NASHVILLE -- An FCC official tried to ease tensions with state commissioners over the federal agency’s controversial Lifeline order, speaking at the 2016 NARUC Summer Committee Meetings. But NARUC Telecommunications Committee Chair Chris Nelson said he continues to believe the order violates the law. State officials raised concerns about the order's implementation in Lifeline sessions Wednesday.
NASHVILLE -- The FCC should open a public inquiry on moving to nationwide number portability (NNP), numbering experts said on a Tuesday panel at the 2016 NARUC Summer Committee meetings. They agreed with the recommendation of a May 16 North American Numbering Council report that the FCC should seek comments on technical and policy issues of a transition to national portability, including potential costs and the impact for state regulators (see 1605170007).
NASHVILLE -- A growing number of public safety answering points support text-to-911, but there’s more work to be done, an FCC official said Monday at the NARUC Summer Committee Meetings. On the same telecom committee panel, a 911 analyst for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission said he has had to bust myths to convince PSAPs to support emergency SMS. In 2014, the FCC required all carriers to support text-to-911 nationwide, but it was left up to PSAPs and local jurisdictions when to support the capability.
NASHVILLE -- When the FCC weighs bids in its Connect America Fund Phase II auction, the commission should place more importance on reaching the most unserved people rather than providing the highest speeds, broadband industry officials said on a Monday panel at the NARUC 2016 Summer Committee Meetings. That means looking to multiple technologies to provide service, they said. But the chief of a rural electric cooperative said fiber provides the longest-lasting service for satisfying customers without compromise.
A Tennessee report supporting removal of state restrictions on municipal broadband comes during the state’s lawsuit in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging federal pre-emption of the state’s restrictions on muni broadband. The FCC order in question pre-empted a state law barring Chattanooga from extending its municipal broadband system to neighboring localities (see 1606210036). But the state broadband study, released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (see 1607190044), suggested the state create an open regulatory environment to reach the 13 percent of the state that lacks high-speed broadband.
The uncertain timing of a federal USF contribution overhaul stirred debate over whether states should proceed with changes to their own funds. In replies Friday at the Nebraska Public Service Commission, some telecom companies urged the PSC to wait to revamp its surcharge methodology until the FCC Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service and the FCC act on federal contribution reform. It’s unclear when the Joint Board will issue a recommendation; the FCC USF contribution reform proceeding has been open for more than a decade.
There are fewer consumer complaints about Frontier Communications and they have leveled off in Connecticut since a spike of consumer outrage immediately after it acquired AT&T’s wireline business in October 2014, said the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). But there’s still “room for improvement,” the head of the state's Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) said in an interview Monday. Frontier faced more transition trouble in April when it took over Verizon’s wireline business in Texas, Florida and California. Some legislators in those states are asking why regulators didn’t learn from Connecticut (see 1607080045).
The wireless industry is urging states to update siting and pole attachment rules to support the move to faster 5G services. In an address to communications lawyers Thursday night, Wireless Infrastructure Association CEO Jonathan Adelstein reported progress updating siting and pole attachment rules in California. Separately, the New York Public Service Commission is considering a CTIA petition to allow small-cell wireless equipment on utility poles. And a NATOA board member supported wireless deployment but urged the industry to include local governments where equipment will be installed. States and local governments are expected to play a big role in 5G deployment (see 1607120074).
Americans should have confidence in the NSA, Director and U.S. Cyber Commander Michael Rogers said Thursday at the National Press Club. “The nation is counting on us to generate the insights,” said Rogers. “So we’ve got to ask ourselves, how do you do that in a world in which resources are declining and … the technical challenges … are just getting more and more complex?” NSA professionals “believe in their missions, they believe in doing the right thing the right way and they are committed to doing it within a legal framework,” he said. “We always obey the rule of law. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge that mistake and we own it. We don’t take shortcuts.” Seeking better dialog between the government and technology companies, Rogers supported a model in which cyber professionals can move back and forth between the public and private sectors. “The two cultures at times talk past each other,” he said. Some in the government think the private sector is interested only in money, but Rogers said both sectors fight for something bigger than themselves. “If you’re out in the Valley, your view is that you’re harnessing the power of technology to change the world for the better,” he said. Better dialogue could crack how to deal with encryption, which Rogers said can be used for good and evil. “Encryption is a positive thing,” he stressed. “I don’t know what the answer is,” but there should be a conversation about what’s possible, he said. Neither a company nor an intelligence agency should decide alone, but rather there should be “a broader dialogue as a society about what are we comfortable with here and what makes sense for us.” Rogers said the U.S. Cyber Command is halfway through building “a dedicated cyber-mission force,” which will be a 6,200-person army of cyber professionals divided into 133 specialized teams. The mission force will reach initial operating capabilities by Sept. 30, and is expected to be fully operational by the same day in 2018, he said. The nature of cyber required that phased approach, he said. “Because demand at the moment exceeds capacity, this is the one mission set that I’ve been involved in as a military professional for 35 years [where] we’re not even waiting until the team is fully constructed. As soon as we get a cadre, we’re putting teams on targets.”
Verizon dismissed copper abandonment concerns that the Communications Workers of America raised at the Maryland Public Service Commission. The PSC had asked the company to respond to CWA allegations that the telco deceived customers with copper service problems into making the IP transition under a policy known as “Fiber is the Only Fix” (see 1606160054). In a response Wednesday, Verizon said it’s neither deceiving customers nor neglecting its copper network.