The FCC released drafts Wednesday on items it will address at the commissioners' Nov. 15 open meeting, headlined by digital discrimination rules and an order on providing survivors of domestic violence with safe and affordable access to communications. Other items on the agenda include the adoption of digital discrimination rules, the use of AI in fighting robocalls, SIM swap and port-out fraud and amateur radio changes. Commissioners will also consider a declaratory ruling and memorandum opinion in response to a 2022 petition by Minnesota Independent Equal Access Corp. (MIEAC) seeking relief from dominant carrier regulation of its interstate switched access service.
Verizon officials emphasized improvements in the company’s overall financial performance Tuesday, as the carrier reported Q3 earnings. Verizon lost 51,000 postpaid residential phone customers but picked up a net 151,000 business subscribers, for 100,000 total postpaid phone net adds in the quarter, above consensus estimates of 63,600. Verizon’s stock price increased sharply, closing up 9.17% for the day at $34.30.
Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T told the FCC it should move with care on a 5G fund, especially given the perilous state of the USF. Groups representing small carriers said the fund is critical to connecting millions of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 20-32 in response to a Further NPRM approved by commissioners 4-0 in September (see 2309210035).
The final version of the FCC wireless emergency alerts order, approved by commissioners 5-0 last week (see 2310190056), contained a few tweaks over the draft. The order requires participating wireless providers to transmit emergency messages in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language. The order now requires participating carriers to update their WEA election information in a new database “biannually as we do with our Broadband Data Collection.” While the draft proposed updates within 30 days of any changes “we are persuaded” by CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association “that filing every 6 months (biannually) is consistent with our BDC requirements [and] would accomplish our goals without unduly burdening Participating … Providers,” the order says. In another change, the FCC now directs the Public Safety Bureau to seek comment on whether templates, to be installed on handsets to translate alerts into various languages, “can be made available on all devices.” The order adds a paragraph on how best to educate consumers on the availability of alerts in other languages. “Raising public awareness about this critical step is an important component of ensuring consumers are able to take advantage of multilingual alerts,” the order says: “Equally important is helping consumers understand how to set a WEA-capable device to a default language that enables them to receive multilingual alerts. We encourage all stakeholders involved in the distribution of WEA … to conduct outreach to educate the public about setting their WEA-capable devices to their preferred language to receive multilingual alerts.” The FCC also directs its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to publish a consumer guide. The order was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest.
The FCC will look at ways to use AI, machine learning and patterns of use to help identify fraud in robocalls and robotexts, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an AARP webinar Monday. The FCC will launch a proceeding this week, she said. AI can also potentially be used to simulate the voices of friends or family, and the FCC needs to understand those dangers, Rosenworcel said. One of the ways policymakers get “in front of” problems is by starting a proceeding, she said.
The FCC approved an order authorizing the use of very-low-power (VLP) devices in 850 MHz of the 6 GHz band 5-0 at the commissioners' open meeting Thursday, as expected (see 2310160050). An accompanying Further NPRM asks about additional changes, including on the rules for low-power indoor (LPI) devices. Commissioner Brendan Carr said the FCC should have gone further and addressed the other major proposal in a 2020 FNPRM. Commissioner Nathan Simington questioned whether the concerns of band incumbents had been adequately addressed.
The era of FCC agreement on most items appears to be over. In addition to the fight over net neutrality, and perhaps the longest statement yet at a meeting by Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2310190020), Carr and Simington dissented Thursday on a declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding. But an order approving changes to rules for wireless emergency alerts, a notice of inquiry on broadband and maternal health and an NPRM on connectivity in Alaska were approved without dissents.
AT&T reported 468,000 postpaid phone and 296,000 AT&T Fiber net adds in Q3, as it became the first of the major carriers to report. Other financial indicators were also mostly an improvement over last year. CEO John Stankey slammed the FCC’s expected vote later that day approving an NPRM on net neutrality (see 2310190020), suggesting policymakers should address other problems. “Why we would use taxpayer money and resources and political capital to chase a problem that doesn't exist is a bit of a mystery to me,” Stankey said Thursday.
CTIA and Google officials clashed Tuesday on the future of spectrum sharing and the citizens broadband radio service band, speaking during a Broadband Breakfast webinar on spectrum sharing. Other speakers said CBRS has been a success.
Getting Congress to restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority as quickly as possible is a top priority of the Competitive Carriers Association, CCA President Tim Donovan said Wednesday at the start of the group’s annual conference in Atlanta. Donovan also urged launching a 5G Fund, the topic of a September Further NPRM (see 2309210035).