The FCC North American Numbering Council's May 5 meeting will be via conference call at 9:30 a.m. EDT, said Friday's Federal Register. On the tentative agenda are numbering administration oversight, toll-free number assignment modernization, nationwide number portability, interoperable video conferencing, and call authentication trust anchoring.

The FCC Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau waived through May 15 video relay service interpretation requirements, so VRS providers can work with interpretation services that haven't been eligible providers. Friday's emergency waiver on its own motion responded to COVID-19. “These extraordinary circumstances present unique challenges,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. VRS usage has increased amid the virus. Other telephone relay services have had delays (see 2003250055).

The FCC Wireline Bureau approved National Exchange Carrier Association and John Staurulakis requests for rural rate-of-return carriers to waive late payment, cancellation and installation fees for consumers subscribing to or switching providers of DSL broadband service for telework or remote learning, said Thursday's Daily Digest. This gives companies "the flexibility to meet the Keep Americans Connected pledge during the COVID-19 pandemic," a statement said.

Comments will be due 45 days after Federal Register publication, replies 30 days later, on an FCC proposal to deregulate phone access charges and prohibit voice providers from itemizing them on customers' bills, said an NPRM adopted Tuesday (see 2003310039) and released Wednesday. The draft cycle was 30/15 (see 2003100065). Incompas sought four months total because of the pandemic (see 2003260043). The FCC made other changes. “We’re grateful the FCC asked about alternatives to mandatory detariffing of these surcharges (including permissive detariffing), and hopefully these additional questions will aid in the development of a more complete record,” emailed NTCA Senior Vice President-Industry Affairs & Business Development Mike Romano. The docket is 20-71.

The FCC Wireline Bureau delayed the deadline to April 21, from April 6, for replies to refresh the record on inmate calling service fees (see 2003230047), said an order Tuesday in docket 12-375. Advocates sought extension (see 2003260037).

Commissioners 5-0 OK'd an NPRM to deregulate phone tariffing and eliminate interstate access charges on local phone bills (see 2003260043). The vote preceded Tuesday's meeting via teleconference (see 2003310067). The NPRM proposes detariffing subscriber line, access recovery, presubscribed interexchange carrier and line port charges, plus the special access surcharge. It seeks to "explicitly prohibit carriers from assessing any separate telephone access charges on customers' bills after those charges are deregulated and detariffed" because they are difficult to understand, the agency said. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly supports the deregulation, not the plans to prohibit carriers from continuing to list separate access charges on bills. "I find it somewhat strange and ironic to characterize these charges as deceptive, when it was the FCC that established the various access charges and all of their confusing terminology in the first place, and the item proposes to continue to use the charges as proxies for calculating rate-of-return carriers' Universal Service Fund support," he wrote. O'Rielly said it should be up to the carriers to determine how to itemize and describe charges: "It's not clear to me how forcing carriers to bury these costs in their rates, rather than providing discretion to itemize them, will ultimately provide better transparency." The FCC “today recognized the market for voice services has changed substantially since 1996, including the reality that ILECs are no longer a monopoly provider," said USTelecom Vice President-Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Mike Saperstein. "This was an appropriate step by the commission to permit incumbent providers to price services in a way that reflects today’s competitive marketplace.” NTCA is waiting to see the NPRM.

Missouri Network Alliance agreed to pay $8,000 to resolve an FCC investigation into whether it sold its assets to Bluebird Media before receiving Wireline Bureau permission, the Enforcement Bureau said Monday. MNA agreed to implement a compliance plan. In 2011, Bluebird entered into a joint venture with the alliance, acquiring 51% interest, EB said: Last year, Bluebird and MNA “belatedly filed a joint transfer of control application” and got special temporary authority.

The FCC should rule “customer drop” pole attachments need no advance notice to investor-owned utilities, ACA Connects said in a Friday-posted filing about a Tuesday call with the Wireline Bureau. Such attachments are adjuncts to existing, approved attachments, ACA said. The proposed ruling “would provide greater clarity for attachers and utilities and is an immediate step the Commission can take to help new broadband customers get online rapidly -- a matter that has taken on heightened urgency during the COVID-19 epidemic,” the cable group said in docket 17-84.

Approve a blanket six-month delay of the June 20 effective date of transparency-in-billing provisions of the 2019 Television Viewer Protection Act (see 2003060049), NCTA, USTelecom and ACA Connects asked the FCC Friday in docket 20-61. They want the extension "immediately to allow MVPDs to redirect all necessary resources towards addressing COVID-19."

The FCC defended a previous rule saying forbearance from requirements to unbundle and make available to competitors at avoided cost resale analog copper loops, as requested in a USTelecom petition in docket 18-141, "served the public interest," said a respondents' brief. The brief was posted by the FCC Thursday on Incompas et al. v. FCC (case No. 19-1164) before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The California Public Utilities Commission filed a separate petition against the forbearance order, and the court consolidated the cases.