GlobalVRS asked the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to extend up to 90 days its waiver of commission rules on at-home video relay service call handling, said an ex parte letter posted Monday in docket 03-123. It sought an extension of up to 90 days of the rules for equivalent support and equipping home workstations with monitoring technology. The waivers are scheduled to expire on March 31. GlobalVRS said it's "prepared to comply" with the rules by then, but a waiver would allow it to "ensure fully functional equipment deployment" and complete "on-site workstation inspections to confirm compliance." The provider also sought the extension to test a "newly sourced software application that integrates ongoing monitoring and supporting data collection."
3Way Video Relay Service submitted an application to the FCC to become a licensed video relay service provider funded by the Telecom Relay Service Fund, per an application posted Monday in docket 03-123. The company said it has one call center and had its VRS platform developed by Quantum Services Group. 3Way Video Relay Service will use Monday.com to "maintain VRS user demographic information," it said. The company also provided details about its communications assistants' employment requirements, TRS compliance, and interoperability.
The FCC made some changes to its final Further NPRM, released Friday, on pole replacement and attachment disputes, according to our comparison with the draft, as expected (see 2203160031). The FNPRM included questions about whether it's "discriminatory to deny attachment to another broadband provider based on lack of capacity" and "other infrastructure-related barriers that broadband providers are facing in their efforts to quickly deploy broadband." The FCC's final notice of inquiry on digital discrimination included a question sought by the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council about where the FCC should consider whether certain parts of its eventual rules are severable (see 2203150051).
The National Lifeline Association asked the FCC Wireline Bureau to clarify that its and the Enforcement Bureau's authority to "suspend a participating provider's [affordable connectivity program] enrollments and hold participating provider funding based on the 'adequate evidence' standard is limited," said a petition for reconsideration and clarification posted Thursday in docket 21-450. The authority "should be a last resort to be invoked," NaLa said, asking that "minor infractions or improper payments" don't result in such a penalty. NaLa also sought reconsideration of the requirement that participating providers offering a connected device "provide price information for at least one of the analogous devices from a major retailer." It asked that providers be allowed to provide two retail prices from any retailer to substantiate their claim for market value.
Open a third FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund application filing window, urged the Information Technology Industry Council, Competitive Carriers Association, Incompas, USTelecom and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a letter to commissioners posted Wednesday in docket 21-93. The groups backed a similar request by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (see 2201310071). They also backed "extending the limited waiver of the gift rule" until June 30, 2023, to coincide with the program's service delivery date.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended comments until April 27, replies until May 27, on an NPRM seeking comment on a centralized bidding portal for E-rate, said an order Wednesday in docket 21-455. A coalition of groups sought the additional time, citing the original comment cycle's overlap with the current E-rate application filing window (see 2203070043).
ZP Better Together asked the FCC to extend its waiver of commission rules for video relay services requiring that communications assistants working from home have at least three years of professional interpreting experience, in a letter posted Tuesday in docket 03-123. There's "little justification" for this requirement because "the past two years have demonstrated that CAs working from home have been successful" in interpreting calls, ZP said. It noted a failure to extend the current waiver, which expires on March 31, "will upset the already challenging CA and interpreter labor market" and "harm consumers who are dependent on VRS for their communication needs."
Telecom carriers should "regularly evaluate and revise their tariffs" to ensure compliance with FCC rules and orders, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Tariff provisions deemed lawful "are subject to reevaluation and may be found to be unlawful on a prospective basis," the bureau said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau set a $4.46 billion E-rate cap for funding year 2022 and a $637.7 million cap for the rural healthcare program, said a public notice Monday in docket 02-6 (see 2103220041). The caps are a 4.2% inflation-adjusted increase from the prior year.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau wants comments by April 14, replies April 29, on Rogervoice's application for certification to provide automatic speech recognition-based IP captioned telephone service supported by the Telecom Relay Service Fund, said a public notice Monday in docket 03-123. The bureau also wants comments on Rogervoice's request to waive commission rules requiring that such customers self-certify in writing that they understand live communications assistants listen to the other party on the call and provide text.