The FCC Wireline Bureau on Monday reminded Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program recipients that their next updates to the commission are due April 3. The last quarterly reports were due Jan. 3. “The status updates keep the Bureau apprised of recipients’ progress toward meeting their obligations under the Reimbursement Program,” the notice said.
The Edison Electric Institute, which represents electric utilities, asked the FCC to clarify that utilities have “prior express consent” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to send “demand response calls and texts” to their customers. EEI asked the commission to confirm “that such communications are ‘closely related’ to a customer’s utility service, as they are essential for effective grid management and for Americans to have the information they need to manage their cost of living, particularly considering rising energy demands and costs.” The group stressed the importance of these calls and texts to the electric industry. “Demand response programs target short-term, intentional modification of electricity usage by end-user customers during peak times or in response to market prices,” it said. “They help keep the electricity grid stable and efficient and can save customers money.” The petition was filed Monday in docket 02-278.
NTIA should follow Texas' lead in applying a "technology neutral approach" to the BEAD program, wrote Joe Kane, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy, on Friday. Kane cited Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's recent letter to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, regarding the state's nearly $1 billion in leftover BEAD funding. "This success is due to Texas’s ongoing efforts to connect remote areas with a variety of technologies, including a pioneering low-earth-orbit satellite broadband program," he said. The "most pressing change" is making BEAD tech-neutral, Kane said: "Texas has already proven that rapid and economically responsible deployment is possible. Now, the federal government should follow its lead."
The National Consumer Law Center and Public Justice made their case Monday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an en banc hearing of the court’s decision on a 2023 FCC robocall and robotext order (see 2501240068). Intervenors sought permission to intervene when it became clear the U.S. government wouldn't defend the order (see 2502200004). A key issue before judges was the one-to-one robotext consent provisions in the 2023 order.
The National Consumers League (NCL) and four small business owners are at odds with the Insurance Marketing Coalition over whether the NCL parties should be allowed to seek rehearing of a federal court ruling on a 2023 FCC robocall and robotext order. In a docket 24-10277 reply Friday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the proposed intervenors said they sought permission to intervene as soon as it became clear the U.S. government wouldn't defend the FCC's 2023 order. They filed a motion to intervene last month (see 2502200004). The proposed intervenors said Friday they don't intend to relitigate the rule but "only seek to advance the case as the Government would if it was still defending the Rule." In its opposition last month, the coalition said the petition is untimely, and NCL can still advocate for its interests during proceedings before the FCC on remand.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced this week that Katie Arrington was appointed as acting DOD chief information officer. Arrington formerly ran for Congress in South Carolina but lost a primary to Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. Leslie Beavers, who has been acting CIO since John Sherman left the job last year, returned to serving as principal deputy CIO. The DOD CIO position requires Senate confirmation. The telecom industry closely watches it, especially as DOD examines the future of the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz band, which carriers target in part for 5G (see 2406100043).
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition supports waiving the April 1 funding request filing deadline for the rural Healthcare Connect Fund, it told the FCC Wireline Bureau in an ex parte meeting Monday, according to a filing posted Wednesday in docket 02-60. The waiver request was originally made by the Colorado Hospital Association and intended to allow the Universal Service Administrative Co. time to give the system the ability to handle the filings. “Various factors have delayed the standard application processing time over the course of this funding year,” said SHLB, detailing processing issues and delays caused by the application portal. The proposed 90-day extension is “justified” given the diversity in applicant types “and variations in applicant experience and expertise in filing.”
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will meet March 19 at FCC headquarters, the FCC said Wednesday. The meeting, which starts at 1 p.m., is the group's first during the current administration. It last met in December (see 2412180041).
FailSafe offers technology that can help identify callers who try but fail to get through to 911, the company told the FCC Friday. The company said it provides “the Intelligent Signaling Network data that accompanies every wireless, landline and [IP] call into actionable 911 alerts.” Its “methodology takes the regulatory spotlight off recalcitrant carriers, which frankly, never wanted the 911 reporting job in the first place,” said a filing in docket 15-80. “Instead it focuses on people affected, rather than estimates based solely on carrier performance.”
Nokia announced Friday the closing of its $2.3 billion purchase of Infinera, creating what it said will be an “optical networks powerhouse.” The companies announced the deal in July (see 2406280042). Infinera employees will join Nokia’s optical networks business. Infinera CEO David Heard becomes chief strategic growth officer for Nokia’s infrastructure business.