The National Center for Youth Law asked the FCC to cap inmate calling services from juvenile facilities at zero cents per minute, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 12-375. "Family support is an essential ingredient in the ability of a young person to meet juvenile probation requirements and return to the community."

The Edison Electric Institute asked FCC Wireline Bureau staff to "clarify its refund rules" for pole attachments, because current rules "[lead] to unfair and discriminatory refund periods for identical claims against electric utilities based on the luck of geographic location," said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-84. EEI said it plans to seek a declaratory ruling clarifying a two-year statute of limitations for all pole attachment complaint proceedings and that "refunds in pole attachment complaint proceedings are not 'appropriate' for any period preceding good faith notice of a dispute."

WTA members are "very skeptical" that Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction winners can meet obligations to deliver 1 Gbps, the group told FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and the other commissioners, per docket 19-126 (see 2104090039). Long-form applicants "proposing to construct and operate new stand-alone gigabit fiber-optic networks at 20-to-30 percent of the RDOF reserve price should be required to meet a very detailed and stringent burden of proof," the group said. WTA raised concerns about applicants that plan to deliver gigabit services over fixed wireless and satellite networks, because those bidders have "line-of-sight, weather, foliage, storm damage, useful life, and maintenance vulnerabilities" (see 2104140063). The group asked the FCC to "declare unequivocally" that RDOF Phase I auction rules will be "strictly enforced."

The Michigan Public Service Commission should “take a fresh look” at pole attachment policies for wireline in addition to wireless, said the Telecom Association of Michigan. TAM intervened Monday in docket U-20980 to support ExteNet’s Jan. 25 petition for a proceeding on wireless pole attachment rules. “The issues raised and relief requested in that Petition require the Commission to interpret the scope and reach of the Pole Attachment Act and its application to wireline communications facilities used to provide wireline telecommunications and broadband,” TAM said. The wireline group asked the PSC to consider definitions of attaching party and utility.

The Supreme Court denied plaintiff Ali Gadelhak's petition for a writ of certiorari on Monday after a 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that AT&T's "Customer Rules Feedback Tool" isn't an automatic dialing system and didn't violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (in Pacer). Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn't participate here.

Global Tel*Link is trying, where possible, to cut the costs of prison calling and pass the savings along to incarcerated people and their families, CEO Deb Alderson told FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington and aides to the other commissioners. Alderson “has been sensitive to controlling costs, while also pressing for innovation,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 12-375. “GTL has made significant investment in research and development geared towards new technologies and infrastructure to provide secure communications and keep people connected while maintaining public safety.”

Lunex Telecom agreed to pay a $216,000 civil penalty as part of a consent decree for failing to file USF worksheets and customer proprietary network information certifications, an FCC Enforcement Bureau order said Friday. Lunex is also required to develop a compliance plan and file reports with the commission until the consent decree expires in 60 months.

The FCC will host a consumer webinar April 27 at 3 p.m. EDT to give the public more information about the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, said a public notice Friday. The event will cover eligibility and enrollment procedures and provide an outreach tool kit to help create awareness of the program. The FCC didn't respond to a question about whether acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel or other commission members will participate.

The FCC will likely vote in mid-May on rules for the emergency connectivity fund, said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a virtual panel Tuesday with Allvanza, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, and OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates (see 2104060042). "We're going to develop a program based in part on the work we've done for decades with the E-rate program," Rosenworcel said: "We're going to borrow some of the tools from that plan and figure out how we're going to expand it."

ClearCaptions received conditional certification for fully automated IP captioned telephone service for up to two years, pending further verification that its automatic speech recognition-based service complies with minimum telecommunications relay services standards, said the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in a memorandum opinion and order Tuesday in docket 03-123. The bureau also granted ClearCaptions' request to waive consumer certification and URL submission requirements.