The FCC should immediately investigate Apple for blocking the functionality of cross-platform messaging app BeeperMini, several tech and policy groups said in a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Tuesday. Apple's actions degrading Beeper Mini’s functionality "may have violated FCC’s Part 14 rules, which guarantee access to advanced communications services and equipment by people with disabilities,” the letter said. A total of nine entities signed the letter, including the American Economic Liberties Project, the Open Markets Institute and Y Combinator. Earlier this month, Commissioner Brendan Carr at the State of the Net conference called for a similar investigation (see 2402120068). Beeper Mini’s tech allows users of Android phones to message iPhone users without using SMS. Without the app, Android users can message iPhones only with SMS, and their text messages have limited accessibility and appear on iPhones in green bubbles rather than the blue of Apple’s proprietary iMessage service. Apple responded by repeatedly blocking Beeper Mini from accessing its system, the letter said. Apple’s actions also prevent interconnection between carriers, which could violate other FCC rules, the letter said. Apple’s actions, and “the Biden Administration’s economy-wide focus on antitrust enforcement” should immediately lead to an FCC investigation, the letter said. Apple didn’t comment.
Three infrastructure owner and contractor groups petitioned the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday for review of the FCC’s digital discrimination order, released Nov. 20 and published Jan. 22 in the Federal Register, on grounds that it gives the commission unprecedented authority to regulate the broadband internet economy. The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), the Power & Communications Contractors Association (PCCA) and NATE filed the petition. It was immediately transferred to the 8th Circuit where it was consolidated with 13 previous petitions under a Feb. 9 order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (see 2402120077). It was docketed as case number 24-1411. The Nov. 20 order “demonstrates the FCC’s failure to retain sight of the scope of its mission assigned by Congress,” the petition said. Entities like infrastructure owners and contractors “play an important role in advancing the goal of facilitating equal access to broadband service by making high-quality modern infrastructure available as quickly as possible for the use by telecommunications and broadband providers,” it said. The infrastructure provided is generally “neutral host,” allowing “any number of providers to place equipment on the sites, increasing broadband access and improving service,” it said. But the infrastructure owners and contractors represented by WIA, PCCA and NATE don’t sell broadband services directly to end users and therefore don’t have the ability “to control the place and manner of broadband access,” it said. The order ultimately also fails to “meaningfully address” WIA’s argument that the order’s definition of “covered entities” exceeds the FCC’s “statutory language and mandate” that Congress intended, it said.
Spreading high-speed internet will remain a key focus for the California Public Utilities Commission in the years ahead, CPUC President Alice Reynolds told Communications Daily during a wide-ranging Q&A. Reynolds addresses broadband funding, affordability issues, state USF and the FCC’s net neutrality rulemaking in written answers to our questions, lightly edited for length and clarity.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated an NPRM that would seek comment on whether the commission should consider rule changes addressing the "impact of connected car services on domestic violence survivors" as it implements the Safe Connections Act, the agency said in a Wednesday news release. The move comes after the FCC wireless service providers and auto manufacturers responded to Rosenworcel's letters last month asking about their in-vehicle connectivity and connected car services. "
Reinstating the FM portion of the radio non-duplication rule without collecting more information -- more than three years after it was eliminated -- would violate the Administrative Procedure Act, NAB told the FCC in a letter posted Monday in docket 19-310. “Given the long time lapse since the reconsideration petition was filed, and the lack of any new evidence to justify reversal,” it would be “unwise” for the FCC to reinstate the rule without more information, NAB said. The FCC “does not appear to have inquired in any meaningful way about whether, how or why stations have changed their operations following elimination of the rule,” NAB said. Meanwhile, REC Networks, the musicFIRST Coalition and the Future of Music Coalition told an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks that the FCC already violated the APA by eliminating the FM portion of the non-duplication rule without proper notice. The rule was eliminated on a 3-2 vote in 2020, under then-Chairman Ajit Pai. In her dissent, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, then a commissioner, said that just 36 hours before the vote the draft was changed from eliminating non-duplication rules for AM only to doing so for AM and FM (see 2008060072). REC and the music licensing groups said the “sudden elimination of the FM portion of the Radio Duplication Rule, without notice and adequate opportunity to comment, violated the Administrative Procedure Act.” Said NAB, “There were some complaints that the FM portion of the removal order came late in the process.” NAB continued, “If that’s one’s feeling, then compounding a perceived procedural foot fault with another by simply putting the rule back in place makes no sense.”
