A court set a Nov. 14 hearing on DOJ's motion for a preliminary injunction against California's net neutrality law (see 1809210059). California's opposition brief is due Oct. 19, and DOJ's reply Nov. 2, said a brief order in the U.S. District Court of Eastern California, in USA v. California, 2:18-cv-02660 (in Pacer). Judge John Mendez is to hear the case. The court set a March 18 scheduling conference before Senior Judge William Shubb in an ISP challenge to the law (see 1810030036) in American Cable Association v. Xavier Becerra, 2:18-cv-02684 (in Pacer). Net neutrality advocate Andrew Schwartzman expects the cases to be consolidated and says it could be held in abeyance, pending the outcome of challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to the FCC's net neutrality rollback order and its pre-emption provisions.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he and staff weren't aware of a DOJ probe of Elizabeth Pierce before she resigned as chair of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee in September 2017. Pai responded to a query from Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., about Pierce, ex-Quintillion CEO, who was indicted by DOJ in April for allegedly engaging in a scheme to induce investment of more than $250 million in an Alaskan fiber network (see 1804130055). The exchange was posted Thursday in docket 18-5: a May 8 Ellison letter seeking a response by May 21, and Pai's Sept. 27 letter. Pai said the FCC followed the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, including Office of General Counsel vetting Pierce, selected for chair "based on her apparent qualifications and recommendations." He said she chaired two BDAC meetings in April and July 2017 before working groups developed recommendations. "In August 2017, my office was informed that Ms. Pierce would be stepping down for personal reasons -- and she formally resigned in September, before the BDAC or its working groups considered or approved any recommendations," he wrote. Pai Is "pleased" with BDAC progress over the last two years: "all adopted recommendations have been approved by at least a super-majority of members," many unanimously.

FCC Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel agreed U.S. 5G leadership is critical but under challenge and requires more spectrum and infrastructure. In back-to-back Q&As at The Atlantic Festival Wednesday, both said other countries are moving ahead aggressively with 5G wireless efforts. They differed on how best to spur 5G deployment, their level of concern about U.S. tariffs, the need to prepare for 6G, and state net neutrality efforts. American industry is "leading the charge," O'Rielly said, but other nations are engaging in "industrial policy" through standards-setting bodies and other mechanisms to gain advantage. He said the U.S. response must remove local barriers to antenna siting and make spectrum available to give companies the tools to invest. "We can't rest on our 4G laurels," said Rosenworcel, citing China, Europe and South Korea as racing to clear spectrum for 5G, and Asian deployment as advanced: "I think I see [U.S. leadership] as much more fragile than my colleagues do." She said incentives are needed for DOD to free up spectrum and for states and localities to streamline siting processes, including grant programs. Focus on how 5G connectivity can address problems such as traffic congestion and air pollution, she suggested. She again voiced concern that new 10 percent tariffs (with 25 percent possible in 2019) on Chinese products, including telecom network equipment, could slow deployment. O'Rielly isn't too worried about the tariff dispute near term because he suspects the issues will be worked out in "cat-and-mouse" negotiations, but if not, his concern will increase. He said there's so much 5G "heavy lifting" to do that he hasn't focused on 6G. Rosenworcel said it's not too early to start thinking about that future, which promises even more radical network advances and broader changes. On net neutrality, she welcomed the "extraordinary activity around the country" as states pass laws and governors and mayors take actions. O'Rielly said there's much agreement on principles and Congress could draft a workable law, which he believes shouldn't ban all paid prioritization. Instead, advocates pushed through a "crazy" California law banning zero-rating plans and called it "the gold standard," he said. "If that's gold, then I want to operate in a different currency."

The FCC invited further input on the definition of "automatic telephone dialing systems" covered by Telephone Consumer Protection Act restrictions, after a recent 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruling interpreted ATDS broadly, siding with a consumer's text-messaging complaint in Jordan Marks v. Crunch San Diego, No. 14-56834 (see 1809210029). Comments are due Oct. 17, replies Oct. 24, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Wednesday in docket 18-152. The 9th Circuit panel "interpreted the statutory language expansively so that an 'automatic telephone dialing system' is 'not limited to devices with the capacity to call numbers produced by a random or sequential number generator, but also includes devices with the capacity to store numbers and to dial stored numbers automatically,” said the PN. But it noted the D.C. Circuit's ACA International March ruling, overturning key parts of a 2015 FCC order, held that "the TCPA unambiguously foreclosed any interpretation that 'would appear to subject ordinary calls from any conventional smartphone to the Act’s coverage'" (see 1803160053). Industry parties generally seek a narrow ATDS definition, while consumer groups urge a broad definition with a carve-out for ordinary smartphone use.

The Lifeline national verifier fully launches Nov. 2 in the first six participating states: Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, the FCC said in a Tuesday public notice in docket 11-42. Starting that day, eligible telecom carriers in those states will be required to use the national verifier and consumers can check eligibility on CheckLifeline.org, the agency said. Consumers and providers can mail Lifeline forms and documents to Universal Service Administrative Co. for manual review, it said. Reverification of existing Lifeline subscribers began June 18 at the start of the soft launch (see 1806180054) and will continue after Nov. 2, the FCC said. The national verifier is now doing annual recertification for all Lifeline consumers in the six states, it said.

