The FCC handed down a $1.6 million fine to Florida-based telecom provider NetOne for instances of cramming -- the practice of billing consumers for unauthorized services or features -- the commission said in a news release Wednesday. The Enforcement Bureau reviewed more than 100 consumer complaints against NetOne, which detailed instances of the company charging consumers "late fees" after they had canceled service, and refusing to close customer accounts until the unauthorized fees were paid, said the release. The FCC said NetOne "continued to engage in cramming despite repeated warnings" from the commission, which issued a notice of apparent liability to NetOne in the case in July 2014. NetOne didn't comment.

AT&T said the FCC should approve its request to discontinue certain operator services despite concerns expressed by a few consumers and two local public safety officials in Washington state. "None of the comments filed demonstrate that the public convenience and necessity will be impaired as a result of AT&T’s discontinuance of these services," the telco said in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 16-13. AT&T said it was seeking to discontinue operator-assisted "collect calling, person-to-person calling, billed to third party, busy line verification, busy line interrupt and international directory assistance." The 13 comments filed in response "were concerned with the continued availability of busy line verification/interrupt (BLV/I), collect calling and international directory assistance," said the telco, which said it wrote all the commenters to explain "its reasons for discontinuing these services, and provided information on the alternative services, resources or applications that are available." AT&T acknowledged there didn't appear to be a legacy TDM-based voice replacement for the BLV/I service, which eight commenters said was of particular concern for emergency personnel, but it said "the market indicates that there is no need for a replacement service." New products and services "have rendered BLV/I services unnecessary and obsolete" because customers are using modern technologies that notify them when someone is trying to call them or a line is in use, the telco said. The company plans to discontinue the services to retail customers after March 18 and to wholesale customers June 4, it said in its application (see 1601070023).

A coalition of privacy, civil liberties and human rights groups is demanding the U.S. government include the organizations in discussions of free expression and privacy online as federal efforts to combat violent extremism widen. In a letter sent Tuesday to three top White House officials, nearly a dozen groups -- including Access Now, Center for Democracy and Technology and New America's Open Technology Institute -- cited a couple of private meetings since January between the government and technology company executives on how to counter terrorists' use of the Internet to radicalize and recruit people. "When the government sits down with those companies that have practical control over a broad swath of public speech and private communication, and especially if and when those conversations lead to voluntary surveillance or censorship measures that would be illegal or unconstitutional for the government to undertake itself, the consequences are truly global," the letter said. The coalition said the potential human rights threat is "especially acute" since many federal programs "overwhelmingly target Muslim and other marginalized communities and individuals." To ensure human rights are protected, the groups said the government must engage with civil society groups "to the same extent" as technology companies. The administration and companies also need to be transparent about steps being taken, such as changes to security features in services and products -- amid the FBI's legal fight to force Apple to help the agency gain access to an iPhone (see 1603040023) -- "or any changes to policies and practices that determine what speech is censored or reported to the government," the letter said. The U.S. has promoted the Internet internationally through a multistakeholder approach, and it should do the same domestically, the coalition said. The letter was addressed to Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and National Economic Council Director Jeffrey Zients. The White House did not comment.

The Benton Foundation urged the FCC to expand Lifeline USF support to broadband. It also asked the commission either to allow non-eligible telecom carriers to provide Lifeline service or to ease the ETC designation process by forbearing from certain eligibility requirements and establishing a national ETC process. The requests came in a letter posted Friday in docket 11-42 by the group's attorneys at the Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation.

