Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

A surge in FCC ex parte meetings about access to national outage data in the network outage reporting system (NORS) and disaster information reporting system (DIRS) may foreshadow commission action in the near future, said parties to docket 15-80. States and others seek access, but the telecom industry is raising confidentiality concerns (see 1811060036). Multiple stakeholders that have talked with the FCC said the bureau is asking for input and meetings, but it's not clear what, if anything, Chairman Ajit Pai wants to do on the issue or when. The impetus for those meetings isn't clear, we were told.

Parties disagreed on the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act's fallout for an FCC's rulemaking to protect the communications supply chain from national security threats. The Telecommunications Industry Association said NDAA Section 889 requires the commission to bar certain suppliers from participating in its funding programs. Huawei -- one of the targeted suppliers -- and others said the recently enacted provisions give the FCC no mandate to impose supplier restrictions on USF support. NCTA suggested the commission defer action and consult with other agencies. Comments were posted through Monday on a public notice (see 1810260044).

ORLANDO -- State regulators’ relationship with the FCC “needs some work,” said NARUC Second Vice President Paul Kjellander in an interview at the association’s annual conference this month. Federal USF contribution modification could raise tension next year if the FCC continues to exclude states from the process, he said. The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, holding its annual event concurrently with NARUC, remains concerned about deregulation and consumers losing protection as telecom technology moves to the IP world, NASUCA President Elin Swanson Katz told us.

Commissioners split on the FCC's role in orbital safety and congestion issues caused by the satellite mega constellation boom and growth of new satellites, but agreed there's a problem. Approving the orbital debris NPRM Thursday, Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly described parts as “timid.” Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr staked out different stances on the agency's role and authority on tackling orbital debris. At the meeting, which included a variety of space-related items, members voted 4-0 to update wireless handset hearing-aid compatibility rules (see 1811150033).

Any FCC decision to extend a freeze on federal-state jurisdictional separations of telco costs and revenues without a joint board recommendation would violate "the plain text" of Communications Act Section 410(c), said NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsay on meetings with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and an Office of Intergovernmental Affairs staffer, posted in docket 80-286 Tuesday (here and here). A draft order would extend the freeze by up to 15 years, an official told us Wednesday. If "the first five year freeze is a change in the rules that requires a recommended decision, it is impossible to argue that extending the freeze by potentially 15 more years is not also a change -- and a very big change -- in rules," he wrote. "It is illogical on its face to suggest that eliminating a hard deadline that requires the FCC to focus on the freeze and associated separations issues that remain important to the states -- by pushing out the next potential deadline 15 years -- will spur the FCC or the Board to faster action." A commission spokesperson declined comment.

The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council meets Dec. 13, says a Federal Register notice for Wednesday. The group gathers 1-5 p.m. in the FCC Commission Meeting Room.

ORLANDO -- The FCC should extend the Mobility Fund II challenge process by more than three months to fix a deficient process, said a NARUC resolution cleared Monday by the Telecom Committee and Tuesday by the board. At NARUC's annual meeting (see 1811130035), the committee voted unanimously for the resolution after tweaking some language to address other commissioners’ concerns. Idaho Commissioner Paul Kjellander will step down as Telecom Committee chairman to join NARUC leadership, he said Monday.

ORLANDO -- Utilities should demand faster release of 900 MHz spectrum for infrastructure cybersecurity efforts, said former FCC and California Public Utilities Commission member Rachelle Chong Tuesday at NARUC's annual conference (see 1811130001). “You know how FirstNet got spectrum just for emergency responders? We want utilities to have spectrum just for utility-critical infrastructure.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission got much support for reverse pre-empting the FCC on pole attachments. In comments this week in docket L-2018-3002672, carriers said reverse pre-emption could speed dispute resolution, and electric companies said having a state regulator in charge could provide more balance than the FCC. Pole owners and riders disagreed on the degree to which the PUC would be able to deviate from FCC rules. Pennsylvania could be the first state in nearly a decade to reverse pre-empt the federal agency (see 1807250039).

The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment Friday on the implications of a provision in the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would bar use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain. The FCC had been expected to deepen its inquiry in light of the NDAA (see 1810190025). The bureau asks specifically about Section 889(b)(1), which bars federal agencies from using “loan or grant funds to procure or obtain, extend or renew a contract to procure or obtain, or enter into a contract (or extend or renew a contract) to procure or obtain equipment, services, or systems” with Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies. “Does the prohibition in section 889(b)(1) apply to support provided by the … USF?” the bureau asks. “To the extent the provision is intended to apply to USF, what obligation might it impose upon the Commission? Would the Commission’s proposed rule in the Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain NPRM satisfy the intent of section 889(b)(1)?” Comments are due Nov. 16 in docket 18-89, replies Dec. 7.