Ossia wireless power firm taps Jim Cottrell, ex-HP, to lead regulatory efforts as senior director-regulatory compliance ... Comcast adds Toni Beck, ex-NextDecade, as vice president-external affairs, Houston Region ... Liberty Global and Digital Colony creating AtlasEdge Data Centres in transaction they expect to close in Q3, with industry executive Josh Joshi to be AtlasEdge executive chairman ... Hearst Television promotes Andrew Vrees to president-general manager, WMUR-TV Manchester, New Hampshire, succeeding Jeff Bartlett, retiring this summer.
Nebraska's Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to expand the state USF’s connections-based method for residential services to now include business and government lines. At another Tuesday meeting, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission delayed shifting to a per-line monthly surcharge from a revenue-based mechanism.
Big wireless carriers sounded the alarm about California considering a connections-based USF contribution mechanism. Some wireline companies and consumer advocates supported the change, in Monday comments at the California Public Utilities Commission. They highlighted ways to mitigate possible regressive impacts of moving from a revenue-based mechanism for California’s public purpose programs (PPPs). Oklahoma and Nebraska commissions may soon adopt state USF contribution changes, said agency officials in those states.
A unanimous Supreme Court Thursday upheld on process grounds the previous FCC’s relaxation of several broadcast ownership rules (see 2101190070). This makes it unlikely that future challenges to quadrennial reviews will end up before the same panel of 3rd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals judges that has consistently ruled against QR orders for nearly two decades, experts noted in interviews. “The FCC’s decision to repeal or modify the three ownership rules was not arbitrary and capricious for purposes” of the Administrative Procedure Act, said the majority opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. “We reverse the judgment of the" 3rd Circuit.
A federal court agreed with CTIA that a Kentucky 911 law conflicts with the 2018 federal Wireless Telecommunications Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act. Responding to that federal statute, the 2020 state law made Lifeline providers directly liable for 911 fees and barred them from passing the charge to users. In an opinion (in Pacer) entered Tuesday, U.S. District Court in Frankfort, Kentucky, granted an injunction and restraint against the Kentucky 911 Service Board in case 3:2020-cv-00043. Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove agreed with industry that the Kentucky law is preempted by Section 1510 of the Fairness Act, which limits states from requiring someone out-of-state from collecting state or local fees. “Though the Board alleges that Kentucky’s intention” with the 2020 law “was to comply with Section 1510, the state has failed to do so,” wrote Van Tatenhove. The judge disagreed with CTIA that the law violated two sections of the Communications Act, and he didn’t address the association’s constitutional claims. Section 254(f) on USF doesn’t preempt the Kentucky charge because the fee “has no relation to the manner by which Kentucky operates its universal service fund,” he said. Section 332(c)(3) stopping states’ from regulating wireless provider rates and entry can’t “be read so broadly as to prevent any incidental effects on entry or rates that a [statute] might impose,” he said. The judge disagreed with the state board that CTIA lacks standing as an association representing affected carriers and that Communications Act Section 616a-1(f)(1) exempts state 911 charges from preemption. Such a “broad reading ... would allow states to impose extreme requirements, like the taking of large portions of the service providers’ subsidies, in the name of ‘collecting fees for 911 services,’” he wrote. CTIA is glad the court recognized that the Kentucky law "discriminated against Lifeline providers serving low income consumers," said General Counsel Tom Power. "We are committed to working with policymakers at all levels to ensure all Americans benefit from wireless connectivity and ensure that 9-1-1 systems are appropriately funded." The Kentucky board didn’t comment.
Public safety advocates asked the FCC not to cast a wide net in defining what constitutes 911 fee diversion, as required by the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (see 2102160064). Doing so runs the risk of excluding states from several federal resources due to the actions of a few bad actors, said filings in docket 20-291. Comments on proposed rules were due Tuesday. Some telecom associations also sought more certainty.
Fairfax County, Virginia, had 911 connection issues Wednesday. “Capacity has been temporarily diminished and callers may experience extended wait times -- please stay on the line,” the Fairfax Police Department tweeted in the morning. “Text to 9-1-1 is working. Staff is working to restore the system to full capacity as soon as possible.” The department said in the afternoon the problems were addressed, but the nonemergency line was “experiencing sporadic network issues.” County officials didn’t comment on what caused the problems. The FCC declined comment.
The National Emergency Number Association’s 3D Geoinformation Systems Working Group is making “significant progress toward requirements for using 3D location data” and will submit a report to the FCC Public Safety Bureau in the next few weeks, CEO Brian Fontes and others told an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The time for providers “to deliver vertical location information is now,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 07-114: “The sooner … providers can convey vertical location information, the sooner 9-1-1 can set about to extracting the greatest possible value from this information.”
CTIA and representatives of its biggest members support state legislative efforts to implement the 988 suicide prevention hotline, they told FCC Public Safety and Wireline bureau staff in a call. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon were represented, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-336. “As states look to efficient, flexible ways to fund state 9-8-8 services through fees on wireless consumer bills, CTIA focused on the importance of ensuring that states preserve the integrity of 9-1-1 funding.”
The National Emergency Number Association and Center for Internet Security adopted a memorandum of understanding on working together on best cybersecurity practice and will host a summit. “As we continue to lead the transition from legacy 9-1-1 to NG9-1-1 technologies, it is imperative that we elevate 9-1-1 professionals’ knowledge of cybersecurity,” said NENA President Gary Bell.