FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who has said the FCC would mandate secure telephone identity revisited standards and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Stir/Shaken) technology if major providers don’t move quickly enough, said Friday the agency plans to vote on that at the March 31 commissioners’ meeting (see 2003060019). Industry officials said the new rules implement at least some provisions in the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act, signed into law in January (see 1912310028). The exact details will be released when the draft is issued Tuesday. The act directs the commission to require providers to implement Stir/Shaken in their networks within 18 months of enactment.

State Democrats are pressing forward with net neutrality revivals with hope that last year’s Mozilla decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit alleviated lawmaker concerns that killed bills in previous sessions. The D.C. Circuit cleared a “path to be able to set our own net neutrality rules,” said Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D). He and other legislators and stakeholders spoke in recent interviews.

America's Communications Association hires Mike Jacobs as vice president-regulatory affairs; he came from ITTA, which is closing (see 2001150052); at ACA, Jacobs succeeds Mary Lovejoy, who left the cable association in June for the FCC, where she's attorney-adviser, Office of Economics and Analytics Auctions Division ... T-Mobile amends Executive Vice President-Corporate Services David Carey’s employment to end automatically July 1, with position termination April 30-July 1 ... Nick Martin, ex-Forbes Tate Partners, becomes communications director, office of Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. ... WarnerMedia Entertainment integrates content acquisitions team across entertainment networks and direct-to-consumer business under Michael Quigley, executive vice president-content acquisitions, with Senior Vice Presidents Jonathan Melber for content acquisition, HBO Max, and Royce Battleman, for content acquisition, HBO, Cinemax, TNT, TBS and truTV; while Chris Grunden and Leslie Cohen add responsibilities for film acquisitions for HBO Max ... Taxpayers Protection Alliance adds Targeted Victory Vice President Nathan Leamer, ex-FCC, to board ... Center for a New American Security names Charles Clancy, Mitre; Jessica Cussins Newman, Future of Life Institute; and Chris Whitlock, Deloitte to Artificial Intelligence and National Security Task Force ... Content & Connectivity Human Resources appoints Kara Anderson, ESPN, and Jennifer Dunn, AMC Networks, to board.

States with their own broadband subsidy programs or partnered with federal programs could face reduced funding opportunities through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, after language was added to an order Wednesday, Democratic commissioners told reporters Thursday. Commissioners voted along party lines to approve the order for the $20.4 billion program. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks approved in part and dissented in part.

America's Communications Association supports Virgin Islands Telephone, doing business as Viya, asking the FCC to clarify or reconsider how it will score buried coaxial cable in evaluating fixed network support under the Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI funds, said reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 18-143. ACA shares Viya's concern that the proposed scoring framework "could be implemented in a manner that downplays the resiliency of buried coaxial cable relative to other deployment types." Viya wants buried fiber and buried coax cable scored equally (see 1912100043).

Broadband interests back a draft order on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund up for a vote at the Jan. 30 FCC meeting (see 2001080049). They told us to expect commissioners to approve the rulemaking this month. Industry continues visiting the agency's eighth floor to ask for changes.

As in initial comments, industry and local governments divided in replies on CTIA and Wireless Infrastructure Association proposals seeking more changes to wireless infrastructure rules designed to accelerate siting of towers and other 5G facilities (see 1910300027). Industry and FCC officials told us it’s unclear when the agency might consider changes. WIA told us talks with municipalities' allies continue.

AT&T warned of looming challenges to rules for the sale of the C band, in a meeting with FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson. “Some parties have asserted that the [C-Band Alliance’s] private sale of ‘clearing rights’ with winning bidders subsequently applying for licenses would violate the requirement that new spectrum licenses be awarded through a system of competitive bidding,” AT&T said in docket 18-122, posted Monday. “AT&T is also concerned that, without notice and comment to adopt detailed Commission rules governing the auction and the transition, various stakeholders may bring notice or arbitrariness claims under the Administrative Procedure Act and otherwise reduce their support for, and participation in, the reallocation process,” the carrier said: Risk remains of “judicial appeals, and because of the nature of the objections, those appeals could leave the proposed auction in an extended legal limbo that could delay reallocation of this spectrum for years.” America’s Communications Association, meanwhile, filed a new report from Vantage Point Solutions in docket 18-122 on the amount of fiber required under its C-band plan. The report said connecting all MVPD earth stations with fiber through the purchase of indefeasible rights of use (IRUs) on 300,000 route miles of existing fiber and the construction of 120,000 additional route miles, “as proposed in the 5G Plus Plan, is achievable within the plan’s 18-36 month timeframe for urban and suburban markets and five-year timeframe for rural areas,” said the filing. IRUs for 300,000 route miles of fiber “are relatively easy to acquire in today’s market, and fiber IRU availability is nearly ubiquitous in urban and suburban areas,” ACA said: MVPDs are “capable of deploying hundreds of thousands of fiber route miles annually, far more than the plan requires.”

ISPs and state telecom authorities asked the FCC to delay the first-round auction for its $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund until it gets better broadband mapping data. In replies posted through Tuesday in docket 19-126, the California Public Utilities Commission, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and Navajo Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, among others, supported delay.

Pursue granularity and accuracy of broadband mapping data so consumers aren't trapped in broadband deserts when government funding is unavailable in areas deemed served, NTCA replied on FCC digital opportunity data collection (see 1909240005). Commenters differed on a latency-reporting obligation and most opposed collecting prices. DODC replies posted through Tuesday in docket 19-195.