It’s premature for the FCC to adopt a Z-axis metric for accurate vertical location of wireless calls, commented CTIA and the National Emergency Number Association this week on an August report by carriers in docket 07-114 (see 1809100037). “Rather than adopting ±5 meters as the Z-Axis metric, we suggest that further testing is a better course to advance vertical location solutions that will help to provide ‘floor level’ accuracy,” CTIA commented. NENA agreed the FCC should delay adopting a Z-axis metric until a more accurate one can be validated and supported by test results: “Assuming a modest extension of the Commission’s deadline is possible, NENA hopes that the Test Bed will recognize the exceptional circumstances and allow the additional Stage Z testing to occur as quickly as is practicable for the involved parties.” Citizens and public safety need a z-axis accuracy benchmark of plus-or-minus 3 meters, NENA said. Carriers’ proposal for 5-meter metric “fails the American public and the dedicated public safety professionals who need actionable, accurate location information to find 9-1-1 callers during emergencies,” APCO commented. The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council agreed: “A vertical z-axis metric providing floor level accuracy is needed and can be accomplished with available technology, especially within the generous implementation timeframe established in the rules adopted in 2015.” NextNav technology can achieve accuracy within 2 meters, said NextNav and the Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority. NextNav supported a 3-meter metric, while BRETSA said it should be 2 meters.

Wednesday’s wireless emergency alert test “will not adversely affect your service or device,” Verizon General Counsel Craig Silliman said Tuesday. Silliman posted information about the test due to "controversy on social media” about the alert (see 1809210032). The alerts are “really critical, lifesaving information” that citizens should want to receive, a Federal Emergency Management Agency official said Tuesday on a media call with FCC and FEMA officials who spoke on background, not allowing their names to be used. A journalist and two small-business owners in New York City sued (in Pacer) the government last week at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming the presidential alerts violate First and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from government-compelled listening and warrantless trespass into cellular devices. People mightn't get the alert if their device is configured incorrectly or if they are on a phone call or have an active data session ongoing throughout the 30-minute window, the official said. The wireless industry is working on standards to address those issues, said another FEMA official. The first nationwide WEA test will start at 2:18 p.m. EDT and last 30 minutes, and the fourth nationwide emergency alert system exercise starts at 2:20 p.m., the agencies said. The WEA message will carry the header “Presidential Alert” and read, “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The EAS simulation will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communication Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones in the nation. Some cell phones will receive the message. Others will not. No action is required.” The FCC looks forward to more dialogue and lesson sharing with stakeholders after the test, Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes blogged Tuesday. The agency plans to engage with FEMA and wireless providers, and welcomes public feedback, she said. D.C. text alert subscribers received a notice about the WEA and EAS tests Tuesday. The test was previously postponed due to response efforts to Hurricane Florence.

More work remains to further narrow the digital divide, a Cox Communications event heard Monday, even as speakers praised the cable ISP's stepped-up efforts. "Bridging the digital divide should be, in my view, a national mission," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. He seeks "a kick-starter for a national conversation" and said Cox's Connect2Compete low-cost broadband for the poor helps: It's "a bold initiative that is tackling the issue of broadband affordability." More than 400,000 low-income Americans at one point have been or still are connected via the plan. That's "almost two Topekas," the Kansas native said of the city there, to laughter. Cox's promise to spend $20 million over the next year on Connect2Compete is "going to make a ton of difference," said Zach Leverenz, founder-chair of EveryoneOn, which helps administer the program. "There’s more still to be done." He noted many millions of Americans can't afford broadband, and they are mostly minorities. Connect2Compete has boosted speeds and added digital literacy tools and has tech centers in boys and girls clubs, with the product targeting low-income families with school-age kids, said Cox President Pat Esser. "It's that multitiered access that is critical" to help close the broadband gap, he said. Cox's Connect2Compete and a similar product, Comcast's Internet Essentials, cost users about $10 monthly, spokespeople for the companies told us. Connect2Compete is in about 70,000 households, the Cox spokesman said. IE has connected 6 million low-income people from 1.5 million households to broadband, Comcast's representative noted, citing figures released in August. That makes it the top such U.S. program.

Edward Parkinson will lead FirstNet as acting CEO, replacing Mike Poth, FirstNet said Monday. Poth announced his resignation last month after holding the post for about three years; some officials called for quick action to maintain stability (see 1809270049). Parkinson is an internal hire who recently led state outreach efforts as executive director-external affairs. He joined in 2013 after helping to write legislation to establish FirstNet while on the House Homeland Security Committee staff. “His understanding of the history of the FirstNet project and his leadership roles throughout its maturation make him uniquely qualified to lead the FirstNet organization into its operational phase,” said NTIA Administrator David Redl. APCO Executive Director Derek Poarch said Parkinson was one of the authority’s “key early staff members” who “helped shepherd FirstNet through its formation and into the advanced communications option it is today.”

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was the only lawmaker to argue during a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing that the 1992 Cable Act is too outdated to still be effectual (see 1809270062). ... The interference limit contour proposed by the FCC is 54 dBu (see 1809270059).