FCC proposals to change hearing aid compatibility rules for wireline devices drew support, but there were mixed views on proposed HAC rule changes for wireless devices and consumer group participation in a compliance standards process. Every party filing comments in docket 13-46 backed a proposal to adopt a revised standard (the 2012 ANSI Wireline Volume Control Standard) developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) that the FCC in an NPRM said “appears likely” to help people with hearing loss select wireline phones “with sufficient volume control” to meet their needs while giving industry greater regulatory certainty. (TIA is accredited with the American National Standards Institute, ANSI.) Most commenters (an ANSI committee was silent) also backed a proposal to apply wireline volume control and other HAC requirements to handsets used for VoIP services, pursuant to the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. “Any technology requirements for wireline phones should apply to [customer premises equipment] VoIP phones as well,” said Georgia Tech’s Center for Advanced Communications Policy and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies. TIA said it supports the wireline changes only to the extent that it proposed in a petition it filed. Several commenters generally supported an FCC proposal to set a volume control standard for wireless handsets “to ensure more effective acoustic coupling between handsets and hearing aids or cochlear implants,” but TIA “discouraged” such regulation, saying it “would be duplicative of existing features and requirements." The ANSI committee (ANSI ASC C63®), the Hearing Industries Association (here) and the consumer groups also supported a proposal to require manufacturers to exclusively use an ANSI committee standard (ANSI C63.19-2011) “to certify future handsets as hearing aid compatible.” A proposal to "simplify" the ANSI standard-setting process for HAC compliance and include consultation with “consumer stakeholders” was particularly controversial. The consumer groups were supportive, but the ANSI committee said the FCC shouldn’t designate consumer representatives; TIA said it was concerned about aspects of the proposed consumer consultations, including the precedent it would set; and the Hearing Industries Association said the current ANSI standard-setting process was sufficient. Replies are due March 28.

The Rural Utilities Service is seeking comment by March 31 on ways to improve its environmental review process for telecom programs. The Department of Agriculture agency "seeks public and federal agency comments regarding the preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the development of a more efficient and effective environmental review process for the RUS Telecommunications Program -- an environmental review process that is commensurate with the potential environmental impacts of both wired and wireless broadband projects financed by the Agency," said a RUS notice published in Tuesday's Federal Register. Comments are being sought on compliance with various environmental laws and regulations "applicable to the RUS Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program, Community Connect Grant Program, and Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program," which seek to facilitate "affordable and reliable broadband infrastructure" deployment in rural America, the notice said.

The FCC invited comment by March 15 on Vonage's application to obtain phone numbers directly from numbering administrators, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 16-49 Monday. Vonage submitted its application Feb. 18 (see 1602190067), the first day interconnected VoIP providers were allowed to seek phone numbers directly under a 2015 FCC order.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Thursday released a resolution, which the Disability Advisory Committee approved Tuesday, on calls to N11 numbers, such as 211 for community health and disaster information (see 1602230066). The committee found that people with disabilities often cannot call N11 numbers. The resolution states that the DAC recommends “the FCC provide clarification of current [Telecommunications Relay Services] rules and remind TRS providers of their obligation to handle N-1-1 calls and, if appropriate, institute an inquiry to find out the extent to which people who use Telecommunications Relay Services are able to contact their local or regional N-1-1 services.” The FCC also released the text of a DAC resolution urging the agency to issue a rulemaking on phasing out text technology (TTY) in favor of real-time text (RTT). “As new technology emerges for voice communications, additional guidance from the FCC, as part of a rulemaking, is necessary to reflect changing consumer behavior and preferences,” the resolution said. “The FCC has recognized the limitations of TTY on some wireless networks, while also recognizing the potential of RTT services.”

The NG911 NOW Coalition Tuesday called for national action to make Next-Generation 911 a reality nationwide by 2020. Coalition members include the National Association of State 911 Administrators, the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies and the National Emergency Number Association. “NG911 will enhance the 911 system to create a faster, more flexible, resilient, and scalable system that allows 911 to keep up with communication technology used by the public,” the coalition said in a news release. “Citizens in need of emergency assistance will be able to transmit photos, videos and other forms of broadband data and applications to 911 professionals, in addition to making a traditional voice call or sending a text message.” “Over the past year, I have been very vocal about the fact that the transition to Next Generation 911 is stalled and we need an all-out effort to accelerate it,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement. “Today’s announcement of a new coalition to hasten the NG911 transition is welcome news. Modernizing the nation’s 911 system will take work from many stakeholders -- including the FCC, state and local 911 authorities and legislatures, industry, and Congress -- but together we can save lives.” NTCA said rural call centers “face significant challenges to upgrading their systems; among them, the current 911 funding model is broken and ineffective at supporting existing services, let alone advanced capabilities.” Monday, Wheeler spoke on the issue at the NENA conference (see 1602220048).

The North American Numbering Council will meet March 24 at 10 a.m. at the FCC, the commission said in a Monday public notice. The NANC is slated to hear various reports, including on local number portability administration from PwC, the LNPA transition oversight manager. PwC will hold its next LNPA transition outreach and education webcast on March 9 at 3 p.m., the Wireline Bureau said in a Friday public notice, which includes a registration link.