A January FCC order requiring that carriers implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls and real-time texts to 911 is effective May 13, a notice in Wednesday’s Federal Register said. Under the January order, compliance is required within six months of when the rules become effective for nationwide providers and 24 months for small providers. A follow-up notice will announce compliance dates. The order was approved 5-0 (see 2401250044). “Wireless 911 calls have historically been routed to [public safety answering points] based on the location of the cell tower that handles the call,” the notice said: “Sometimes, however, the 911 call is routed to the wrong PSAP because the cell tower is not in the same jurisdiction as the 911 caller.”
Communication Service for the Deaf urged the FCC to approve direct video calling (DVC) as a compensable telecom relay service for "interactions with customer service centers." Oppositions to the company's petition on the issue from video relay service providers "lack merit" and consumers "wholeheartedly agree" DVC should be approved for TRS funding, CSD told an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. The request is "narrowly tailored" to enable callers fluent in American Sign Language "to effectively communicate with call centers that do not otherwise have anyone who can communicate in ASL," CSD said.
Public interest groups and two academics urged the FCC to update its approach to net neutrality rules to address issues concerning new services like network slicing, which industry, particularly T-Mobile (see 2402260058), has raised. “Open Internet protections primarily focus on providers’ practices when providing broadband Internet access service [BIAS],” the filing said: “But ever since the FCC first adopted comprehensive open Internet protections in 2010, the agency has recognized that other services that are delivered over the same last-mile connection … may also undermine the open Internet, harming innovation, competition, investment, and user choice.” The FCC should consider how the service is defined “in the first sentence of the BIAS definition … or a functional equivalent of regular BIAS,” advocates said. The technology shouldn’t harm the open internet “by negatively affecting the capacity available for, and the performance of, BIAS, either dynamically or over time” or “have the purpose or effect of evading Open Internet protections,” the filing said. The filing was made by the Open Technology Institute at New America; Public Knowledge; Barbara van Schewick, director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society; and Scott Jordan, computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Proposed conclusions in the draft of the FCC's annual report to Congress about the state of broadband deployment and competition raised eyebrows among industry groups, with some calling for the commission to consider additional data. The FCC also defended proposing higher broadband speed goals in the draft report. Commissioners will consider the item, required by Section 706 of the Telecom Act, Thursday during their open meeting (see 2402220059).
The Senate Commerce Committee plans a March 21 spectrum policy hearing that will focus at least in part on a potential clean FCC auction mandate renewal in the face of stalled talks on a more comprehensive package, panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday. Senate Commerce hadn’t yet formally noticed the hearing Thursday afternoon. Cantwell has been eyeing a five-to-seven-year FCC reauthorization and has received a score on the proposal from the Congressional Budget Office, communications policy lobbyists told us.
Industry officials expect changes in the cyber trust mark rules, set for a vote Thursday, though the extent is still evolving, said lawyers in the proceeding. One wildcard is whether the FCC will attach a further notice, asking questions about issues including the country of origin of security updates under the program. The item is expected to be approved 5-0, with Commissioner Nathan Simington getting some edits to reflect his initial concerns, officials said.
Verizon supports the FCC’s approach in the draft supplemental coverage from space (SCS) licensing framework, expected to be approved at the commission's open meeting Thursday, but opposes advocacy from SpaceX and T-Mobile (see 2403080059), said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-65. Verizon said it “expressed concern with recent requests for the FCC to relax the -120 dBW/m²/MHz aggregate out-of-band emissions power flux density limit in the Draft SCS Order or defer consideration of aggregate OOBE to a future proceeding.” Verizon spoke with staff from the Wireless and Space bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology.
The FCC Wireless Bureau cleared Trace-Tek’s application to provide contraband interdiction system services in correctional facilities. The bureau noted it sought comment on the application and none was filed (see 401120041). The company may now begin phase two on-site testing of its system at individual correctional facilities, a notice posted Tuesday in docket 13-111 said.
T-Mobile representatives spoke with aides to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks about the company’s argument that “specialized services” like slicing should be excluded from net neutrality rules (see 2402260058). Among other suggestions, T-Mobile said the agency should ground “reasonable network management on objective rather than subjective, intent-based standards” and preempt state regulation “to avoid a patchwork of compliance obligations.” The filing was made in docket 23-320.
Panasonic supported a 5G Automotive Association petition (see 2106030075) asking the FCC to reduce by 20 dB the permitted level of unwanted emissions from the unlicensed services that share the 5.9 GHz band. Panasonic noted it was among the first granted a waiver for early cellular vehicle-to-everything deployments. “Unwanted emissions levels that the FCC adopted for unlicensed services that neighbor C-V2X in the 5.9 GHz spectrum band place the benefits of C-V2X at risk by subjecting the technology to harmful interference,” said a filing Monday in docket 19-138.