The FCC opposes Radio Communication Corp.'s Jan. 23 emergency motion for “expedited consideration” of its Jan. 10 petition for review to overturn the agency’s Dec. 12 order implementing the 2023 Low Power Protection Act (see 2401240049), said its opposition Monday (docket 24-1004) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Connecticut station contends that the order prevents it from upgrading its LPTV operation to Class A status, and it seeks an emergency stay, expedited review and summary reversal of the order. But RCC asks the court for “three kinds of extraordinary relief” where “none is warranted,” said the FCC’s opposition. The station isn’t entitled to a stay from the D.C. Circuit because it failed to seek one before the commission, it said. RCC likewise failed to establish “the substantial showings necessary” for summary reversal and expedited review, the FCC added. RCC has “no reasonable chance” to prevail on the merits, let alone “clear the high bar necessary for extraordinary relief at this stage,” said the opposition. That’s because the FCC “did nothing more than follow the clear commands of the statute,” it said. RCC’s motion should be denied, it said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday announced the grant of two long-form applications and issuance of nine licenses to Quick Current purchased in the 2.5 GHz auction. The licenses are in Iowa and Nebraska.
While the wireless industry largely supported recommendations in an FCC NPRM on implementing a 100% hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) requirement for wireless handset models, groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing urged tweaks. Commissioners approved the NPRM in December (see 2312130019) and comments were posted this week in docket 23-388. The Hearing Loss Association of America led other groups in urging that the FCC adopt “a forward-looking, flexible definition of hearing aid compatibility that reflects changing technologies.” The FCC should adopt a definition of Bluetooth connectivity “that rests on a set of functional requirements” ensuring HAC compatibility “via Bluetooth … designed to achieve effective HAC use in the widest number of scenarios possible,” the groups said. They called for “an expanded definition of hearing aid compatibility to include Bluetooth connectivity along with telecoil connectivity,” which “does not rely solely on market conditions to ensure that telecoil coupling will continue to be included in handsets.” The FCC should take “a hybrid approach to grandfathering in handsets as outlined by the Commission, with the ultimate goal of 100% of handset models meeting the ANSI C63.19-2019 standard and newer ANSI standards as they are developed,” they said. Signing the filing were the National Association of the Deaf, TDIforAccess, Communication Service for the Deaf and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Gallaudet University. The HAC Task Force urged the FCC to align rules with its December 2022 recommendations (see 2212160063). The task force included both consumer and industry groups, and it adopted a unanimous report based on work that started in 2020. “The HAC Task Force recommendations embrace innovation and future trends while ensuring no consumer will be ‘left behind,’” the task force said: “All … participants support the goal of 100% HAC deployment, and they were proud to present the Commission with a concrete, achievable, consensus path to 100% HAC.” CTIA endorsed the 2022 report. “The recommendations are the fruits of a years-long, consensus-based process designed to answer the very question of whether and how 100% HAC can be achieved to benefit consumers with hearing loss,” CTIA said. Samsung Electronics America also endorsed the task force report. “Samsung’s own experience with Bluetooth demonstrates its importance as a hearing technology that is easily accessible to consumers throughout the United States,” the company said: “As a mainstream and growing technology, Bluetooth holds significant promise for consumers with hearing loss.” CTA said recent research supports the task force’s approach to HAC. “The interlocking recommendations in the Report encourage innovation by setting forth a flexible definition for HAC while ensuring testing to objective standards for compliance with deployment benchmarks,” CTA said. For the first time, the rules “incorporate Bluetooth into deployment benchmarks,” CTA said.
The FCC on Tuesday denied AT&T’s request that the agency not award 2.5 GHz licenses to T-Mobile, and said the licenses will be processed. AT&T challenged the awards in November 2022, noting T-Mobile’s already huge position in the band (see 2211100066). “We find that the grant of T-Mobile’s license application -- subject to its voluntary divestiture commitment in parts of Hawaii that we impose as a condition -- will promote the public interest by facilitating access to and use of the spectrum, particularly in rural areas where this band has been underutilized,” said the opinion and order by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics: “Accordingly, we deny AT&T’s petition to deny and will process T-Mobile’s application consistent with this Order and the Commission’s rules.” T-Mobile dominated the 2022 auction but required action from Congress before obtaining the licenses following expiration a year ago of the FCC’s auction authority (see 2312200061). T-Mobile recently committed to voluntarily divest, “either by sale or spectrum swap,” licenses it holds in two Hawaii markets, the FCC said.
Don't adopt a "model carrier" approach for determining rates for incarcerated people's communications services, Securus parent Aventiv told the FCC. The company met separately with Commissioner Anna Gomez and staff, aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and aides to Commissioner Brendan Carr. The FCC "must take into account the increased costs of labor and services resulting from inflationary pressures in recent years" when setting permanent rate and ancillary service charge caps, Aventiv said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-62 (see 2205240056). It also urged the commission to allow "alternative pricing structures" and "experimentation with bundling arrangements."