Handset Unlocking NPRM and Other Meeting Items Get Unanimous Approval

The FCC Thursday unanimously approved, as expected (see 2407160048), an NPRM that proposes industry-wide handset unlocking rules, requiring all mobile wireless providers to unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud.” The only change of note was an edit on handset and fraud issues added at Commissioner Brendan Carr's request, an FCC official said.

Commissioners at the open meeting also approved 5-0 a next-generation 911 order (see 2407160055) and video closed captioning order (see 2407150052). Neither order was controversial. The approved next-generation 911 order was not considerably different from the draft item, the FCC said. No major changes had been expected (see 2407160055).

The FCC has imposed unlocking conditions previously, broadly on Verizon as a condition of its purchase of 700 MHz licenses in 2008, and more narrowly on T-Mobile for customers it acquired when it acquired Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile. CTIA hasn’t staked out a position. Verizon and EchoStar, parent of Dish Wireless, signed a letter in June calling for uniform rules (see 2406250049).

The proceeding seeks comment on whether an unlocking requirement should apply to existing service contracts or future contracts only, a news release said. It asks about the potential impact “in connection with service providers’ incentives to offer discounted phones for postpaid and prepaid service plans, as well as whether an unlocking requirement would benefit smaller providers, new entrants, and resellers by increasing the number of phones available on the secondary market.”

Commissioner Anna Gomez said consumers who buy unlocked phones outright can switch providers, but "this is not the reality for everyone else who has a locked phone.” People who finance their phones through a carrier often can’t afford the additional unlocking fee, she said. This issue is “particularly burdensome” for low-income consumers on prepaid plans, she added.

“You bought your phone, you should be able to take it to any provider you want,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “For too long, consumers have faced confusing and disparate cellphone unlocking policies,” Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said. In proposing a uniform 60-day policy, “we’re leveling the playing field for competition and empowering consumers.”

The NPRM also has Biden administration support. “Consumers should not be locked into a wireless network simply because of how they bought their phones,” NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said: "The ability of consumers to easily take their existing phone to a new network provider will result in greater competition in the wireless marketplace. That’s a win for everyone and I applaud the FCC for kicking off this important rulemaking.”

"An industry-wide approach should be simple and fair,” said Kathy Grillo, Verizon senior vice president-public policy and government affairs: “It needs to promote consumer choice, increase competition, curb handset fraud, and encourage providers to offer subsidies on phones that promote affordability and benefit lower-income consumers.”

The NG911 order's aim is expediting the transition from legacy, circuit-switched 911 networks to IP-based ones, Public Safety and Homeland Security Deputy Chief David Furth said. With that transition will come new 911 capabilities like the ability to send video and data to emergency responders, he said. But while states have begun investing in NG911 systems, some originating service providers in certain instances are delaying connecting to the IP-based systems, meaning state and local 911 authorities must run legacy and NG911 systems simultaneously for longer transitions, adding to the transition cost, he said. The NG911 order framework and timelines are aimed at expediting that transition.

Starks called the NG911 order "a spark to action" by creating timelines around "sticking points" that states have complained about in their NG911 transitions, such as cost allocations. Rosenworcel said the NG911 transition "require[s] more" than the order and urged Congress to renew the agency's lapsed spectrum auction authority and direct auction revenue toward NG911 initiatives.

Closed Captioning

The FCC also unanimously approved an order requiring apparatus manufacturers and MVPDs to make the display settings for closed captions on their devices “readily accessible.” The agency previously required user interfaces that let users customize caption displays, but many consumers reported the settings were difficult to find and use. “If a caption is too small, in a color that makes it too difficult to read on screen, or if the settings are too hard to locate, it puts programming out of reach for millions,” Rosenworcel said Thursday.

The order is based in part on a joint proposal brought to the FCC by NCTA and a number of consumer groups representing the deaf and hearing impaired, including the National Association of the Deaf and TDIforAccess (see 2407150052). “I am grateful to the coalition of consumer groups and NCTA that have helped hammer out this framework to modernize our closed captioning policies and make video programming more accessible,” she said. “This is how we build a digital future that works for everyone.”

The final order is similar to the draft but doesn’t apply the requirement to preinstalled third-party apps, Media Bureau Deputy Chief Hillary DeNigro said during a post-meeting news conference. That’s a change NCTA and CTA requested. Under the order, device makers will make the application programming interface of their device’s caption settings available to app creators, allowing them the option to use the device’s closed captioning settings rather than generating their own. The expectation is that this will lead to greater consistency in caption settings accessibility for users, one communications attorney told us. The new rules will take effect two years after the order’s effective date.

“While this is a milestone to be proud of, as technology continues to advance, it's crucial that manufacturers prioritize the inclusion of accessibility features into product development,” Gomez said at Thursday’s meeting. “From the beginning, accessibility by design.” The cable industry “is committed to providing ready access to closed captioning display settings so viewers can more easily customize captions to fit their needs,” an NCTA spokesperson said. “We are gratified that our joint efforts with the accessibility community informed the Commission’s unanimous action today resolving this long-pending proceeding.”

Karen Peltz Strauss, a former FCC Consumer Bureau deputy chief who represents the consumer groups in the proceeding, was “delighted” with the final order. “By making it easier for caption viewers to modify the color, fonts, sizes, and other features of closed captions, the Commission’s order will expand captioning viewership to people who have vision disabilities and others who previously had difficulty viewing captioning text,” she said.