Revised robocall and robotext rules that FCC commissioners approved 5-0 in February (see 2402160048) took effect Wednesday, with a compliance date of Jan. 27, a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register said. OMB approved the information collection in the order “requiring that texters and callers obtain a consumer’s prior express written consent to robocall or robotext the consumer soliciting their business,” the notice said.

Network availability remains an issue for many consumers worldwide, with more than 30% of households reporting access issues in a recent Ernst & Young Global (EY) survey. It was the same figure as reported four years earlier, speakers said Wednesday during a Mobile World Live webinar. “Consumers are very alert to service guarantees” and 42% of households think that Wi-Fi performance promises, such as whole-home coverage, are misleading or inaccurate, said Adrian Baschnonga, EY lead analyst-technology, media and telecommunications. Predictable pricing “is very much in focus” and 72% of respondents think carriers should do more when offering pricing guarantees, he said, adding that North American respondents led that sentiment. Brand-trust is playing a bigger role in purchasing decisions for streaming platforms and smart home technology, and is now the top driver for connected-home devices, overtaking attractive pricing, Baschnonga said. For streaming, brand-trust ranks fourth, up from seventh last year, he said. More than half of consumers express concerns that broadband monthly subscription rates will increase and nearly as many believe they pay too much for content they don’t watch. EY found that 44% of households would be willing to pay more for content aggregation services, up from 40% last year, and “a rising proportion would also be willing to pay more for broadband that comes with better customer service or a backup option in case of outages.” EY found that when assessing value consumers get for their money, mobile and broadband connectivity scores best, while smart home technologies “lag.” Consumers are also increasingly willing to stop paying for streaming services, he said.

The USF contribution factor for Q1 2025 will likely rise from 35.8% during Q4 2024 to 38.8%, emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg on Saturday. Gregg noted that demand will also increase by $124.5 million from the previous quarter. "If revenues for the first quarter of 2025 are the same as revenues for the fourth quarter 2024, the USF assessment factor for the first quarter of 2025 will increase to 38.8%," he said: "However, if the trend of declining quarterly revenues continues, the USF assessment factor for the first quarter will be higher than 38.8%."

Apple will contribute up to $1.1 billion toward Globalstar expanding its mobile satellite service network, Globalstar said in an SEC filing Friday. The expansion includes a satellite constellation and expanded ground infrastructure that Globalstar will own, which will provide expanded services to Apple. Some of those services, delivered to Apple end users, will involve Apple prepaying Globalstar. Apple will be a passive equity holder in Globalstar, with the company making a $400 million equity investment in the satellite firm. Globalstar said it will continue allocating 85% of its network capacity to services for Apple across existing and new satellites, with the remaining capacity servicing other MSS customers. Globalstar and Apple launched direct-to-device SOS emergency messaging capabilities in 2022 (see 2211100005). After paying down debt, the remaining Apple investment could provide 40 to 80 new satellites, depending on capacity, the space and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar posted on X. SEC filing language "suggests it is more than just upgraded replacement satellites," raising questions about what spectrum bands will be employed, he said.

The FCC Precision Ag Task Force will meet in a virtual session Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. EST, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register. It will vote on its final report and recommendations to the commission.

The FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council will meet in a hybrid setting Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register. The group will hear updates from its working groups and meet the deputy designated federal officer and working group co-chairs for the innovation and access working group.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals transferred a coalition of states' challenge of the FCC's incarcerated people's communications services order to the 1st Circuit, said an order Thursday (docket 24-2983). The 14 states challenging the order opposed the transfer (see 2410020039).

To avoid possible overbuilding, NTIA should require states to have an expedited process to verify that eligible locations aren’t served before making final awards in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, said the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. NRECA CEO Jim Matheson sent a letter Thursday to NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. The association’s proposed true-up process would “allow existing ISPs to conclusively demonstrate that they provide adequate service at locations that otherwise could be awarded funding,” Matheson said. “To counter any gamesmanship in this process,” NTIA should allow this only for fiber deployments. “In the time since eligible locations were determined and the state map challenge processes occurred, many rural ISPs have continued to construct fiber broadband networks and connect new customers,” said Matheson: Those ISPs include NRECA members. “There are significant discrepancies between the FCC’s December 2023 map data, subsequent state challenges and rural networks either built since then or currently under construction,” he said. “As a result, BEAD funding could be awarded to overbuild locations where reliable internet service has since been, or soon will be, deployed.”

After years of patent infringement fights, VoIP-Pal is shifting to a legal focus on antitrust complaints, CEO Emil Malak wrote Tuesday. Patent litigation is "a lengthy and uncertain process," while antitrust "offers a more streamlined and direct approach." The company last week dropped a complaint filed in August against AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:24-cv-02395) and on the same day filed with the same court a complaint against AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom. In that complaint (docket 1:2024-cv-03051), VoIP-Pal said the defendants use their marketplace dominance to hurt competition. In addition, it said they violated Section 251 of the Telecommunications Act by deliberately withholding unbundled Voice over Wi-Fi calling and texting from consumers. Moreover, the carriers "maintained an unfair monopoly" by using VoIP-Pal routing classification technology without authorization.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) backed the FCC's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling on the Universal Service Fund contribution mechanism. SIIA said in an amicus brief Wednesday (No. 24-354) that it's "incumbent upon the Court to tread lightly, and to fully account for the consequences, before disrupting that massively important (and enormously beneficial) status quo" (see 2410180007). The group cited the USF-funded E-rate program's importance, saying a "downstream consequence" of affirming or declining to review the decision would include a "sharp reduction in funding" and "exacerbate the very inequities that the Universal Service Fund in general ... was meant to redress."