Deliveries could be disrupted Monday if Instacart contractors walk out over working conditions and sick leave pay during COVID-19. “For the past several weeks, Instacart Shoppers and Gig Workers Collective have been urging Instacart to take proper safety precautions. We have been ignored,” blogged the Gig Workers Collective Friday. Workers said Instacart has “turned this pandemic into a PR campaign, portraying itself the hero of families that are sheltered-in-place, isolated, or quarantined,” while not providing health protections to its shoppers. The company promised to pay its shoppers up to 14 days if they are diagnosed or placed in mandatory quarantine, which so-called gig workers said fell short. That policy was to expire April 8. The food delivery platform updated its policy Friday, extending it to May 8. It’s offering up to 14 days of pay for any hourly employee or full-service shopper diagnosed with COVID-19 or in individual mandatory isolation, it blogged. The company introduced bonus payments.
Families with increased demand for in-home connectivity while sheltering in place should check to see if their plans have as much speed as they need, said an FCC consumer guide Friday. It recommended checking download and upload performance using an online speed test. Home equipment issues may be at play, the agency advised: Be sure routers aren't outdated, because some may not be capable of matching speeds of current broadband plans, the guide said, and check Wi-Fi settings.
The FCC Wireline Bureau gave Inteliquent waiver of access arbitrage rules through June 30, in an order Friday on docket 18-155. The company requested waiver in response to increased teleconference traffic stemming from social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2003180062). It can seek an extension as needed. The LEC terminates traffic for Cisco's WebEx, Zoom and other large clients. Access arbitrage rules targeted companies that have been "generating inflated call volumes to pad their bottom lines," Chairman Ajit Pai said: "They weren’t intended to ensnare companies that, during a national emergency, are experiencing unprecedented call volumes that would push them out of compliance.” Access arbitrage rules were updated in the fall (see 1909260055).
The FCC approved special temporary authority for 33 wireless ISPs in 29 states to use the lower 45 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band for 60 days during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each WISP must evaluate other operations in the band, including current uses for road safety, and not cause interference, the FCC said Friday. When the grant expires, each must cease operations in the band and “retune equipment to operate in compliance with the Commission's equipment certifications,” the agency said. “The pandemic’s shut-in orders have really increased demand on this nation’s networks,” said WISP Association President Claude Aiken: WISPs are seeing a 35% increase in traffic in peak hour use and 90% are getting customer requests to add more speed to individual plans.
President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (HR-748) Friday, soon after the House voice voted to pass the bill. The Senate passed the measure Wednesday (see 2003260063). HR-748, Congress’ third bill to address the effects of COVID-19, includes telehealth provisions and pandemic-related appropriations for the FCC, Rural Utilities Service and CPB. The measure allows the register of copyrights to temporarily toll, waive, adjust or modify deadline and timing provisions through December 2021 if an executive-declared national emergency disrupts or suspends ordinary copyright system functions. The law gives the register discretion over the reasonableness, scope and severity of the alterations. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wants additional telecom language in “future legislation.” Congress “must ensure affordable treatment for all, expand distance learning programs and access to the internet for low-income Americans, protect consumers from price gouging and prevent critical services from being shut off during this crisis,” he said. Several other Democrats also want a fourth COVID-19 bill to include broadband capacity and distance learning provisions, including Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. (see 2003250046). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said Congress “must do more … but this bill is an important step in the right direction.” House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., hopes “as this public health crisis evolves, we can put the political swords down, focus on finding solutions and prove to the American people that we are in it together.” Commissioner Geoffrey Starks believes the FCC “must do more to advance its own ‘connectivity stimulus,’” including examining “its statutory authority and funding resources and take bold action to respond to the current crisis.” NTCA believes additional legislation should include language from the recently filed Keeping Critical Connections Act (HR-6394/S-3569), said CEO Shirley Bloomfield. HR-6394/S-3569 would set up a $2 billion fund at the FCC to compensate ISPs with fewer than 250,000 customers for providing free or discounted broadband services during the pandemic to low-income households that can't afford to pay their bills. NAB plans to advocate for future COVID-19 bills to include "further relief for broadcasters who keep communities safe with life-saving emergency information and fact-based journalism," said CEO Gordon Smith. ATA, CTA and the Wireless ISP Association also praised HR-748.
COVID-19 could reprioritize two California telecom funds. The California Public Utilities Commission sought comment Thursday on how it can respond to the pandemic using the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). In prehearing statements due that day on a possible overhaul to California LifeLine that could shift support to broadband, some urged focus on increasing participation of especially vulnerable low-income residents.
The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee ended on a note of concern Friday. BDAC met online, as have other groups since the FCC closed headquarters and sent staff home.
COVID-19 is having a negative impact on radio advertising, which could worsen once ratings start showing drops in listenership due to less telecommuting and rising unemployment, said analysts, broadcasters and company news releases late last week. iHeart Radio, Salem Media and Urban One rescinded projections for 2020, citing uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
FCC interaction with constituents is changing in the face of the pandemic, with ex parte meetings down in recent weeks, according to our analysis of more than 400 electronic comment filing system filings. Agency officials said stakeholders presumably are reluctant to set up meetings on non-pressing matters, and commissioners' Tuesday meeting agenda lacks major items. That could change in April with the 6 GHz order expected (see 2003270032), one agency official said. The regulator said aides in Chairman Ajit Pai's office don't seem less busy.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is circulating plans for some $300 million of telehealth spending. One plan is for $200 million and would support healthcare providers' telehealth services to fight the coronavirus, under the Cares Act. The rest of the money is for the agency's connected care pilot. It would use USF money over three years.