New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) Thursday signed into law the nation’s first digital electronics repair legislation (S-4104/A-7006), approved by legislators in June 2206030034). Tech groups had urged a veto (see 2207060040). “This bill requires original equipment manufacturers of digital electronic products to provide materials to product owners and independent repair providers in New York to facilitate repairs,” Hochul said in her message signing the bill: “Such materials include documents like manuals and diagrams, and tools like diagnostics and parts. … As technology and smart devices become increasingly essential to the lives of New Yorkers, it is important for consumers to be able to fix the devices that they rely on in a timely fashion.” Hochul said “encouraging consumers to maximize the lifespan of their devices through repairs is a laudable goal to save money and reduce electronic waste.” The bill excludes home appliances, security alarms, motor vehicles, medical devices, farm equipment, power tools, industrial electrical equipment and e-bikes. “New York has stood up to the biggest of the big tech oligarchs and delivered a resounding blow to block their repair monopolies,” emailed Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association. Consumer Reports CEO Marta Tellado applauded the signing. “This landmark law will save New Yorkers money, provide them with more convenient repair options, and cut down on waste,” Tellado said: “When your device is broken, you should have more options than a high-priced service or the landfill.” IFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said, “New York has set a precedent for other states to follow, and I hope to see more states passing similar legislation in the near future.”
Broadcast Supply Worldwide must cease marketing RF devices that violate FCC rules or face fines of up to $22,021 per day per device, said an FCC Enforcement Bureau citation and order in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. BSW, based in Washington state, marketed devices that were capable of operating outside the FM frequency band, didn’t have permanent antennas, and lacked required labeling and user manual disclosures, said the citation. The Enforcement Bureau began investigating the matter in 2020 after a referral, the citation said. BSW has 30 days to respond to the Enforcement Bureau.
Congressional options regarding the national broadband map's preproduction draft and its accuracy include requiring an extension of the challenge process timeline for NTIA's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program allocations if Congress decides that's needed to ensure all stakeholder concerns are addressed before funds are awarded and distributed, the Congressional Research Service said Tuesday. CRS said lawmakers also could consider requiring the FCC to initiate a proceeding to get input on the resolution of map challenges. It said once the next iteration of the map gets released in mid-January, some ISPs might dispute determinations of whether particular areas are served or not. That could lead to legal action that could add time needed to resolve challenges, CRS said. It said the volume of map challenges could make it tough for the FCC to resolve in a timely manner, and that in turn could delay NTIA's planned BEAD allocations announcement by June 30.
The FCC revised a 2020 order limiting the number of exempted non-telemarketing robocalls to three to any residential phone from any caller within a 30-day period (see 2012300043) to allow both oral and written consent to exceed the limit, in an order posted Tuesday. Commissioners approved the order Friday. ACA International and the Enterprise Communications Advocacy Coalition had sought revisions. The FCC declined to revise “any of the numerical limitations on the number of exempt non-telemarketing calls to residential lines that we established” in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act exemptions order. “We also conclude that the differing numerical limitations for different categories of exempt calls to residential lines are both constitutional and necessary to advance the health and safety of consumers.” The FCC also retained the opt-out requirements for exempt informational calls. The agency said it wouldn’t revisit the limitations on package delivery notifications to wireless numbers in place since 2015 and confirmed that the commission’s 2016 declaratory ruling on calls by utilities to wireless numbers applies equally to similar calls made to residential lines. “We agree with petitioners and commenters that there is no reason for the consent requirements for informational calls to residential lines to differ from the consent requirements for informational calls to wireless numbers, which allow for either oral or written consent,” the order said: “In addition, as some commenters note, to extend the written consent requirement to informational calls that include calls from utilities and healthcare providers could impair the ability of these callers to provide important public safety information to consumers.” The FCC said it wasn’t convinced it should revise the numerical limits on such calls. “As the TCPA Exemptions Order emphasized, limiting the number of exempted calls to residential lines will greatly reduce interruptions from intrusive and unwanted calls and reduce the burden on residential telephone users to manage such calls,” the order said. Limiting the number of calls “strikes the appropriate balance between these callers reaching consumers with valuable information and reducing the number of unexpected and unwanted calls consumers currently receive and thus restoring trust in the residential landline network and advancing health and the safety of life,” the FCC said.
