Pai Plans June 7 Votes on High-Band 5G Spectrum, Leased Access Reversal, Many Telecom Items

“For the past few years, one of the agency’s highest priorities has been repurposing high-band spectrum for next-generation wireless services like 5G,” Pai said. In 2016, commissioners unanimously approved the initial spectrum frontiers order, with a follow-up order last year (see 1711160026), he said. “Today, I’m circulating a Third Report and Order and Further Notice that takes the next steps necessary to promote U.S. leadership in 5G."

The high-band item proposes performance requirements for IoT networks and revises mobile spectrum holdings rules, Pai said. It resolves sharing and operability issues in the 24 GHz band, he said. On the lower 37 GHz band, the FCC would address pending petitions for reconsideration and establish a band plan and asks about federal and nonfederal sharing in the frequencies. Industry officials predicted the FCC will soon address its 2014 spectrum screen (see 1805090059). The draft also proposes making spectrum in both the 26 GHz and 42 GHz bands available for flexible wireless use, Pai said."

Pai said vacating the 2008 leased access order would let the agency "start over with a clean slate" and the agency also will look at modernizing the current rules regime. That rollback was expected by some (see 1804260037).

Pai remains focused on removing regulatory barriers to deployment of fiber and other next-generation networks, replacing "slower services like DSL provided over old, often degraded copper." An order "would make it easier for companies to discontinue outdated, legacy services and transition to the networks of the future," he said. Instead of "propping up fading technologies," companies would be encouraged to invest in new technologies by the "reforms," which "will also make it easier to restore service in the aftermath of natural disasters and other catastrophic and unforeseen events."

Small, rural telcos shouldn't have to pay USF broadband "taxes," Pai said. The FCC has declined to impose USF contribution duties on broadband internet access service, he said, but rural carriers offering certain broadband transmission services "are uniquely required to contribute" to USF based on broadband revenue. An order would relieve those carriers of that obligation, reducing customer costs, he said.

Commissioners also will vote on approving two more of the non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation proposals before it. Pai said commissioners will vote on Audacy's three-satellite medium earth orbit constellation that would be a space-based data relay constellation for other NGSO satellites and on U.S. market access for O3b broadband satellites (see 1611160010). The agency has approved SpaceX, OneWeb and Space Norway constellations (see 1803300014).

Two items are aimed at combating intercarrier compensation arbitrage schemes. A 2011 order curbed some abuses, Pai said, but "there are still too many loopholes that allow bad actors to game the system." An NPRM would examine "how to eliminate incentives to artificially inflate call volumes and to inefficiently route calls" and a second item would focus on "getting rid of incentives for bad actors to abuse the toll-free system such as by flooding 8YY numbers with robocalls for the purpose of racking up originating access charges," he said.

Pai wants to constrain IP CTS rates and unnecessary usage while seeking ways to expand the telecom relay service (TRS) fund contribution base. He lauded IP CTS for allowing individuals with hearing loss to read captions and use their residual hearing to understand phone conversations. But he said IP CTS use has "grown exponentially" and represents almost 80 percent of TRS-compensated minutes, costing almost $1 billion next funding year, with the TRS fund contribution base shrinking. "To preserve the viability of IP CTS," commissioners would vote "on moving IP CTS compensation rates closer to actual provider costs, on measures to limit unnecessary IP CTS use, and on exploring ways to expand the TRS Fund contribution base," he said. "The order would also allow service providers to use fully-automated speech recognition to generate captions and bring the benefits of this innovation to IP CTS users."

The chairman is looking to take new steps to crack down on slamming and cramming, the unauthorized change of a consumer's preferred telecom provider and unauthorized charges on phone bills, respectively. Pai is "proposing new rules that include a clear ban on misrepresentations made during sales calls and a clean prohibition against placing unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone bills." His proposal "would also put additional teeth into our anti-slamming rules by clarifying that carriers who abuse our third-party verification process will be suspended from using that system for two years."

Another item seeks to keep texting capabilities of toll-free numbers from being "hijacked" by unauthorized parties, Pai said. He said toll-free numbers are increasingly being used by businesses for text communications. To ensure third parties "don’t abuse the system by 'text-enabling' a toll-free number they don’t own, we want to set rules of the road for activating this function," he said.