FCC to Take Additional Steps on Digital Discrimination, Location-Based 911 Routing in Dec. Meeting
The FCC will consider an NPRM that would define digital discrimination and adopt best practices for states and local governments to combat it, during the commissioners' Dec. 21 meeting. Also on the agenda are an Enforcement Bureau action and NPRMs seeking comment on ways the FCC can facilitate acceptance of satellite and earth station applications under its Part 25 rules, on a proposal to require wireless carriers and text providers to use location-based routing to avoid misrouting wireless 911 calls and texts, and on proposed modifications to the Telecom Relay Service Fund.
"Equal access to high-quality, affordable broadband internet service is critical for everyone living in the nation," the digital discrimination draft item says. The commission proposed adopting the Communications Equity and Diversity Council's recommendations of best practices for states and localities. The item would define digital discrimination as "actions or omissions by a provider that differentially impact consumers’ access to broadband internet access service, and where the actions or omissions are not justified on grounds of technical and/or economic infeasibility."
The draft NPRM would seek comment on whether the FCC should adopt the definition based on disparate impact or treatment. It would also seek comment on rules the commission should adopt to facilitate equal access and combat digital discrimination. Comments would be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 60 days for replies, in docket 22-69.
Public safety groups urged the FCC to push for location-based routing to 911 call centers (see 2207120065). “Location-based routing appears to now be technologically feasible, and it is already being implemented by some carriers,” and implementing it nationwide could have significant public safety benefits, the draft NPRM says. It proposes that commercial mobile radio services and text providers be required to use location-based routing to route 911 voice calls and texts originating on their IP-based networks. When caller location information falls short of what would be needed for location-based routing, those calls and texts instead would be routed using available location information such as the longitude and latitude of cell towers, it said. The draft also seeks comment on whether the FCC should collect data for monitoring compliance.
The satellite and earth station application draft NPRM would allow consideration of applications and petitions that request waiver of table of frequency allocations to operate in a band not allocated internationally. Such applications aren't accepted now. The draft asks about amending the current limit of one unbuilt non-geostationary orbit satellite system per licensee in a given frequency band.
A draft NPRM on the TRS Fund proposes a three-year compensation plan for IP captioned telephone services. Such providers would also be compensated based on whether they provide fully automatic services or communications assistants, said a fact sheet. Comments would be due 30 days after FR publication, 60 days for replies, in docket 03-123. An accompanying draft order would also deny T-Mobile's and IDT's petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's 2020 order adopting a single compensation formula for IP captioned telephone service providers, as well as a joint request by six IP CTS providers to maintain the per-minute compensation level for such services at $1.42 for the 2021-22 TRS Fund year.