The FCC released its notice of apparent liability Friday, proposing a nearly $300 million fine against Sumco Panama and the perpetrators of an alleged auto warranty scheme, approved by commissioners Wednesday (see 2212210054). The NAL describes a “complex robocall sales lead generation scheme, which was designed to sell vehicle service contracts that were deceptively marketed as car warranties.” The perpetrators “apparently used several deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices,” the FCC said: “The two foreign dialing entities, Virtual Telecom kft and Sumco Panama, SA, placed calls to consumers’ phones without their consent and used misleading caller identification. The caller IDs were U.S. numbers selected apparently to cause call recipients to believe that the calls originated locally. The messages also failed to disclose the identity of the caller, misrepresented the nature and characteristics of the product or service being offered, and made false or misleading statements to induce call recipients to purchase goods or services.” The proposed nearly $300 million fine is based “on a sample of 33,333 verified calls” and “is appropriate in light of the multiple apparent violations and the scope of the apparently unlawful calling campaign,” the notice said.
NTIA has awarded planning grants to all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., for its digital equity and broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) programs, NTIA said Friday. NTIA awarded $6 million that day to Massachusetts, it said. “In a matter of months, we’ll begin to see plans from around the country, detailing how each state will connect all their residents to high-speed, affordable Internet service,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Massachusetts got about $5 million to plan for BEAD and $1 million for the digital equity program, NTIA said. Receiving planning funds lets Massachusetts “continue to engage with communities impacted by the digital divide to boost the rollout of new digital equity and broadband infrastructure programs,” said outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker (R). All territories applied for planning awards, but NTIA hasn’t announced grants for Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Nine out of 10 U.S. households get residential internet service, up from 84% in 2017 and 74% in 2007, Leicthman Research Group said Thursday. It said 89% of all households get a broadband internet service, up from 82% in 2017, and 53% in 2007. Leichtman said 90% of households use a laptop or desktop computer, up from 85% in 2017. It said 34% of those without home internet service are ages 65 and up. The data comes from a November survey of 1,910 U.S. households.
Public interest and consumer groups asked the FCC to extend by 60 days the deadlines for filing comments in the broadband label proceeding. “The current 30-day deadline for comments, on Jan. 17, falls squarely within a busy period for the broadband data community,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 22-2: “The Commission has already set a Jan. 13 deadline for challenges to the broadband availability maps, and the Federal Trade Commission has a Jan. 9 deadline for comments on its ‘junk fees’ proceeding, which includes questions that implicate the broadband consumer label. These proceedings, coupled with the winter holidays, leave insufficient time to submit substantive comments in the above-captioned proceeding by Jan. 17.” Among the groups supporting the delay were Free Press, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Consumer Reports, the Greenlining Institute, the National Consumer Law Center, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Next Century Cities and Public Knowledge.
Wireless industry groups urged state broadband offices not to lock themselves into fiber through a threshold required by NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). The Wireless Infrastructure Association, Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, National Association of Tower Erectors, Rural Wireless Association and the Wireless ISP Association sent letters Wednesday to broadband offices in all states and territories, WIA said. The NOFO requires states and territories to set an “extremely high cost per location threshold” (EHCT), and if the state receives a fiber proposal with a per-location cost below that line, it must choose it over a non-fiber alternative, the associations noted. “If not properly set, the EHCT could become an early pitfall to achieving the right mix of technologies by limiting a state’s flexibility in spending its BEAD allocation,” they wrote. “An inflated EHCT could leave a state short on funds for critical deployment and non-deployment priorities.” Too high a threshold could stop states from using fixed wireless, which “are just as reliable as wireline options, are faster to deploy, and can often simultaneously enable the delivery of critical mobile broadband capacity in areas currently lacking these services to further promote digital equality,” the wireless groups said.
Since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC's revocation of China Telecom's domestic and international authorities (see 2111150025) without relying on classified evidence obtained in electronic surveillance of the Chinese telco, the company's request for disclosure of that classified evidence is moot, the appellate court said Tuesday (docket 21-5215). If the U.S. government wants to use those materials in another proceeding against China Telecom, it will have to petition a federal district court for a determination that the surveillance was legal, and the court will adjudicate whether due process requires disclosure, the appellate court ruled. Disclosing the classified evidence "would be wholly ineffectual" because the FCC revocation proceeding and appeal of it have ended, it said. The D.C. Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court order granting the federal government's petition seeking a determination the surveillance was lawful and its findings could be used by the FCC, and remanded it to the lower court with instructions to dismiss. Deciding for the D.C. Circuit were Judges Karen Henderson, Greg Katsas and Harry Edwards, with Henderson writing the nine-page decision. A China Telecom outside lawyer didn't comment. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement the agency's 2021 decision to revoke China Telecom's authorization was based on national security agencies' recommendation that the company's U.S. operations "provided opportunities for increased Chinese state-sponsored cyber activities, including economic espionage and the disruption and misrouting of U.S. communications traffic." "There is no higher FCC responsibility than safeguarding our networks, and today's ruling is a strong affirmation of our authority to do so," she said.