The Electronic Privacy Information Center and the National Consumer Law Center urged the FCC to look closely at small carriers before deciding on their deadlines for implementing Stir/Shaken rules. The Competitive Carriers Association said carriers acting in good faith need maximum time. In May, the FCC agreed to move up the deadline a year for some small carriers to June 30, 2022, but asked about which should still benefit from the later deadline (see 2105200072). “Because of the ongoing plague of fraudulent robocalls that are still bombarding our telephone lines, we urge the Commission to take an aggressive response in regulating the providers that are bad actors,” EPIC and the NCLC said. “Only permit extensions to providers who have a history of strict compliance with all of the Commission’s requirements,” they said: “Compel participation in a more robust monitoring regime of providers who are dumping the dangerous calls into the American telephone network and impose penalties on providers who transmit these providers’ calls.” Shorten the deadline only for “bad actors,” CCA said: “The challenges that prompted the Commission to grant additional time for small providers are still present. An added complication that some small carriers are wrestling with is the implementation of the" rip-and-replace program "which may require substantial changes to their networks and adds an additional hurdle to compliance.” ACA Connects also cited challenges small providers face. “In no event are ACA Connects members inclined to wait until the last minute to get the process underway,” the group said. “A sudden curtailment of the STIR/SHAKEN deadline would disrupt current plans that were developed on the basis of the June 30, 2023, deadline, which could increase overall implementation costs as providers rush to find solutions they can implement on a compressed timeline.” Comments were due Friday and posted Monday in docket 17-97.

Vermont and ISP groups agreed to extend a freeze on net neutrality litigation until Jan. 3 or when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolves suits on California’s open internet law, whichever happens first. Defendant Vermont and plaintiffs ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association filed a stipulation Wednesday at U.S. District Court of Vermont. Case 2:18-cv-167 could resume Monday if the court doesn’t extend terms of a previous order (see 2105030047).

President Joe Biden plans to sign “very soon” the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) once “the congressional members” involved in getting the measure through both chambers “come back” from a weeklong recess, meaning it likely won't happen until at least Nov. 15, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. The House voted 228-206 Friday to agree to the Senate-passed version of HR-3684, which includes $65 billion for broadband (see 2108020061). The Senate approved the bill in August (see 2108100062). The measure will make “high-speed internet affordable and available everywhere in America,” Biden said Saturday. “No parent should have to sit in a parking lot of a fast food restaurant so their child can do their homework because they have no” other broadband connection. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., touted HR-3684 as “the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in generations,” including for broadband. “Every community -- regardless of zip code -- needs and deserves access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, and with today’s action we take a giant step toward making that a reality,” said House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D- N.J., Friday. Communications stakeholders praised House passage, including ACA Connects, American Library Association, Connect Americans Now, Fiber Broadband Association, Free Press, Frontier Communications, Incompas, Internet Innovation Alliance, National Governors Association, NTCA, Public Knowledge, TechNet, Wireless Infrastructure Association, Wireless ISP Association and WTA.

Facebook was the top lobbying spender from tech and telecom in Q3, supplanting Amazon, the leader in recent quarters (see 2107210049). NCTA and Comcast again rounded out the top four. Most major tech and telecom companies' lobbying spending rose in Q3 compared with the same period in 2020; Huawei, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, IBM and Dell had the largest percentage increases. Apple, Broadcom and T-Mobile outlays dropped.

The FCC received mixed reaction as it sought to refresh the record on broadband access in multi-tenant environments, in comments posted through Thursday in docket 17-142 (see 2109070047). Many telecom and consumer groups urged to limit or outright exclusivity agreements and other practices that limit MTE options for ISPs and consumers. Others argued against additional regulation.

Broadcasters, cable groups and emergency alerting companies resisted FCC suggestions for persistent emergency alert system warnings and changes to alerting codes. “It is simply not feasible to incorporate these changes cost-effectively into the existing, well embedded system,” said NCTA. Comments were due Tuesday in docket 15-94.

Industry groups want the FCC to investigate whether emergency broadband benefit providers or households receiving the monthly internet discount are abusing the program through benefit transfers. Some in recent interviews sought FCC guidance.

Cable operators need to be vigilant about threats of being overbuilt as tens of billions of federal dollars are poised to be directed toward broadband projects in coming years, said cable lawyer Tom Cohen of Kelley Drye Wednesday at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2021. The broadband infrastructure funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, if passed, would take a year or so to be implemented and could start flowing in 2022 (see 2110120038), he said. That could give incumbents time to get ahead of competition and also think about what unserved areas nearby that could be grabbed, he said.

Commissioner Rohit Chopra’s last day at FTC was Friday; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says his first day at CFPB was Monday ... Womble Bond adds to Communications, Technology and Media team with hiring of Jeff Lanning from Lumen as of counsel ... Software & Information Industry Association adds to Policy team Divya Sridhar, ex-ExcelinEd, as senior director-data policy ... CTIA hires Trevor Jones from USTelecom as assistant vice president-government affairs ... Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission elects Commissioner John Coleman as vice chairman through 2022, succeeding ex-Vice Chairman David Sweet, whose term as commissioner ended Sept. 30.

Municipal interests are on one side, telecom interests largely on the other, over a Mediacom petition seeking FCC preemption of a deal between Google Fiber and West Des Moines, Iowa, on constructing a conduit network to provide broadband in unserved parts of town, per comments last week in docket 21-217.