An FCC rule extending the number of monthly minutes a communications assistant may handle video relay services while working at home takes effect April 22, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved a waiver extending its call handling rule in December (see 2312200072).

USTelecom asked the FCC to ensure providers have flexibility to comply with any new call blocking rules (see 2309110060). The group told Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff that many providers rely on the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group's do-not-originate (ITG DNO) list and expanding the DNO requirement "could force providers to inefficiently allocate resources to measures that will not have the highest protective impact for their customers and networks," said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-59. USTelecom also warned "any signal from the commission" that the ITG DNO list doesn't meet a provider’s "applicable reasonable DNO requirement" would "call into question whether it makes sense for the ITG to continue to maintain its DNO list" and "whether providers could continue to rely on it."

New America's Open Technology Institute told the FCC that interconnection and internet traffic exchange remains a "live issue" during meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The group suggested that the commission "at a minimum adopt a presumption that paid peering agreements are unreasonable and/or discriminatory practices in violation of Sections 201 and 202 if the exchanged traffic is sufficiently localized by the exchanging party." OTI also asked the FCC to restore its 2010 rule on transparency, noting its distinction from the commission's consumer broadband labels. The transparency rule's purpose is "to provide a broader set of stakeholders with a more comprehensive view" of providers' networks and practices, the group said.

The National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association raised issues with the FCC's NPRM concerning broadband in apartment buildings in separate meetings with commission aides (see 2403050069). The "regulation of bulk billing agreements between property owners and broadband providers is not only unnecessary, but would raise broadband prices for consumers who belong to the nation’s most vulnerable populations," the groups said, adding it would "hamper deployment of advanced technology by innovative broadband providers" and "limit competition by favoring the large incumbent providers." The groups met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioners Brendan Carr, Nathan Simington, and Geoffrey Starks, and Wireline Bureau staff, said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 17-142.

The FCC wants comments by April 15, replies by April 29, on "whether and under what circumstances to provide compensation for other types of specialized services and on any rule changes needed to facilitate the provision of Video Text Service or other forms of specialized services," said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 03-123. Commissioners adopted the item in September (see 2309280076).

ClearCaptions received conditional certification Thursday to provide IP captioned telephone service after its acquisition by CC Opportunities. An FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice in docket 03-123 said ClearCaptions will "remain eligible for compensation from the TRS Fund after the change in ownership, pending commission action on an application for full certification of the post-merger entity."

Communication Service for the Deaf urged the FCC to approve direct video calling (DVC) as a compensable telecom relay service for "interactions with customer service centers." Oppositions to the company's petition on the issue from video relay service providers "lack merit" and consumers "wholeheartedly agree" DVC should be approved for TRS funding, CSD told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. The request is "narrowly tailored" to enable callers fluent in American Sign Language "to effectively communicate with call centers that do not otherwise have anyone who can communicate in ASL," CSD said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau denied two petitions from Colo Telephone and South Canaan Telephone seeking waivers to revise their Connect America Fund broadband loop support filings. Both companies sought a waiver of the Dec. 31 deadline to file data needed to calculate a carrier's CAF BLS amount. The order, posted Tuesday in docket 10-90, said both companies "failed to demonstrate good cause." The bureau found that the telcos' arguments on the "significance of the support amount" to their broadband operations compared with the "insignificance of the amount to the total amount of BLS payments" were "equally unpersuasive."

The major questions doctrine "is not applicable" to reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, Public Knowledge told FCC Wireline Bureau, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Office of General Counsel staff. The group said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-320 that the commission "would need to claim a new power or reverse a long-standing interpretation of a statute" for the doctrine to be considered. The FCC "does not need evidence of new harms to justify its reversal" to "the status quo ante," the group said, adding the commission "only needs to assert that the 2018 reversal does not comport with the FCC’s mandate to ensure universal service and promote public safety." Public Knowledge also asked the FCC not to forbear providers from Section 254(d) rules governing USF contributions, noting any contribution requirements would require the commission to first establish a specific mechanism (see 2403080055).

The FCC Wireline Bureau waived until March 12, 2025, sua sponte, certain letter of credit rules for Connect America Fund II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund recipients, according to an order Tuesday in docket 10-90. The bureau waived its requirement that a bank issuing a letter of credit to a support recipient maintain at least a B- Weiss bank safety rating (see 2311140077). "Recent submissions from banking institutions indicate that a majority of United States banks are no longer eligible to issue LOCs to auction recipients because they have a safety rating less than a B-," the order said, noting that more than 1,600 banks are no longer able to issue the LOCs since 2022. The waiver applies "only to auction support recipients that wish to retain, renew, or reestablish their LOCs with banks that previously had Weiss ratings at or above a B- but have since seen that rating fall below B-," the order said. It doesn't let support recipients obtain an LOC from a new bank that did not already provide one from a bank with a Weiss safety rating below a B-.