The FCC fined Westel $400,000 for apparently failing to file annual and quarterly telecom reporting worksheets and failing to respond fully to an Enforcement Bureau letter of inquiry on compliance. Westel "failed repeatedly to file or to file on time a total of 14 worksheets," said the order, released Thursday. Westel didn't comment.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel should act quickly to raise video relay service rates before July 31, said Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, in a letter Wednesday. “I urge the FCC to adopt updated rates this month, and in doing so, account for inflation since the last rate setting,” Lujan said. “Providers cannot afford another year, let alone another quarter, of stagnant reimbursement levels despite rising costs.” VRS providers have face record high inflation and the FCC hasn’t set new rates since 2017, the letter said. The “frozen rates” left VRS providers “struggling” to raise rates for their interpreters and limited their ability to improve their technology to keep pace with advancements in E911 and videoconferencing, Lujan said. “There are roughly 3000 deaf and hard-of-hearing people in New Mexico, and approximately 10 million across the United States,” said the letter. “These Americans deserve the same access to these lifeline services as everyone else.” The FCC received and is reviewing the letter, an agency spokesperson told us.
The Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND) asked the FCC to adopt its proposed enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model, in separate meetings with aides to all commissioners. The group backed continued support for the Connect America Fund broadband loop support, saying it would "secure long-term financial certainty for broadband operators in North Dakota," per an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. BAND also raised concerns about "a potential loss in funding to rural broadband operators in existing ACAM areas" if the FCC designates certain fixed wireless providers as “unsubsidized competitors,” adding there are "seemingly overstated fixed wireless speeds and coverage areas" in the FCC’s broadband map.
The FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics identified five Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction bids by Wavelength in default Tuesday. An order said Wavelength's bids are in default and subject to forfeiture because the provider "has been unable to obtain an [eligible telecom carrier] designation covering its winning bid areas in California" in order to be authorized for support. The bureaus also dismissed as moot LTD Broadband's request to waive the deadline to submit documentation of ETC designation in South Dakota. The order cited the FCC's denial of LTD's long-form application and said the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission's denial of the company's ETC application "makes LTD’s petition for waiver moot" (see 2210110054).
The FCC committed nearly $3.9 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support Wednesday. The new funding will support applications from the third filing window and include 52 schools and school districts and five libraries, per a news release. “In or out of session, connecting students to digital resources remains vital to their academic success," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: "Libraries and schools ensure students have access to the internet year-round."
ClearCaptions urged the FCC to update its operating margin for video relay services and IP captioned telephone services funded by the Telecom Relay Services Fund based on "more comparable companies and recent data." A "cost-plus-percentage of 16% to 21% above all real costs represents a reasonable range for the commission's VRS and IP CTS ratemaking," it told Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff, the Office of Managing Director, and Office of Economics and Analytics staff, per an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. The record shows providers "support updating the operating margin," ClearCaptions said: "The 7.6% to 12.35% operating margin the commission relies on is outdated and the industry has changed so that the companies used to establish the operating margin are no longer comparable."
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau reminded contributors to the Telecom Relay Services Fund they must pay a percentage of their intrastate, interstate and international end-user revenue for all internet-based forms of TRS beginning July 1, in a public notice Tuesday in docket 03-123. The bureau noted the revised contribution factor for internet-based support is 0.01615 and non-internet-based support is 0.00025. Contributors will receive a statement from the TRS Fund administrator about their required contribution amount.
Martini Security raised concerns about enforcing Stir/Shaken requirements and standards, a letter to the FCC posted Friday in docket 17-97. The company, which is a Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority certified authority (STI-CA) of Stir/Shaken certificates, said "most" STI-CA participants "are failing to meet the stated requirements of the standards and policies governing both the functioning and interoperability of" the Stir/Shaken ecosystem. Martini Security noted the STI-GA didn't implement "any observable changes" to address non-conformance issues it discovered in a 2022 report. It recommended the FCC require the STI-GA to "regularly report" on the state of compliance, establish a "problem-reporting mechanism for STI-CA non-conformity," and require STI-CAs to make their issued certificates publicly available.
An FCC order expanding certain robocall rules to all voice service providers takes effect Jan. 8, said a notice for Monday's Federal Register. Comments on an NPRM and notice of inquiry on additional proposals to curb illegal robocalls are due by Aug. 9, replies by Sept. 8, in docket 17-59. Commissioners adopted the items in May (see 2305180036).
E-rate advocates urged the FCC to make cybersecurity expenses eligible for E-rate category two support, in a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff (see 2210130065). The advocates, which included the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, Consortium for School Networking and the American Library Association, noted cybersecurity is "the number one networking issue faced by schools across the country," per an ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 13-184. The FCC should consider a "trial project to test the applicability" of including such expenses under category two, adding there shouldn't be limits placed on the types of cybersecurity defenses supported, said the filing.