North American Numbering Council member Courtney Neville is associate general counsel, Competitive Carriers Association (see 1809130031).

Parties differed on whether the FCC should distinguish between fixed and mobile services in its latest Telecom Act Section 706 inquiry into the state of advanced telecom capability deployment. Comments were due Monday in docket 18-238 on a notice of inquiry (see 1808100040). "By looking separately at fixed and mobile broadband, the Commission’s approach lacks technological neutrality, thus perpetuating the outdated, siloed version of the communications industry that has bedeviled the Commission’s work in recent decades," said the R Street Institute. The group said the agency should evaluate broadband deployment by "looking only at the objective metrics of consumers’ broadband service -- such as throughput, latency, price and data caps -- rather than at the technologies used to deliver such service." The Internet Innovation Alliance said fixed and mobile distinctions "no longer matter to U.S. consumers," who are "willing to switch to mobile-only Internet access." The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable was among those seeking to maintain fixed and mobile distinctions. "The Commission should continue to conclude that mobile services are not full substitutes for fixed services," it said. "Consumers and businesses rely on both fixed and mobile broadband services, often using both in distinct ways." The Free State Foundation backed "continued use of the 25 Mbps upload/3 Mbps download speeds for defining fixed broadband services and for using LTE coverage with minimum speeds of 5 Mbps upload/1 Mbps download for defining mobile broadband services." It said the "available data supports another affirmative deployment determination in the Commission’s upcoming report."

Hurricane Florence is affecting communications primarily in North Carolina, but South Carolina also is feeling the effects, said Monday’s FCC disaster information reporting system report. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that South Carolina is eligible for federal disaster funds. The FCC report shows 187, 885 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in North Carolina, up from 164,892 in Sunday’s report. South Carolina outages are down to 5,073, compared with 5,883 from Sunday. Six percent of cellsites in the storm-affected area are out of service, but the affected sites are concentrated in North Carolina, the report said. Onslow County, on North Carolina’s coast, has more than 50 percent of cellsites down, the report said. Three public safety answering points in North Carolina are having their 911 calls rerouted to other PSAPs, the report said. The report lists five TV stations out of service, all in North Carolina. Twenty-five FM stations and three AM stations are listed as out, also concentrated in North Carolina. Three radio groups are working together to provide emergency information in Spanish in South Carolina communities affected by the storm, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the League of United Latin American Citizens. Cumulus Media, Spanish Broadcasting System and Dick Broadcasting responded to a request from MMTC and LULAC for emergency broadcasts targeted at Spanish speakers affected by the storm. SBS is providing the Spanish-language emergency information for Cumulus and Dick to broadcast, the release said. “The 22,000 Hispanic residents of the Myrtle Beach radio market and 21,000 Hispanic residents of the Hilton Head radio market are receiving life-saving information.” Frontier Communications has resumed full operations in its service areas with repair and customer contact employees returning to work in South Carolina, and didn’t cease providing repair and installation service to North Carolina, said release Monday. Charter Communications brought in additional supplies before the storm and opened more than 5,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in affected areas, it blogged Saturday. : We have approximately 14,000 employees and three million subscribers in the parts of North and South Carolina that are in the path of Hurricane Florence." Florence postponed Thursday's emergency alerting test (see 1809170035).

Lifeline providers endorsed and USTelecom opposed TracFone's emergency petition for the FCC to direct Universal Service Administrative Co. to speed efforts to obtain access to key federal databases or postpone a national verifier's (NV) hard launch. Comments were posted through Thursday in docket 17-287. Sprint noted the databases contain information on consumers who participate in Medicaid, food stamps and other federal assistance programs. "Automated access to this information will help the NV to verify an end user’s ... eligibility to receive the federal Lifeline benefit in an efficient and user-friendly manner, and will reduce the need for resource-intensive manual processing" that's costly for providers and "cumbersome and frustrating for end users," said Sprint in docket 17-287. The FCC should instruct USAC to set the NV hard launch dates only after application programming interfaces and database connections are implemented, said Q Link Wireless, noting its own API petition (see 1808130034). The National Lifeline Association said FCC policy goals were undermined by USAC's initial, soft launch without automated database access to Lifeline-qualifying programs "while simultaneously refusing to accept eligibility documentation from third-party sources such as Managed Care Organizations." Sage Telecom Communications (TruConnect) also supported the petition but asked if the agency moves forward without access to key databases, it allow documentation through such third parties. USTelecom, citing the goal of combating Lifeline abuses, said the FCC shouldn't let delayed access to the databases disrupt the transition to the NV, but instead should work with USAC and states to ensure timely access to the necessary databases. A telecom consultant disputed FCC claims, based on a 2017 GAO report that Lifeline resellers caused extensive program abuses. The report "in no way supports the Commission’s assertions regarding the scale of actual waste, fraud and abuse within the program, let alone its allegations of 'unscrupulous' behavior by resellers," said Gately Consulting, in a letter to House and Senate Commerce Committee leaders posted in the docket. Gately said GAO used a "flawed methodology to verify eligibility," relied on data intended for other purposes, and the "data fell within the statistical error range."

