavy on Public Safety

Commissioners will consider a notice of inquiry seeking comment on ways to improve competitive broadband access in multi-tenant buildings; a payphone item that would waive certain auditing and reporting duties this year while the commission considers eliminating the requirements; and new procedures for cable company annual notifications to subscribers. FCC members will vote on an order granting U.S. market access to OneWeb's proposed non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) constellation. That 2016 application, involving 720 satellites in low earth orbit, also set off a processing round for additional NGSO-like constellations (see 1611160010).

Pai also proposed rules for states to opt out of FirstNet. States have the option to build their own public safety radio networks, but only if the FCC first determines the state’s proposed network will be interoperable with FirstNet. The number of states that will sign on to FirstNet has emerged as a major question as a team led by AT&T gets ready to start construction of the nationwide network for first responders (see 1705190025). The FCC sought comment last year. Pai said the agency is "committed to working with FirstNet and all state and local partners to make sure that first responders have the tools they need to communicate seamlessly with each other during emergencies.”

Under the draft report and order, states would have 240 days from their opt-out notification date to put together an alternative plan. The draft notes APCO insists opting out is a “false choice” and AT&T argues that an alternative plan would be difficult and costly. But the document says states should have a real choice. “While we acknowledge that the statutory process may be exacting, we also believe that Congress intended to establish a process that affords states a meaningful opportunity to ‘develop and complete requests for proposals,’ as well as to prepare and file the required opt-out plan with the Commission,” the draft said. “States are entitled to make a deliberate, informed choice to opt-out of the network, so long as the statutory requirements are met.”

An NOI would explore ways to improve broadband access in apartment buildings, condo complexes, shopping malls and other multi-tenant environments (MTEs). The FCC previously prohibited telecom providers from entering into or enforcing exclusive MTE agreements, and a draft NOI would seek comment on whether additional action is needed to remove barriers faced by broadband providers. The MTE item asked whether there are state and local hurdles to broadband competitors, whether the FCC should address MVPD exclusive marketing and bulk billing arrangements, and how revenue-sharing deals, exclusive wiring arrangements or any other contractual provisions or party practices affect competition.

Pai called the new EAS warnings “Blue Alerts” when he announced them at a news conference at DOJ last month (see 1705190048). Blue Alerts would function similar to Amber Alerts but would warn the public “when there is actionable information related to a law enforcement officer who is missing, seriously injured, or killed in the line of duty, or when there is a credible, short-term threat to an officer,” Pai blogged. “If a violent suspect is in your immediate community, Blue Alerts could give you instructions on what to do,” Pai said.

The NPRM would seek comment on the creation of a dedicated Blue Alert code states could adopt, Pai said. Twenty-seven states already have their own blue alert plans, but the FCC nationwide plan stems from the 2015 Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act, Pai said at DOJ. If the NPRM is approved, the next step is public input on whether the EAS is the right way to deliver them and whether a dedicated EAS code can allow uniform, nationwide Blue Alert delivery.

The caller ID draft NPRM looks at whether to revise the rules so called parties and law enforcement can obtain blocked caller ID information when threatening calls are made. In April, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau gave Jewish community centers an emergency waiver to trace a rash of bomb threats (see 1703030062). Pai earlier expressed concerns over reports of bomb threats received at the centers nationwide. The temporary waiver let JCCs work with carriers and law enforcement to identify callers, but "this episode raised the question of whether we need to make permanent changes to our rules," Pai said

The draft proposes to define a threatening call “as any call that includes a threat of serious and imminent unlawful action posing a substantial risk to property, life, safety, or health,” said a notice. The FCC would seek comment on extending the current exemption for public emergency services to “non-public entities that provide emergency services, such as private ambulance companies, so that they can readily obtain blocked Caller ID information for callers who request assistance,” the FCC said.

Also on the agenda is a declaratory ruling that would let cable operators email subscribers their required annual notices. NCTA and American Cable Association petitioned in 2016 for such a rule change (see 1603080052). Pai called the draft ruling an "effort to modernize our rules for the digital age."

An NPRM would propose to scrap duties for carriers completing payphone calls to conduct annual audits of their payphone call tracking systems and annual reports. An attached order would waive the annual audit and associated reporting requirements for 2017 while the commission conducts the proposed rulemaking. Pai called the rules "outdated and unnecessary." The draft item recognizes the rise of mobile wireless services "has resulted in a precipitous drop" in the number of payphones and associated revenue, leading "to a significant change in the relative costs and benefits" of related requirements, said a summary. "For example, one carrier has told the Commission that the audits now cost more than the compensation to payphone service providers being audited."

Commissioners will also consider an enforcement action.