AT&T advised the FCC that while it’s making progress curbing unwanted texts to its customers, political messages remain a significant consumer complaint. While political messages are only about 7% of AT&T messaging traffic, they’re responsible for 60% of complaints, the carrier said in a meeting with Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. In April, “the #1, #2, #4, #6 and #7 most consumer complaints originated from just one Presidential candidate, and the top eleven [10-digit long code] phone numbers -- and 74 of the top 100 telephone numbers -- reported by AT&T’s own customers belonged to political texting” campaigns, a filing Wednesday in docket 21-402 said. The filing doesn’t identify the candidate and an AT&T spokesperson declined further comment. AT&T said it has become easier to use its technology on Apple and Android operating systems to make a complaint. With technological upgrades, the carrier “is blocking fewer texts” but sees “fewer suspicious texts forwarded to us by our customers.” AT&T said last year it blocked more than 9.3 billion spam and scam messages. CTIA in May launched a political texting website, which urges campaigns to use text messages “to reach voters in a responsible manner.” More than 80% of consumers “express frustration with receiving unsolicited political messages, and that feeling is growing even stronger with each election cycle -- up 20% from 2020,” CTIA said: “A recent survey also confirmed what consumers say every day -- spam is spam, whether it’s an unwanted text from a bank, a concert promoter, or a campaign.”
The FCC on Wednesday approved a waiver of its rules for Federated Wireless requiring environmental sensing capability (ESC) systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference for markets that Hurricane Ernesto hits. The Wireless Bureau said the waiver is similar to those granted for similar storms and applies only to areas that experience power outages. It expires Aug. 28 or when commercial power and backhaul service are restored to the ESC sensors involved. Hurricane Ernesto made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands late Tuesday.
The FirstNet Authority Board will meet Aug. 21, starting at 9:30 a.m., a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register said. The meeting, at the University of Utah Department of Public Safety in Salt Lake City, will include the board and its committees.
More than 100 amateur radio operators have now filed objections to a NextNav proposal asking that the FCC seek comment on revised rules for the 902-928 MHz band (see 2408120024). Comments are due Sept. 5, replies Sept. 20, on a public notice from the FCC in docket 24-240.
Matthew Pearl, National Security Council director-emerging technologies and special adviser, announced he has left that job. “Having the opportunity to serve at the White House and advance our nation’s interests in tech and telecom policy was the honor of a lifetime,” Pearl said on LinkedIn. Pearl highlighted his work on such items as the national spectrum strategy and the cyber trust mark.
AT&T opted to file in opposition to North East Offshore’s request for an FCC waiver of the freeze on nonfederal applications for new or expanded Part 90 operations in the lower 3 GHz band even though the wind farm company has dropped the request (see 2408010039). North East’s request “touches on broader issues that merit addressing on the record,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-212 said. The lower 3 GHz band is “an incredibly important piece of the National Spectrum Strategy and the Commission should not be issuing new authorizations that would complicate the reallocation of that band for future mobile broadband services,” AT&T said. The waiver request also raises “complex questions about the Commission’s licensing jurisdiction and potential offshore uses of spectrum that are most appropriately addressed in the Commission’s broader inquiry on the subject,” AT&T said. The FCC sought comment in 2022 on the offshore use of spectrum (see 2209020052).
CTIA representatives told staff from the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau that new rules for robotexting aren't needed. Developed in an ongoing proceeding, the record “shows that the wireless ecosystem’s efforts to combat spam and scam text messages are working, as evidenced by the significant drop in consumer complaints reported over the last few years,” a filing made Monday in docket 21-402 said. “While some advocates for non-consumer message senders recognize the importance of strong blocking and other policies that protect consumers from receiving messaging content they do not want, their requests for the FCC to restrict current spam-prevention efforts are factually inaccurate and legally insufficient,” CTIA said.
C3Spectra, which hopes to join the list of companies operating an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system that manages access to the 6 GHz band, notified the FCC that its system will be available for public trial beginning Aug. 20. The test portal will close Oct. 4, the company said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-352.
CTIA asked for FCC clarity on the agency’s latest broadband data collection order, released July 12. The item created “a pathway” for restoring fixed locations previously removed from the BDC maps, CTIA said. “While the best reading of the text is that use of the restoration process established in the Declaratory Ruling is optional, there is some uncertainty,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-195 said: “CTIA encourages the Commission to promptly clarify that the restoration process -- in particular, the use of infrastructure information outlined in the Data Specifications to restore locations or areas -- is not mandatory.”
Oppositions are due Aug. 27, replies Sept. 6, at the FCC on a petition for reconsideration of last month’s 3-2 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024), said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register. The petitioners were Maurine and Matthew Molak, who previously sued the FCC over its decision authorizing funding of Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2406260006). Filings are due in docket 21–31.