A California fight is heating up over proposed broadband subsidies that the California Public Utilities Commission might award next week to carriers including Frontier Communications and Race Communications. Etheric, GeoLinks, LTD Broadband and others in recent weeks opposed proposed California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) resolutions up for vote at the CPUC’s Dec. 16 meeting because they said the projects overlap with places where they won Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support. Commissioners may vote at the meeting on a proposed decision that could prevent LTD from qualifying for RDOF support in California.
Country of origin cases
ViacomCBS and South Korea's CJ ENM agreed to co-produce original series and films plus license and distribute content across their streaming services. They said Tuesday that ViacomCBS' Paramount+ will enter the Asian market next year by debuting in South Korea in a bundle with TVING, CJ ENM's streaming service. Paramount and CJ ENM/Studio Dragon will co-develop and co-produce English-language scripted series based on CJ ENM/Studio Dragon's titles for exhibition on Paramount+ and co-finance new Korean series for Paramount+ global distribution. Paramount+ will license Korean-language series from CJ EMN's library, they said, and Pluto TV will launch a CJ ENM-branded channel on Dec. 14 of Korean content for U.S. audiences.
An NPRM and notice of inquiry on accessibility in emergency alert system messages are likely to be unanimously approved as-is, said FCC and industry officials in interviews. Alerting industry officials said the agency’s proposals need fine-tuning, but strong industry pushback isn’t expected. Accessible alerts are “certainly a laudable goal,” said Sage Alerting President Harold Price. Comments on the item would go to docket 15-94.
An FCC Further NPRM on curbing illegal robocalls to public safety answering points and improving the PSAP Do-Not-Call registry got mixed reaction from public safety organizations and industry in comments posted Thursday in docket 12-129 (see 2110010065). Commissioners approved the item in September. Comments were due Wednesday.
Senate Commerce Committee Republicans’ questioning of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn at a planned Wednesday confirmation hearing (see 2111230066) is likely to partially focus on her views on the fairness doctrine in a bid to suggest her joining the commission would increase the chances the agency would seek to bring back the long-rescinded rules, lawmakers and officials told us. Sohn backers question the likely GOP focus on that issue, arguing that while she and others in the past preferred bringing back the rules, such erstwhile supporters see virtually no momentum in its favor under a 3-2 Democratic majority.
The FCC Wireline Bureau waived certain emergency broadband benefit program rules requiring an enrollment freeze and consumer notifications as the commission transitions to the affordable connectivity program, said an order posted Friday in docket 20-445 (see 2111230058). The rule, originally intended to "avoid claims volatility and to allow for more certain financial projections in the final months," required a freeze in EBB enrollments once the program's end date was announced. Waiving the rule "maximizes the time period" for enrollment during EBB's final weeks and "avoids unnecessarily limiting participation," the order said. The bureau also waived the 15- and 30-day consumer notice requirement that EBB is ending, given that enrolled households will continue receiving up to $50 monthly broadband subsidies during the 60-day transition to ACP, it said.
The FCC’s last open meeting of 2021 will include votes on making emergency alert systems messages more accessible, changes to competitive bidding regulations for E-rate, and revisions to spectrum sharing rules for low-orbit satellite systems, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel blogged. The virtual meeting is Dec. 14 at 10:30 a.m.
Verizon expects to close on buying Tracfone this week following FCC OK Monday, the carrier’s spokesperson said. Three commissioners approved and Commissioner Brendan Carr concurred with the order clearing the wireless deal with consumer protection conditions. The California Public Utilities Commission last week conditionally approved the takeover (see 2111180068).
Office of Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, adds Nate Beltran, ex-Dewey Square, as tech policy adviser ... President Joe Biden plans to nominate Dimitri Kusnezov for undersecretary-science and technology, Department of Homeland Security; he's a theoretical physicist at the Department of Energy, working on emerging tech ... FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces that Amy Nathan, most recently senior counsel-Office of Economics and Analytics, is retiring.
Industry and state officials disagreed whether the FCC's Further NPRM to impose additional requirements for those seeking direct numbering resources would further efforts to curb illegal robocalls, in replies posted Tuesday in docket 13-97 (see 2110180045). Require applicants for direct numbering access to disclose foreign ownership information and those with authorization to update the commission of any ownership changes within 30 days, said attorneys general from every state and the District of Columbia. The AGs backed requiring applicants to certify robocall mitigation compliance or Stir/Shaken implementation and rejecting or revoking authorization if the applicant or holder is found to originate or transmit illegal robocalls. These "reasonable proposals will help curb illegal robocallers’ ability to misuse our nation’s limited numbering resources and circumvent the protections of the Stir/Shaken call authentication framework," they said. Requiring VoIP providers to adhere to state requirements is "reasonable and helps to ensure a competitive market while imposing safeguards on limited numbering resources," said the Michigan Public Service Commission. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission backed the 30-day notice for growth requests, and said it's the "only real means for state commissions to have a true sense of the entire universe of entities obtaining finite numbering resources." Allow state commissions to "assist the FCC and the Numbering Administrator to effectively oversee the use of numbering resources," said NARUC. Close "any perceived loopholes" in access stimulation rules, said Verizon, such as amending commission rules to qualify VoIP providers as access stimulators if they engage in such behavior. Verizon backed similar changes to the definitions of "end user" and "end office" that AT&T sought. Focus on "directly addressing any gaps in its existing frameworks" and avoid "imposing unnecessary, confusing, and/or duplicative requirements," said USTelecom. Don't adopt "new one-off rules that would apply uniquely to subsets of providers," said NTCA. The proposals "will make the robocalling problem worse," said RingCentral, Telnyx and Vonage. They "are neither necessary nor technologically neutral," said NCTA, which Microsoft and Lumen echoed. The "single most effective step" the FCC can take is a "targeted acceleration of the Stir/Shaken implementation deadline for those providers most likely to originate illegal robocalls," NCTA said.