NARUC President Brandon Presley will propose a resolution on slashing intrastate inmate calling service rates at the state regulator association’s next meeting in November, Presley tweeted Friday: “This is a moral issue.” NARUC agreed Thursday with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s call to lower rates, though many state commissions may lack jurisdiction (see 2007230065). The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities added itself to the list of commissions that don’t set rates. They are set by a request for proposal process through state's Treasury and Corrections departments, a spokesperson emailed us Friday. Granting a forbearance petition to remove USF contribution requirements for ICS providers would provide more relief to inmates and families than the FCC’s plan to reduce interstate rates by 24% to 16 cents from 21 cents, said NCIC Inmate Communications in an FCC filing Friday about a call with a Pai aide. NCIC’s proposal would reduce the cost of every ICS call 27% based on the current quarterly contribution factor. If the FCC granted forbearance and reduced rates, the combined effect would be to lower the per-minute cost to 16 cents from 27 cents, the company said: That would reduce the USF budget by less than 0.5% “while providing immediate and direct relief to millions of families.”
The FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comment by Aug. 24, replies Sept. 8 on a Frontier Communications Chapter 11 reorganization plan including transfer of control of licenses to its newly formed parent, said a public notice Thursday for docket 20-197.
The FCC Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau will collect information from selected voice and broadband providers through Aug. 28 for an annual urban rate survey to develop comparability benchmarks for 2021, said a public notice Thursday.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau approved agreement between Crown Castle Fiber and Pepco resolving a pole-attachment dispute. The two filed a motion to dismiss Tuesday in docket 20-196. The terms are confidential. “We are satisfied that granting the Joint Motion will serve the public interest by promoting the private resolution of disputes, eliminating the need for further litigation, and conserving the resources of the parties and this Commission,” the bureau said Wednesday.
Congress should directly appropriate the USF for broadband expansion, AT&T Executive Vice President-Regulatory and State External Affairs Joan Marsh blogged Tuesday. The entire USF system may be "dangerously close" to "crashing down" if policymakers don't find a way to fundamentally rethink how programs are funded, she wrote. She said "reform of the existing contribution mechanism is politically impossible" and would be a temporary fix at best. Stakeholders have debated levying fees on broadband or other communications services (see 2005270023). In addition to being politically problematic, "a broadband connections-based approach, which would collect against circuits or ports based on their capacity, is wildly complicated and difficult to define and implement," Marsh said.
The FCC's 988 suicide prevention hotline order approved 5-0 last week (see 2007160030) gives more attention to the idea of waivers, though it makes no promises that any will be given, according to our side-by-side comparison of the draft and the approved order released Friday. The draft mentioned in one sentence that parties could seek waiver for good cause. The approved order spends multiple sentences discussing waivers, plus a separate reference in a footnote. The adopted order acknowledges some parties argued exemptions might be needed (see 2007100016) and says nothing in the order impedes their right to seek one, though cautioning leeway isn't routinely granted. Anyone seeking waiver of the 10-digit dialing mandate will need to show how its circumstances warrant a deviation from the commission's policy of nationwide implementation, the FCC said, saying a requested waiver of the two-year implementation deadline must show the applicant "put forward best efforts to comply ... and detail the specific circumstances that have prevented such compliance." The order also said the Wireline Bureau might use information from its ongoing monitoring in coordination with the North American numbering plan administrator to evaluate the merits of the waiver request. The adopted order gives the NANPA a 30-day deadline for promulgating a 10-digit dialing transition plan and directs the Wireline Bureau to monitor progress in the 87 area codes transitioning to 10-digit dialing.
An item circulated Wednesday would reject a petition from Network Communications International for forbearance from USF contribution obligations on interstate and international inmate calling services (see 1908140055), an FCC official told us. It's new on Friday's circulation list. The agency confirmed the broad contours of the item without commenting on the details.
The FCC Wireline Bureau approved transfer of control of LogMeIn to Logan Parent, said a public notice in Friday's Daily Digest.
The FCC clarified structure and practices of its video relay service program on inducements for those who might not otherwise use the American Sign Language interpretation services, in a declaratory ruling from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in Thursday's Daily Digest. Answering a query from Convo Communications, the rule, effective immediately, says VRS providers aren't prohibited from offering free devices but won't receive financial support to do so.
CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom continue to seek "safe harbor for network-level blocking" so "providers can use all available tools to protect consumers" through more robust robocall mitigation efforts, they told an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in requesting clarification on an item up for a vote at Thursday's FCC meeting (see 2007100044). Consider additional safe harbors in future proceedings, the groups asked in the filing posted Wednesday. An agency official expects a 5-0 vote to approve the item at the commissioners' meeting Thursday, and suggested the language might change to include more pointed questions on the pros and cons of safe harbor for network-level blocking.