House Communications Subcommittee members in both parties used a Wednesday hearing to hammer the current retransmission consent negotiations process, particularly the blackouts when those talks break down, but all sides made clear a legislative solution is likely to take longer than the current Congress to pass. There was strong GOP opposition, meanwhile, to the FCC potentially refreshing its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as virtual MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules, as expected (see 2309120059).
USF revamp matters are expected to come up in both a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the state of the U.S. video marketplace (see 2309070060) and a likely Sept. 21 subpanel discussion on rural broadband funding, communications sector lobbyists told us. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt and other officials set to testify at the Wednesday hearing focused their written statements largely on more video-centric issues, including staking a range of positions on a recent push for the FCC to refresh its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules. The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
Industry and consumer advocacy groups continued to disagree on whether the FCC should extend certain robocall rules to all voice service providers in reply comments posted Monday in docket 17-97 (see 2305180036). Many debated the use of rich call data and the standard that should be set regarding the use of a do-not-originate (DNO) list.
Industry groups clashed on whether the FCC should extend its current waiver of broadband data collection rules allowing filers to submit information by a non-licensed professional engineer (PE). Competitive Carriers Association and USTelecom sought an extension for an additional three filing cycles, citing workforce issues (see 2308070042). The current waiver is to expire after the next submission deadline Sept. 15. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 19-195.
Ted Hearn leaves ACA Connects as communications vice president, with his LinkedIn saying he’s publishing Policy Band … Globalstar names Xcom Labs founder Paul Jacobs, also ex-Qualcomm, CEO, effective immediately, in conjunction with Globalstar’s agreement to license key Xcom technologies (see 2308290003); Jacobs replaces former CEO David Kagan, retiring; Xcom Chief Technology Officer Matt Grob and Chief Scientist Peter Black also join Globalstar, also effective immediately, as will Vice President-Wireless Tamer Kadous and Vice President-Engineering Daaman Hejmadi, effective after they complete a transition period with Xcom ... Brightspeed promotes Chief Operating Officer Tom Maguire to CEO; current CEO Bob Mudge becomes executive chair; Manny Sampedro hired from Verizon to succeed Maguire as COO; all effective Nov. 1.
Saying it's "preserv[ing] consumer access to clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information" about broadband costs, the FCC partially rejected and partially granted petitions on aspects of its 2022 broadband labeling order (see 2211180077). In its reconsideration order Tuesday, the FCC said it's affirming its decision that providers itemize monthly discretionary fees on the label and say how much data is provided in the plan being offered. An industry coalition asked that providers be allowed to say on labels that additional fees may apply and the fees may vary depending on location (see 2303230068). The commission said it's clarifying that E-rate and Rural Health Care service providers don't need to include a broadband label for enterprise and special access services provided through those programs. It granted a CTIA request to clarify that wireless providers can state “taxes included” or use similar language when the provider has chosen to include taxes as part of its base price. And the agency, granting a request by a coalition led by ACA Connects, said it's revising its requirement to document all instances when a provider directs a consumer to a label at an alternative sales channel and to retain such documentation for two years. It said any burdens on ISPs to itemize fees above the monthly price on the label "are far outweighed" by the consumer benefit and ISPs could roll those discretionary fees into the base monthly price, ending any need for itemization on the label. It said CTIA's request that wireless providers be able to use multiple lines of data allowance descriptions on the label would lead to visual clutter undermining the label's intended simplicity.
Industry urged the FCC to give providers more time to honor requests from consumers to revoke prior express consent through any reasonable means under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 02-278 (see 2308010071). Some commenters sought clarity on what would constitute "reasonable means" for a consumer to make an opt-out request.
Former ACA Connects Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Michael Jacobs joins Lumen as assistant general counsel-federal regulatory affairs … Ngrok, application programming interface-first ingress-as-a-service platform, names Zubin Tavaria, ex-F5, chief marketing officer; Heather McLinden, ex-HoneyBook and ex-Twilio, chief people officer; and Chad Tindel, ex-Amazon, field chief technology officer and vice president-worldwide solution architecture … BDx Data Centers names Manish Prakash, ex-Microsoft, president-chief business officer ... Legal tech company Litify names Davisware’s Curtis Brewer CEO.
Cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) interests are all out against the FCC's proposed "all-in" video pricing disclosure rules for video service providers, while local franchise authorities and allies are all in, per docket 23-203 comments posted Tuesday. The all-in pricing NPRM was adopted in June (see 2306200042).
The FCC and the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are partnering on a trial of georouting calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the commission said Thursday as commissioners approved 988 outage reporting requirements 4-0, as expected (see 2307130010). Commissioners also unanimously approved an order allowing 14 FM6 stations to broadcast analog signals as an ancillary service and an order giving tribal libraries and other E-rate participants greater access to funding.