Net neutrality advocates urged the Supreme Court not to review or vacate a lower court ruling upholding the FCC 2015 Communications Act Title II broadband regulation order. Cert petitions seeking review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's affirmation should be denied, and the solicitor general's proposed vacatur under a mootness precedent isn't justified, said a brief filed Friday by Public Knowledge, New America's Open Technology Institute, the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committee, the Center for Democracy and Technology, NARUC and Vimeo in Daniel Berninger v. FCC, No. 17-498. Given the current FCC's January net neutrality deregulation, the SG recently asked justices to grant cert but vacate the D.C. Circuit judgment and remand the 2015 order litigation with directions to declare related legal challenges moot, or to consider the effect of the new order (see 1808030041). "We assume petitioners will take the same position, although most are apparently waiting to explain why until they file reply briefs," said the net neutrality advocates (NARUC opposes FCC pre-emption provisions). Cert petitions were filed last September, and the court is considering the petitions now "because petitioners and the Government collectively took more than ten months’ worth of extensions," the net neutrality advocates said. "After the 2016 presidential election, the Commission realigned itself with petitioners and worked with them not only to repeal the Open Internet Order, but also to delay this Court’s review long enough for the repeal to moot the case and lay the groundwork for their present joint request for vacatur" under 1950's Munsingwear, they said. "This Court’s review was prevented through the cooperative effort of the parties seeking vacature to successfully delay the Court’s consideration of the petitions until the case was moot. Respondents are unaware of any case in which the Court has rewarded such manipulation." A Free Press brief also urged cert denial.

California and other state net neutrality efforts are illegal, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a Friday speech at the Maine Policy Heritage Center. “Last month, the California state legislature passed a radical, anti-consumer Internet regulation bill that would impose restrictions even more burdensome than those adopted by the FCC in 2015,” including restrictions on zero rating, said Pai, per prepared remarks. “The broader problem is that California’s micromanagement poses a risk to the rest of the country,” he said. “Broadband is an interstate service; Internet traffic doesn’t recognize state lines. It follows that only the federal government can set regulatory policy in this area. For if individual states like California regulate the Internet, this will directly impact citizens in other states.” The recent 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision on state regulation of VoIP (see 1809070030) reaffirmed that federal law pre-empts state regulation of information services like broadband, Pai added. The California bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), rejected Pai “potshots” in a Friday statement. “Unlike Pai’s FCC, California isn’t run by the big telecom and cable companies,” Wiener said. The California bill “is necessary and legal because Chairman Pai abdicated his responsibility to ensure an open internet. Since the FCC says it no longer has any authority to protect an open internet, it’s also the case that the FCC lacks the legal power to preempt states from protecting their residents and economy.”

House Transportation Railroads Subcommittee members raised concerns Thursday about new warnings from National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt and others that a significant number of railroads -- mainly commuter systems -- won't be able to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to implement portions of positive train control technology. Railroads can continue to get extensions through the end of 2020 to fully implement PTC but must demonstrate they are acquiring necessary spectrum holdings and meeting other annual goals. Senate Commerce Committee members raised similar concerns in March about PTC implementation (see 1803010054). Nine railroads, including the Maryland Area Regional Commuter and New Jersey Transit systems, are “at risk” of not meeting 2018 benchmarks, Federal Railroad Administration head Ronald Batory said during a subcommittee hearing. FRA “will continue to support and facilitate railroads’ implementation of PTC technology by utilizing the tools afforded by Congress and providing extensive technical assistance and guidance to railroads and suppliers,” Batory said. “We remain vigilant in harnessing and leveraging all the personnel, financial and other resources available to help expedite railroads’ implementation efforts.” GAO echoed Batory's assessment. GAO Thursday reported many railroads are in “early” stages of implementing PTC technology but at least 32 of the 40 affected railroads are likely to apply for an extension. NTSB “urges swift implementation of the congressional PTC mandate,” Sumwalt testified. “For each day that goes by without PTC, we are at continued risk for another tragic accident.” Chairman Jeff Denham, R-Calif., agreed there was some progress on PTC “among a majority of railroads,” but “we want to see everyone meet their requirements.”

