The FCC seeks comment by Sept. 6 on a proposal to amend its rules to ensure interoperable videoconferencing services are “accessible to people with disabilities and to facilitate the integration and appropriate use of telecommunications relay services” with videoconferencing, said a Federal Register notice Monday. Reply comments are due Oct. 6
Consumers' Research filed an objection against the FCC's proposed Q4 2023 USF contribution factor and asked the Office of Managing Director to set the factor at zero. The USF "has been established and operates in excess of statutory authority and the commission ... should not permit further collections," the group said in comments posted Friday in docket 96-45, citing the nondelegation doctrine.
Nokia will domestically manufacture fiber products for use in the infrastructure buildout connected with the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, the company announced at an event in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, with remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. Nokia is the first telecom company to announce domestic manufacturing of network electronics products for BEAD, said a company release. Requirements that the BEAD program use products made in America are intended to boost the U.S. economy and promote American manufacturing, Harris said. “We knew there would be an increased demand for fiber optic cable and for products that connect people to the Internet,” she said. “In the 21st century, high-speed internet isn’t a luxury, it's a necessity,” Harris said. Finland-based Nokia will build the fiber products in Pleasant Prairie in a facility owned by international manufacturing company Sanmina. The effort is expected to create up to 200 new jobs, Nokia said in the news release. “Having access to technology that is built in the U.S. is an important requirement for states and infrastructure players seeking to participate in BEAD.”
The FCC's robocall response team notified voice service providers it may block and stop accepting traffic from One Owl Telecom if the company fails to mitigate illegal traffic identified by the commission. The international gateway provider was found to have a "multitude of interconnections" with Illum Telecom and One Eye after the commission mandated blocking of One Eye's traffic, per a Tuesday news release (see 2305110030). The Enforcement Bureau issued a cease-and-desist letter to One Owl after an investigation found prerecorded calls were made to "engage with consumers under the guise of fictitious purchase orders."
An FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics order adopting the 2023 mandatory data collection for incarcerated people's communications services is delayed indefinitely, said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register (see 2307270056).
WTA opposed a request from a coalition of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction winners that the FCC grant additional support to winning bidders, in a letter posted Friday in docket 19-126 (see 2306210066). "An obvious gaming danger is the use of a 'strategy' of making support bids as unreasonably low as necessary in order to 'win' specific service areas, and then coming back to the commission later for the additional support that is actually needed to construct and operate the promised broadband networks in such areas," WTA said. The group warned the coalition's request would "give rise to significant issues with respect to the RDOF default penalties that have previously been assessed," saying RDOF winners that have been fined or paid default penalties "may argue that they would not have defaulted if they had received supplemental support or relaxed terms and conditions like those proposed by the coalition."
The FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics adopted the 2023 mandatory data collection for incarcerated people's communications services in an order Wednesday in docket 12-375. Among the changes are "modifying the treatment of video IPCS and safety and security measures" and clarifying reporting requirements for site commissions and revising certain proposed definitions.
The FCC committed nearly $55 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support Wednesday. The new funding will support 130 schools and school districts, 12 libraries and library systems, and four consortiums from the third filing window, per a news release. “As students head back to classrooms in the fall, we need to make sure they have the digital tools to prepare for success in the upcoming school year," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
The FCC adopted an order establishing an enhanced alternative connect America cost model (ACAM) program that provides USF high-cost support for carriers that deploy services of at least 100/20 Mbps to all unserved locations served by the program. "To meet the needs of consumers today and into the future, we are optimizing the commission’s programs to bring higher speeds and greater bandwidth to consumers, particularly those living in hard-to-reach areas," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a Monday news release. Rosenworcel circulated the proposal in June (see 2306160042). Also adopted was a notice of inquiry and NPRM that would seek comment on additional revisions to the legacy rate-of-return system.
The minimum service standard for Lifeline fixed broadband data usage allowance will be 1,280 GB per month, beginning Dec. 1, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice Friday in docket 11-42. The bureau extended its waiver pausing the increase in minimum service standards for mobile broadband data capacity until Dec. 1, 2024 (see 2307070056). It also announced the indexed budget for calendar year 2024 will be $2.78 million.