The FCC invited pleadings on Sprint's IP captioned telephone service petitions to reconsider the agency's interim rate cuts for provider compensation and reconsider or clarify its decision to authorize automatic speech recognition technology (see 1807300022 and 1807100066). Oppositions will be due 15 days after publication in the Federal Register, replies 10 days after the opposition deadline, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Monday in docket 03-123.
The USF contribution factor could rise in Q4 to 19.1 percent from Q3's 17.9 percent of carriers' U.S. interstate and international (long-distance) telecom end user revenue, if projected revenue holds steady, emailed industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in his quarterly update Thursday. Q3 had a rare projected revenue increase, but "if the long term trend of declining quarterly revenues continues, the USF assessment factor for the fourth quarter will be higher than 19.1%." He said Universal Service Administrative Co. Q4 revenue projections are due at the end of August. Projected USF demand for Q4 is $2.06 billion, $112.3 million more than in Q3, he said.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau said its 911 Reliability Certification System is open for filing annual reliability certifications. The certifications, by covered 911 service providers, are due Oct. 15 and should be filed using the online portal, the bureau said.
Some 65 percent of U.S. broadband households bought at least one CE device last year and own an average 8.6 connected computing, mobile and entertainment devices, reported Parks Associates Thursday. Purchase intent for smart speakers with a personal assistant has increased year over year, reflecting consumer interest in voice-first technologies, which are expected to drive further adoption of smart home devices, said analyst Jennifer Kent.
Revised 911 grant program rules are now effective, says a Federal Register notice set for Friday. The final rule by NTIA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revised the grant program rules as a result of the 2012 NG-911 Advancement Act.
The FCC Technological Advisory Council will next meet Sept. 20, said a public notice. It starts at 12:30 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.
Cisco will buy Ann Arbor, Michigan-based security company Duo Security for $2.4 billion, said Cisco Thursday. “Duo’s zero-trust authentication and access products integrated with our network, device and cloud security platforms will enable our customers to address the complexity and challenges that stem from multi-and hybrid-cloud environments,” said Cisco Executive Vice President-Networking and Security David Goeckeler.
With four responses in April, May, June and July, DOJ's Antitrust Division fully responded to Protect Democracy Project's (PDP) Freedom of Information Act requests on release of White House/agency communications about AT&T's Time Warner purchase (see 1803060004), said a docket 17-cv-02409 status report (in Pacer) Tuesday with U.S. District Court in Washington. Justice's Office of Information and Privacy anticipates one more Aug. 31, with parties discussing what proceedings will then remain, it said. PDP also sued over a similar request on Disney/Fox assets.
Verizon received 144,748 subpoenas, orders and other requests from federal, state and local law enforcement in the first half of 2018, up from 138,773 and 132,858 in the first and second halves of 2017, said its U.S. transparency report Wednesday. There were 69,596 subpoenas, 31,239 emergency requests, 30,361 orders (general, pen registers/trap and trace, and wiretap) and 13,552 warrants. The telco noted the Supreme Court's June 22 Carpenter ruling, "a case addressing whether law enforcement must obtain a warrant based on probable cause, as opposed to an order based on a lesser showing, in order to compel a wireless carrier to release historical cell site location information" (see 1806220052). A court majority concluded a warrant is necessary, Verizon noted. Since then, "Verizon has accepted only probable cause warrants before releasing historical location information. We have seen an increase in warrants during the past month," it said. The company also reported demands in the first half of 2018 "from law enforcement for customer information" in other countries where the company does business and it's not prohibited from reporting the information.
The FCC invited input on two bids for relief from Lifeline minimum service standards. Comments are due Aug. 30, replies Sept. 14 on an NTCA request, on behalf of RLECs, for temporary waiver from updated Wireline Bureau Lifeline minimum standards for fixed broadband service that take effect Dec. 1 (see 1807240014), said a bureau public notice Tuesday in docket 11-42. The same comment dates were set on TracFone's request for a Section 54.408(b) waiver or a ruling it could comply with minimum service standards by giving customers "a specified quantity of 'units' per month" (see 1807260028), said another PN.