The FCC Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau will tackle issues in the video relay service (VRS) industry, wireless accessibility for the disabled and consumer billing protections, speakers said a Wednesday meeting of the agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee. “We have a constant stream of relay issues,” said Karen Peltz Strauss, deputy bureau chief. “It’s just an enormous number of issues that have been pending that we're going to be trying to resolve … specifically improving services for groups that have not really been as much on the radar, like speech-to-speech relay services and the deaf-blind.” A current inquiry “is designed to take a fresh look at relay services,” including the compensation methodology (CD June 29 p4), she said. It will be followed by a rulemaking and an order, which will stretch into a lot of the year, she said. “We're kind of on a fast track on this because we need to get everything resolved in time for the relay providers to submit their cost data.” A wireless accessibility workshop in May gave disabled consumers the opportunity to express the problems they were having in accessing wireless phones, Peltz Strauss said. “The goal is to make sure that Section 255 rules, which require wireless phones to be accessible to people with disabilities, is implemented to a greater extent than it has been in the past.” An update of Section 255 is aimed at extending its “application to Internet-based services and equipment,” and it’s “ a little bit mired in the commission’s efforts to extend rules to certain Title II provisions,” she said. To address consumer needs and protections, the bureau has issued a public notice to combat bill shock (CD May 12 p8) and is reviewing comments submitted in response to a rulemaking notice on rule changes for robocalls (CD June 22 p6), said Deputy Bureau Chief Yul Kwon. An Office of Native Affairs and Policy and a Native Broadband Task Force will be created this year to further the effort to expand broadband access on tribal lands, he said. Consumer choice and robust competition is the best way to protect consumer interest, said Commissioner Robert McDowell. In the market, “consumers have actually more choices in the last mile now more than ever before,” especially in the wireless market, he said. The FCC needs to press forward with the unlicensed use of TV white spaces to increase the amount of last-mile consumer choice, McDowell said. This will “help resolve a lot of policy disputes and challenges.” He said Title III of the Communications Act “allows broadcasters to lease portions of their spectrum today.” To optimize the benefit of the Universal Service Fund for low-income consumers, the Federal State Joint Board is reviewing issues surrounding the Lifeline and Link-up programs (CD May 5 p10) , said Irene Flannery, a Wireline Bureau deputy chief. The issues were referred to the joint board by the FCC due to changes in the marketplace and technology, she said. The issues involve mainly eligibility, like electronic verification and duplicate claims, she said. “With the advent of new technology, there is the possibility that a consumer … could be using the discounts on more than one line.”
The FCC clearly has authority over AT&T’s request to be designated an eligible telecom carrier “for the provision of service to tribal members on the Pine Ridge Reservation” in South Dakota, AT&T said in an ex parte filing. The telco plans to make the request as it acquires certain licenses and authorizations from Verizon Wireless. Several state commissions, like the West Virginia and Louisiana commissions, approved ETC transfer requests that involved asset transfers, AT&T said.
