Several groups on Friday filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a rehearing of its December order denying a writ of certiorari regarding the FCC's classification of broadband. ACA Connects, USTelecom, CTIA, the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, and the New York State Telecom Association cited the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court's narrow decision overturning the FCC's order (see 2501020047). That decision "establishes the [2nd] Circuit’s decision as a conflicting outlier," they said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Friday reminded recipients of funding through the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program of their obligation to file reimbursement spending reports. The next reports are due by Feb. 10.
NTIA awarded nearly $18 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program support Friday (see 2412170043). Atautchikun, a "public benefit company," received more than $7 million to pre-pay qualifying broadband service for about 800 tribal households, provide end-user devices and expand digital tribal government services. Other tribal entities in Washington, Alaska, Arizona and North Dakota received funding for similar projects.
Verizon's network is clear of any remaining threat from the Salt Typhoon Chinese government-affiliated incident (see 2412300039). In an update Friday, it said a few "individuals primarily involved in government or political activity were targeted by the threat actor” and “those customers have been notified of the threat actor’s activity.” It added: “We have not detected threat actor activity ... for some time and, after considerable work addressing this incident, we can report that Verizon has contained the activities associated with this particular incident.”
A trio of public safety groups urged the FCC to require telecom providers to “implement, host, maintain, and operate” a secure, two-way outage dashboard providing updated information on 911 outages. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, the National Association of State 911 Administrators and the National Emergency Number Association said the existing system isn’t working. “Unfortunately, the Commission’s current outage reporting rules combined with the practices of the service providers often result” in emergency communications centers (ECCs) “not being notified of outages or receiving notifications that are either irrelevant to the ECCs’ jurisdiction, provide limited information, are not updated in a timely manner, or are formatted in a way that it is difficult and time-consuming for the ECCs to parse through during an outage situation,” said a filing this week in docket 15-80. ECCs “should be notified of outages and disruptions that could impact communications … even if the outage does not meet the high thresholds that trigger a notification requirement in the existing rules,” they added.
The Rural Utilities Service announced it will start accepting applications Feb. 20 under the Community Connect Grant program for FY 2025. The window closes April 21, said a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. Approximately $26 million will be available under the program in FY 2025, it said.
The FCC tightened filing requirements for the Robocall Mitigation Database “to better ensure widespread compliance and heightened awareness of provider responsibilities to protect consumers,” said a news release and order Wednesday. “We are tightening our rules to ensure voice service providers know their responsibilities and help stop junk robocalls,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The database’s “continued effectiveness relies on information submitted by providers being complete, accurate, and up to date,” the order said. “Yet a review of filings in the Database indicates a lack of thoroughness and diligence by some providers and, in some cases, malfeasance by bad actors.” The new rules include a $100 filing fee, requirements that providers promptly update the database with changes, higher forfeitures for false or inaccurate information, an annual recertification requirement, and a two-factor authentication process for logging into the database. Incompas, NCTA and others had objected to the filing fees and higher penalties for inaccurate submissions (see 2410160037). “Through these actions, we strengthen the Robocall Mitigation Database as a compliance and consumer protection tool,” the order said. In addition, it directs the Wireline Bureau to “establish a dedicated reporting mechanism to facilitate shared oversight of the database among all stakeholders” and issue additional guidance and best practices for companies that use it.
A federal court's dismissal last week of the FCC's net neutrality rules (see 2501020028) raises the question of why traditional phone service still faces strict Title II regulation when modern phone networks are increasingly integrated with the internet, International Center for Law & Economics Senior Scholar Eric Fruits wrote Monday. A minority of U.S. households have a landline phone, and platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have largely replaced traditional phone calls, he added. Meanwhile, traditional carriers' networks handle integrated voice, video and data services. As such, modern communications is stuck in an antiquated regulatory framework, prompting the need for Congress to move telecom services into the Title I rules regime governing information services, Fruits argued. This "would level the regulatory playing field, enabling traditional carriers to compete more effectively with internet-based platforms," and encourage infrastructure investment by reducing compliance costs and regulatory uncertainty, he added. A universal service goal could be maintained under Title I, and the FCC could still implement targeted consumer protections through its Title I powers.
NTIA released its final guidance Thursday on the use of BEAD funding to deploy alternative broadband technologies. The agency sought comment in August, with some seeking flexibility in the program's rules to support deployment of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and unlicensed fixed wireless technology (see 2409110066). LEO providers will be reimbursed based on "either subscriber milestones or the number of locations in a project area" and program rules were amended to "better facilitate" provider participation, said a news release.
A November FCC order establishing the Alaska Connect Fund (see 2411050002) is effective Jan. 30, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. “While the original Alaska Plan and other Alaska support mechanisms have helped make significant progress in Alaska, many areas in the state remain unserved or underserved,” the notice said: “An estimated 51,000 Alaskans still receive 3G service -- an outdated technological standard -- or worse.”