Network Tool & Die (NTAD) told the FCC it has filed data from last year required as part of the agency’s broadband data collection program. NTAD got a waiver last week of the March 3 filing deadline after complaining about circumstances outside its control (see 2506110015). “NTAD respectfully submits that its data submission was completed within the requirements of the Waiver Order,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-195.
The 911 calling landscape is changing rapidly, and while challenges remain, advances could make emergency calling more effective, Intrado said in its annual “State of the 9-1-1 Industry” report, released Tuesday. “Advancements in location technologies are greatly improving the data available to 9-1-1 telecommunicators, though challenges persist in attaching more comprehensive and precise location information -- now in three dimensions, not just two -- for emergency assistance requests,” the report said. “The rise of low earth orbit communication satellites has opened a tremendous opportunity to expand emergency communications coverage across the globe.”
Luminys responded Tuesday to a “show cause” order related to the FCC's finding that the company was selling equipment from Dahua, which is on the agency's “covered list” of providers of unsecure gear (see 2502140040). The order came from the Public Safety Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, the R Street Institute and Public Knowledge jointly defended the FCC's January declaratory ruling and NPRM in response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks (see 2501160041). The groups met with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau, said a filing posted Monday in docket 22-329.
Beyond SMS texting, no other texting formats have been implemented or requested to be implemented with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the FCC Wireline Bureau said Friday (docket 18-336). The bureau annually provides notification about what texting formats are required or seeks comment on parameters for any additional text message formats transmitting to 988.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, may not be a “silver bullet” for speeding up infrastructure projects, said a Federalist Society post Friday written by Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Mario Loyola. Some expect the decision -- which limits the scope of National Environmental Policy Act reviews and requires courts to defer to agencies on what is included in them -- to ease permitting for broadband buildout projects (see 2505300051). Plaintiffs are still likely to sue over infrastructure projects or try to get agencies to broaden the scope of their reviews, Loyola said. If district judges respect the SCOTUS ruling, it could shave years from infrastructure projects, he said. “NEPA litigation adds an average of 4.5 years to major projects before a single shovel hits dirt,” Loyola said. Because it requires deference to agency technical decisions, the Seven Counties decision could also “restore robust deference on questions of fact, science, and policy,” Loyola said. “It accords with our separation of powers system to say that courts decide what statutes mean, but agencies take the lead (and therefore courts defer) on technical and policy judgments.” To use Seven Counties to fend off legal challenges to projects, attorneys should argue that distant environmental or social justice impacts fall outside an agency’s area of expertise and that additional studies wouldn’t change the agency’s decision, Loyola said. “Under Seven County Infrastructure, courts cannot second-guess methodological calls that the record shows were considered -- and reasonably declined.”
Debt collection interests pushed FCC leadership to eliminate the "revoke all" rule during a meeting with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office, according to a filing posted Monday in docket 25-133. ACA International and others said there's broad support for reviewing Telephone Consumer Protection Act implementation, including the "revoke all" rule, as well as restoring the established business relationship exemption and extending it to calls to wireless numbers. They said there's also wide support for harmonizing FCC rules with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's requirements. Meeting with Carr's office were ACA CEO Scott Purcell and representatives of American Profit Recovery, Collection Bureau Services and Encore Capital Group. The "revoke all" rule relates to consumers’ ability to revoke consent to receive robocalls and texts.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr likely has a plan for what the agency will do if it has only two commissioners and no quorum for a lengthy period of time, John Strand of Strand Consult said Monday. “In a Congress with such thin margins and one in the midst of controversial items, getting personnel approved quickly is not necessarily realistic,” he said in an email. “Seasoned government leaders should not be surprised. Telecommunications are the foundation of the modern America, one can only appeal to bipartisan responsibility.”
Telecom capital expenditure is declining as carriers look to cut network costs, ResearchAndMarkets.com said Thursday. U.S. telecom providers had $80.5 billion in capex last year and $505.2 billion in revenue, the report said. That represents a capex-to-revenue ratio, or capital intensity, of 15.9%. Capital intensity “was in the 17-18% range in 2022-23,” the report said. “That was well above historic levels. The ratio started to moderate in 2024.”
New laws criminalizing the destruction of telecom facilities and a renewed focus by law enforcement “cannot come soon enough,” former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said this week in a Free State Foundation blog post. “From fiber cable cuts and copper thefts to cell tower sabotage, the damage caused by these crimes is creating harms that are rippling across our nation's communities -- disrupting emergency services, Internet access, and essential business operations.”