The FCC Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau will tackle issues in the video relay service (VRS) industry, wireless accessibility for the disabled and consumer billing protections, speakers said a Wednesday meeting of the agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee. “We have a constant stream of relay issues,” said Karen Peltz Strauss, deputy bureau chief. “It’s just an enormous number of issues that have been pending that we're going to be trying to resolve … specifically improving services for groups that have not really been as much on the radar, like speech-to-speech relay services and the deaf-blind.” A current inquiry “is designed to take a fresh look at relay services,” including the compensation methodology, she said. It will be followed by a rulemaking and an order, which will stretch into a lot of the year, she said. “We're kind of on a fast track on this because we need to get everything resolved in time for the relay providers to submit their cost data.” A wireless accessibility workshop in May gave disabled consumers the opportunity to express the problems they were having in accessing wireless phones, Peltz Strauss said. “The goal is to make sure that Section 255 rules, which require wireless phones to be accessible to people with disabilities, is implemented to a greater extent than it has been in the past.” An update of Section 255 is aimed at extending its “application to Internet-based services and equipment,” and it’s “ a little bit mired in the commission’s efforts to extend rules to certain Title II provisions,” she said. To address consumer needs and protections, the bureau has issued a public notice to combat bill shock and is reviewing comments submitted in response to a rulemaking notice on rule changes for robocalls, said Deputy Bureau Chief Yul Kwon. An Office of Native Affairs and Policy and a Native Broadband Task Force will be created this year to further the effort to expand broadband access on tribal lands, he said. Consumer choice and robust competition is the best way to protect consumer interest, said Commissioner Robert McDowell. In the market, “consumers have actually more choices in the last mile now more than ever before,” especially in the wireless market, he said. The FCC needs to press forward with the unlicensed use of TV white spaces to increase the amount of last-mile consumer choice, McDowell said. This will “help resolve a lot of policy disputes and challenges.” He said Title III of the Communications Act “allows broadcasters to lease portions of their spectrum today.” To optimize the benefit of the Universal Service Fund for low-income consumers, the Federal State Joint Board is reviewing issues surrounding the Lifeline and Link-up programs, said Irene Flannery, a Wireline Bureau deputy chief. The issues were referred to the joint board by the FCC due to changes in the marketplace and technology, she said. The issues involve mainly eligibility, like electronic verification and duplicate claims, she said. “With the advent of new technology, there is the possibility that a consumer … could be using the discounts on more than one line.”
The FCC, as expected, approved the transfer of spectrum licenses covering 79 markets in 18 states from Verizon Wireless to AT&T, fulfilling a condition imposed on Verizon by regulators when it acquired Alltel in 2008. Commissioner Michael Copps said the order highlights the “continuing unacceptable state” of telecom service in most of Indian country.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment by July 30, 2010 on its draft FY 2011-2015 strategic plan, which helps advance Administrator Jackson’s priorities and the mission to protect human health and the environment. Administrator Jackson’s seven priorities are taking action on climate change, improving air quality, protecting America’s waters, cleaning up communities, assuring the safety of chemicals, expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental justice, and building strong state and tribal partnerships.
GTA Telecom urged the FCC to extend Lifeline Link-up support to all insular areas, including Guam, the telco said in a filing. “GTA’s cost of providing services is greater than other mainland or tribal lands.” A tropical climate “with frequent typhoons and mountainous and rocky topography further creates higher than average construction costs for its customers,” the telco said.
Draft public safety legislation by House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., envisions $11 billion for the construction and operation of a nationwide, interoperable public safety network. A draft we obtained Monday would fund the network using proceeds from auctions of the 700 MHz D-block and other spectrum, with additional money from the U.S. Treasury. Public safety groups have opposed that approach, favoring legislation to directly allocate the D-Block to public safety (CD June 8 p1). The House Communications Subcommittee plans to discuss the bill at a hearing Thursday.
Standing Rock urged the FCC to grant it designation as an eligible telecom carrier. Designation is “vitally important to the financial viability of this first and only 100 percent tribally-owned wireless telecom company,” the telco said in an ex parte filing. It’s requesting a prompt designation for all wire centers within the exterior boundaries of the Standing Rock Reservation in North and South Dakota.
The FCC should adopt proposals in a radio rulemaking to give tribes without lands priority for stations (CD May 5 p7), said a reply by Native Public Media and the National Congress of American Indians. “Applying the Tribal Priority to federally recognized Tribes with little or no land holdings will open up the Tribal Priority to more than just the 312 Tribes that reside on reservations and pueblos, and will make it potentially available to all 565 federally recognized Tribes,” said the Wednesday filing in docket 09-52. “Providing applicants with a substantial Tribal Bidding Credit, in tandem with the New Entrant Bidding Credit, will provide Tribes, for the first time, with the real possibility of outbidding existing media companies for facilities that have been allocated to serve Indian Country."
The FCC is seeking nominations for members of its Native Nations Broadband Task Force. The team will be comprised of commission staff members and elected leaders from federally recognized Native American governments, the agency said in a public notice. If chosen, nominees “should be willing to commit to a two-year term of service,” it said. The application deadline for tribal representatives is July 15.