Blue Stream Fiber raised questions about the "timing and need" of the FCC's proposed ban on bulk billing arrangements for broadband in apartment buildings in meetings with Wireline Bureau staff, with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, and with an aide to Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2403050069). The company said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-142 that bulk billing "only works to provide high quality internet services at affordable prices where all residents in a community share the cost associated with providing the service." Blue Stream Fiber also asked the FCC to seek comment on "the benefits of bulk billing arrangements" rather than "tentatively conclude that they should be broadly banned."

Hotwire Communications asked the FCC to abandon its proposal for banning bulk billing arrangements between ISPs and apartment buildings (see 2403050069). Hotwire noted in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-142 that it discussed with Wireline Bureau staff challenges consumers faced when they attempted to apply their affordable connectivity program benefit to a service offered through bulk billing. The company said the difficulties are due to "flaws in the ACP rules," suggesting the FCC amend its rules to "facilitate greater use of ACP discounts where bulk billing arrangements are present" should the program be replenished. Hotwire also asked the commission to consider the item during a commissioners' meeting. "This would enable the public to review and provide input on the draft rulemaking for three weeks prior to the vote," Hotwire said.

An FCC order modifying certain administrative and reporting requirements for the USF high-cost program takes effect May 10, said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. Commissioners adopted the item in October (see 2310190056).

The Wireless ISP Association urged the FCC to continue allowing providers to engage in bulk broadband billing arrangements in apartment buildings. Meeting with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington (see 2403150058), WISPA said that "competitive providers, especially small providers, benefit from securing a stable and steady customer base" in apartment buildings at "a significant reduction in transactional costs." In a separate meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, OpticalTel and DigitalBridge urged the FCC to seek comment through a notice of inquiry before adopting new rules, according to an ex parte filing Monday in docket 17-142. "There is no basis in the record for tentative conclusions that there is a need to disrupt competitive services that offer lower prices than incumbent providers," the companies said.

The Coalition of Concerned Utilities defended its petition of certain parts of the FCC's December order revising pole attachment rules in a filing Tuesday in docket 17-84 (see 2312130044). The group sought elimination of "the requirement that utilities submit a copy of periodic pole inspection reports to attaching entities." Utility pole owners "should not be placed at odds with broadband providers," the coalition said, and electric utilities "should not be subject to a pole inspection report requirement that will provide no legitimate benefit to attachers." The requirement "may potentially divert time and scarce resources away from processing applications and ... much of the information in the pole inspection reports is unlikely to promote broadband deployment," UTC warned. The Utilities Technology Council also backed the petition.

The National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center raised concerns about callers "rotating outbound numbers that allows them to circumvent" the FCC's Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication rules. Meeting with Wireline Bureau staff, the groups asked the FCC to "explicitly say that providers are prohibited from offering any service that obfuscates the real caller’s name, location, and telephone number, including but not limited to rotating through numbers for this purpose." The groups also asked the commission to "resume and target its auditing of the use of numbers" to "curtail improper use of numbering resources."

USTelecom asked the FCC to ensure providers have flexibility to comply with any new call blocking rules (see 2309110060). The group told Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff that many providers rely on the USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group's do-not-originate (ITG DNO) list and expanding the DNO requirement "could force providers to inefficiently allocate resources to measures that will not have the highest protective impact for their customers and networks," said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-59. USTelecom also warned "any signal from the commission" that the ITG DNO list doesn't meet a provider’s "applicable reasonable DNO requirement" would "call into question whether it makes sense for the ITG to continue to maintain its DNO list" and "whether providers could continue to rely on it."

An FCC rule extending the number of monthly minutes a communications assistant may handle video relay services while working at home takes effect April 22, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved a waiver extending its call handling rule in December (see 2312200072).

New America's Open Technology Institute told the FCC that interconnection and internet traffic exchange remains a "live issue" during meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The group suggested that the commission "at a minimum adopt a presumption that paid peering agreements are unreasonable and/or discriminatory practices in violation of Sections 201 and 202 if the exchanged traffic is sufficiently localized by the exchanging party." OTI also asked the FCC to restore its 2010 rule on transparency, noting its distinction from the commission's consumer broadband labels. The transparency rule's purpose is "to provide a broader set of stakeholders with a more comprehensive view" of providers' networks and practices, the group said.

The National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association raised issues with the FCC's NPRM concerning broadband in apartment buildings in separate meetings with commission aides (see 2403050069). The "regulation of bulk billing agreements between property owners and broadband providers is not only unnecessary, but would raise broadband prices for consumers who belong to the nation’s most vulnerable populations," the groups said, adding it would "hamper deployment of advanced technology by innovative broadband providers" and "limit competition by favoring the large incumbent providers." The groups met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioners Brendan Carr, Nathan Simington, and Geoffrey Starks, and Wireline Bureau staff, said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 17-142.