The registration period for the January CES opened Wednesday and for the first time requires attendees to furnish head shots that will be printed directly on the front of badges, amid other security steps added in past years. “It was something we needed to prep to do,” so that’s why the new procedure is being implemented for the first time, said Karen Chupka, CTA senior vice president-events and conferences. Registrants can link their CES applications to photos stored in their LinkedIn profiles, or they may upload JPEG files to complete their registrations, or they may snap their own head shots using the cameras on their laptops, through the app built into the registration website, she said.
Citing Hurricane Irma, the FCC quickly granted Telrite a temporary Lifeline wavier from the USF program's nonusage and recertification rules for low-income consumers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which felt the effects of the storm this week. Waived for 90 days are sections 54.405(e)(3), 54.405(e)(4), 54.407(c)(2), and 54.410(f) of rules for eligible telecom carriers serving Lifeline subscribers in those areas, said a Wireline Bureau order Thursday in docket 11-42 that partially granted Telrite's emergency petition Wednesday. "Strict compliance with these rules would be impracticable and would risk de-enrollment of Lifeline subscribers in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma." The bureau declined Telrite's request for an indefinite waiver, absent further commission action. On its own motion, the bureau temporarily granted a waiver of number-assignment rules to allow service providers in Florida, Puerto Rico, USVI and any states where states of emergency are declared due to Irma, said an order in docket 95-116 in Thursday's Daily Digest. Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler tweeted, "Hurricane Harvey shows it is time for FCC to improve emergency alerts http://brook.gs/2gKlnYi," linking to a Brookings Institution piece he wrote.
There’s “lots more work to do” at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, “and I actually am not going anywhere,” said CEO Meg Whitman on a Tuesday earnings call when asked about her long-term commitment in light of her recent interest in the Uber CEO opening that ultimately went to Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (see the personals section of the Sept. 1 issue of this publication). Whitman was “called in very late in the Uber search and I thought it was a very interesting business model,” she said. Uber is “actually quite similar to eBay in many ways” in that “it’s very disruptive,” she said. Uber “relies on a community of drivers just like eBay relies on a community of sellers,” and its “growth prospects reminded me of eBay in its early days,” said Whitman, who owns stock in the ride-hailing service. “In the end,” Whitman decided the Uber CEO job “wasn’t the right thing” for her, she said. HPE “is quite special in its own right and we have a very focused strategy and a path forward to build a very big business on what I think is a quite compelling strategy,” she said. “I have dedicated the last six years of my life to this company and there is more work to do and I am here to help make this company successful.”
USF contributions are projected to spike in Q4, from 17.1 percent to 18.8 percent -- a new high -- of carriers' U.S. interstate and international telecom end-user revenue, said industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in a Friday email. He said the contribution factor hike is due to Universal Service Administrative Co.'s projected drop in the USF revenue base to $13.02 billion -- down $85 million from Q3 and the lowest ever -- combined with a previous projection that USF quarterly demand will be $2.04 billion. The USF revenue base for all of 2017 is projected to be $53.7 billion, down 30 percent since its 2008 peak, and annual USF demand is projected to be $7.9 billion, $848 million lower than in 2016, Gregg wrote. The contribution factor has been trending higher over time.
Most consumers seem uninterested in wireless service from cable providers, bolstering the idea that a cable-wireless deal, such as cable/Verizon or cable/Sprint/T-Mobile, is likely someday, Macquarie analyst Amy Yong emailed investors Wednesday. Pointing to its survey of 100 consumers, Macquarie said 74 percent say the most they would pay for cable-branded wireless service is less than their current wireless bill, and 77 percent said they wouldn't switch from their current provider for either Xfinity's unlimited data or usage-based plan. Macquarie said 10 percent spend upward of $100 a month on wireless service, down sizably from its February survey, reflecting unlimited data plans becoming the norm. It said 64 percent said they value Wi-Fi more than mobile, down from 77 percent, raising the likelihood of wireless substitution.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will open a Sept. 11 workshop by the Public Safety Bureau on best practices for improving situational awareness during 911 outages, said a Thursday public notice. There are two panels of numerous industry and public safety officials: one on best practices for communicating 911 service outage information among 911 service providers, originating service providers and 911 call centers; the second on communicating 911 outage information to the public. The workshop starts at 9:15 a.m. in the FCC Commission Meeting Room.
FCC rules streamlining reporting duties of high-cost USF recipients take effect Sept. 22, said an order summary in the Federal Register Wednesday. The July 7 order eliminated some annual reporting requirements eligible telecom carriers face for network outages, unfulfilled service requests, complaints, pricing information, service quality certification and duplicative Form 481 filings (contingent on Universal Service Administrative Co. implementation of an online portal). Another summary in the FR sought comments by Oct. 23 under the Paperwork Reduction Act on a proposed FCC information collection in annual and quarterly reporting worksheets (Form 499-A, Form 499-Q) for telecom contributors to the universal service fund and telecom relay service fund. The information is also used to calculate FCC regulatory fees for interstate telecom service providers, it said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau established a pleading cycle on Crown Castle’s proposed buy of 30,000 route miles of fiber in many major markets. With an eye on small-cell deployment, Crown Castle in July agreed to buy Lightower from Berkshire Partners, Pamlico Capital and other investors for $7.1 billion cash (see 1707190020). The transfer is before the FCC. “Applicants state that the proposed transaction is in the public interest,” the bureau said in a Wednesday notice. Applicants maintain the deal would “expedite the expansion of wireless broadband infrastructure” and “bring Lightower’s experience with high-bandwidth fiber solutions to [Crown Castle’s] existing fiber subsidiaries,” the bureau said. Applicants also say it will “allow the combined entity to provide a wider range of services to customers,” the notice said. Comments are due Sept. 6 in docket 17-204, replies Oct. 13.
FCC staff and sometimes commissioners attend meetings of the Technological Advisory Council, but the agency said Friday it won’t require ex parte filings on presentations. The public notice covers “presentations to the TAC, including to its subcommittees and working groups, and at any roundtable discussions sponsored by the TAC, and presentations between TAC members (including members of any subcommittees or working groups) and FCC staff or Commissioners,” the notice said. “This treatment is appropriate since presentations to the Council, like comments on a Notice of Inquiry, will not directly result in the promulgation of new rules.”
The FCC opened a pleading cycle on its slamming and cramming proposals to bolster consumer protections against carriers making unauthorized changes to customers' preferred telecom providers or inserting unauthorized charges onto their phone bills. Comments are due Sept. 13, replies Oct. 13 on an NPRM, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Tuesday in docket 17-169. Commissioners unanimously adopted the item in July (see 1707130054).