Frontier Communications temporarily suspended work activities in portions of South Carolina as Hurricane Florence approached, it announced Thursday. The storm was downgraded to a Category 2 the same day. “Repair and installation technicians, contact center employees and others will not be executing any work activities during this time,” Frontier said. “Florence will damage power facilities and down lines and trees, which will affect the speed of communications restoration,” said Senior Vice President-Operations, South Region Melanie Williams. AT&T is launching severe weather channels on DirecTV and U-Verse dedicated to Florence coverage, it said. AT&T, CenturyLink and other carriers also have readied emergency resources (see 1809110046). Carrier preparations were laid out in a USTelecom blog. The Federal Emergency Management Agency Thursday urged residents of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia to stay in communication with friends and family using phones, text messages and social media and to stay informed using TV, radio and local government websites.

The FCC should tell Congress that it, the Navy and NTIA are “falling short of the expectations that were widely held” on the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band when the Spectrum Pipeline Act became law Nov. 2, 2015, public interest groups told the FCC on two reports to Congress (see 1808100033), posted in docket 17-258 Wednesday. “Congress had every reason to believe” the band would be brought online quickly, the groups commented. “The sad fact is that in the waning months of 2018 there is far less to report back to Congress about the ‘results’ of the landmark CBRS framework than there reasonably should be.” The groups sought a quick FCC decision on sharing the 6 GHz band with unlicensed. “Adjacent to current Wi-Fi operations,” the band is “uniquely positioned to help build capacity for Wi-Fi networks as unlicensed, and Wi-Fi in particular, increases in importance as the connectivity of choice for mobile devices and local area networks.” The Open Technology Institute at New America, American Library Association, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Public Knowledge were among signers. These frequencies are "a unique opportunity to significantly expand the nation’s unlicensed spectrum inventory by more than 1 Gigahertz,” said Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm and several others. “Opening this band is essential to addressing a growing unlicensed spectrum shortfall.” The Wi-Fi Alliance stressed the importance of the swath. “While new Wi-Fi devices are being introduced in the 5 GHz band, which is available for unlicensed operations, more mid-band spectrum is needed to meet the growing demand for data throughput capabilities offered by the next generation Wi-Fi,” the alliance said. “This spectrum shortfall has yet to be addressed.” The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council said it's “premature” to report on success or failure of the 3.5 GHz band. “Significant operation of CBRS devices is yet to occur,” NPSTC said. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance said for CBRS to be a success, at least some priority access licenses (PALs) must be available in small geographic sizes. “Failure to do so would undermine CBRS’s promise as an innovation band, strand millions of dollars of investment already made in CBRS, and ‘rig the system’ in such a way that only those business models that prefer large license areas could acquire PALs,” the alliance said. Making the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed is also key since Wi-Fi carries more data than any other wireless technology, the alliance said.

The Rural Utilities Service received wide-ranging advice from an array of parties on its inquiry into how to implement a $600 million "e-connectivity" grant and loan pilot program. Telecom interests, electric cooperatives, government authorities and others filed 278 comments, which continued to trickle out in RUS-18-Telecom-0004 (194 were posted by late Wednesday). Echoing comments of FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1809100047), NTCA, ITTA and some state telecom associations were among those urging that RUS not allow overbuilding of existing broadband facilities. U.S. Cellular said mobile broadband should be included in funding and the definition of a requirement that eligible rural areas have at least 90 percent of households without "sufficient access" to 10/1 Mbps broadband. "Mobile technology does not provide sufficient access," countered the Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, one of numerous cooperatives and their groups that filed. It's "impossible to overstate" the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's support for the pilot, said the group, which cited a study finding the digital divide cost rural communities $68 billion in lost economic value. The Utilities Technology Council called for funding "robust broadband networks" with faster speeds and higher-quality service so that rural America isn't "left behind with marginal broadband services." In defining “sufficient access” for eligible rural areas, "the pilot should consider the transmission capacity required for economic development to ensure it meets the needs for consumer use, distance learning, telemedicine and businesses," said the California Broadband Council of Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) administration, one of many state, local and tribal entities to file comments. GCI Communication and other Alaska entities weighed in on their state's unique challenges.