Digital Discrimination NPRM, Other Items Get Unanimous Votes at December Meeting

In a busy end-of-year meeting, the FCC tackled digital discrimination, IP captioned telephone services rates and the space application review process, all with unanimous votes by commissioners. Commissioners also approved a record-setting fine for alleged robocalls, at Wednesday's meeting.

Commissioners adopted an NPRM seeking comment on rules to combat digital discrimination, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2212190053). "Getting to final rules next year will require more engagement, more collaboration, and frankly, just more work," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

The FCC "must be able to identify digital discrimination, eliminate it where it happens, and prevent it from occurring," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks: "Input from all stakeholders is absolutely critical."

“Closing the digital divide is a priority for the wireless industry, and wireless providers serve as the backbone of the FCC’s efforts to connect low-income families and students,” emailed Scott Bergmann, CTIA senior vice president-regulatory affairs. “We will continue working with the Commission to connect all Americans through a framework that accounts for the historic investment in broadband, in a technologically neutral manner, as directed by the Administration and Congress, and the FCC’s own programs and rules,” he said.

An NPRM seeking comment on ratemaking methodology for IP CTS when provided by communications assistants and on a fully automatic basis (see 2212160059) was also adopted Wednesday. The item "recognize[s] that as new technologies emerge, we need to ensure that they meet basic service-quality standards and take note of our ongoing work to establish appropriate measures for both forms of IP CTS," Rosenworcel said. It "necessarily raises the issue of the functional equivalence," Starks said, adding he's still concerned about "potential algorithmic bias" in automatic speech recognition.

ASR "is potentially a really good thing," Carr said, and one thing to keep in mind while looking at rate structures is how the commission can get "the right incentives for the availability of ASR" while ensuring "we have operators in place." Commissioners also adopted an order on reconsideration denying petitions from T-Mobile and IDT on a 2020 IP captioned telephone services compensation decision and joint request from six IP CTS providers to maintain the 2021-22 TRS Fund year compensation level for the service.

'Guiding Star'

Carr said the pending Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act could be “a guiding star” to FCC efforts to accelerate its space applications review. He said the bill contains “really good ideas,” including a shot clock. Simington has also backed the bill (see 2212090064).

Starks said he got additions to the draft item including a requirement the evidentiary bar for claims of non-interference not be overly high at the start of processing, with the agency relying on petition comments and other pleadings to draw out that information.

The NPRM proposes removing a rule preventing some applications from requesting frequency band waivers and allowing non-geostationary orbit satellite operators to have more than one unbuilt system in a given frequency band. After the vote, the Satellite Industry Association said it's "greatly encouraged by the FCC’s transformational change and commitment to update rules, increase staffing resources and accelerate the licensing processes to best support the continued pace of US satellite innovation and the growing commercial space economy which will ultimately be for the benefit all Americans.”

FCC organizational structures have fallen behind the pace of space applications and proceedings, “and you cannot just keep doing things the old way and expect to lead in the new,” Rosenworcel said. She said the pending International Bureau reorganization (see 2211090061) will help in areas such as the FCC’s satellite technical capacity and coordination with other agencies, but the agency also is working on various rules updates and on increasing staff. She said the agency’s earth station application backlog is down more than 20% in the past six months.

Rosenworcel thanked House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and incoming Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., for introducing the Streamlining Act, but stopped short of endorsing it. “Working together I know we can foster more of the kind of boundary-breaking innovation that made Telstar 1 possible six decades ago,” she said.

Record Fine

The FCC also proposed the largest forfeiture in its history, nearly $300 million, against Sumco Panama and the perpetrators of an alleged auto warranty scheme, which “apparently violated federal anti-robocalling and spoofing laws.” In July, the Enforcement Bureau directed all voice service providers to stop carrying traffic by the company (see 2207210066).

The operation, run by Roy Cox and Michael Jones, “made more than 5 billion robocalls to more than half a billion phone numbers during a three-month span in 2021, using pre-recorded voice calls to press consumers to speak to a ‘warranty specialist’ about extending or reinstating their car’s warranty,” the FCC said.

Congress gave the FCC authority in the Traced Act to approve such fines without first issuing a citation, Starks noted. “Without a doubt, these are the type of operations that we need to be going after,” he said: The number of calls “is staggering. It is hard to get your head around, except for the fact that we all continue to get these calls.”

Rosenworcel urged Congress to give the FCC authority to go to court and directly collect fines. “The fraudsters responsible for this auto warranty scam flooded phone lines across the country with these junk calls,” she said: “So we took action. We worked with our counterparts at the Ohio Attorney General’s office to uncover the ring behind these calls and boot it off our networks.”