Midwest Energy Cooperative and Utilities Technology Council representatives lobbied FCC officials on parts of its planned Connect America Fund Phase II auction of broadband-oriented support in areas traditionally served by price-cap telcos (see 1605260034). "Specifically, Midwest and UTC supported the FCC’s Gigabit performance tier and urged the Commission not to reallocate funds from certain census blocks into other census block or other states," said a UTC filing Tuesday in docket 10-90 on a meeting with an aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Wireline Bureau staffers, one of three meetings at the commission. To account for differing levels of broadband performance, the FCC sought comment on how subsidy bids should be weighted in four proposed performance tiers, including a gigabit tier requiring participants to offer at least 1 Gbps/500 Mbps and unlimited monthly usage. The commission also is considering how to target funding in an auction that includes areas in states where some price-cap carriers declined offers of broadband support. Some parties have asked the FCC to reallocate the funding to other areas or states.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on a petition by the Professional Services Council (PSC) that asked the FCC to revise language in its recent declaratory ruling (see 1607060013) providing an exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for federal government and federal contractor debt collection. The council questioned (see 1608040058) one phrase in the ruling, the finding that the TCPA prohibitions don't include calls by "the federal government or agents acting within the scope of their agency under common-law principles of agency." PSC said the language in the order would limit the amount of relief from the TCPA seen by federal contractors. Comments are due Sept. 14, replies Sept. 29 in docket 02-278, said a Monday notice by the bureau.

The North American Numbering Council scheduled its next meeting for Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the FCC, said a commission public notice Monday in docket 92-237. The PN included a proposed agenda consisting largely of reports from various numbering administrators and groups. Included are reports from North American Portability Management and its local number portability administrator transition oversight manager, PwC.

PwC plans a local number portability administrator transition webinar Aug. 31, 3-4 p.m., said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 09-109. Parties can register for the webinar here. Telcordia/iconectiv this week signed contracts, with North American Portability Management, to replace Neustar as the LNP administrator, with a target of May 2018 for completing the transition (see 1608090048). PwC is the LNP administrator transition oversight manager.

A preliminary list and map of census blocks deemed initially eligible for a planned Connect America Fund Phase II subsidy auction are being released, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 10-90 listed in Thursday's Daily Digest. The PN contained links to the information, though the map wasn't yet available late Thursday afternoon. A final list of eligible census blocks will be published at least three months before the deadline for submitting short-form applications for the reverse auction, which hasn't been scheduled, said the PN. It said industry notifications for additional broadband coverage data are due by Aug. 31. The auction will allow providers to bid for up to $215 million in annual CAF II support to provide both broadband and voice service in high-cost and extremely high-cost rural areas where large (price-cap) telcos didn't accept support or weren't offered support (see 1605260034). The rules haven't been finalized and commenters disagree on the weights the FCC should assign different proposed broadband performance tiers (see 1608080053).

AT&T received more than 137,600 demands for customer information from federal, state and local criminal and civil government agencies in the first half of 2016, nearly 9,500 less than in the first half of 2015, the company said in a transparency report this week. About 103,000 of the 2016 requests were subpoenas, about 16,000 court orders and 18,500 were search warrants or probable cause court orders. AT&T said it rejected or challenged nearly 3,000 demands and provided partial or no information on more than 29,000. The company provided nearly 37,000 "location demands" and almost 61,000 emergency requests. The carrier said it received a range of 500 to 999 requests for national security letters.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton again touted her ambition to address broadband deployment in the first 100 days of her administration as part of her infrastructure plan. Her administration is “going to connect all American households to high-speed, affordable broadband,” Clinton said Monday during a Q&A on the social network Quora. “A recent survey showed that 70 percent of teachers assign homework that requires students to use the internet, but 5 million of our children don’t have access to high-speed internet. So, even at their earliest ages, kids are being left out and left behind. We can’t allow that.”

FCC staff issued proposed North American Numbering Plan Administration funding for the fiscal year Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017. Welch, which is responsible for doing the calculations, proposed a total funding requirement of $6.82 million, with $5.78 million from the U.S., $116,895 from Canada, $24,439 from the Caribbean and the application of $899,849 from an accumulated surplus, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 92-237 listed in Tuesday's Daily Digest. If the FCC takes no action, the estimated fund size and a related industry contribution factor will be considered approved 14 days after the PN's Monday's release.

The White House released what it termed an impact report on transforming government services through tech and innovation. President Barack Obama “has led a transformational era of change through technology and innovation that is producing a smarter, savvier, and more effective government for the American people,” the administration said Tuesday. “On August 11, 2014, the President directed his Administration to accelerate efforts to improve and simplify the digital experience between individuals, businesses, and the government through the creation of the U.S. Digital Service. … In addition to building these important services, the Administration has created a pipeline for top technology talent from the private sector to participate in tours of duty with the Federal Government and partner with top civil servants to ensure a lasting culture of innovation that will serve the American people for years to come.” It included references to federal IT procurement and the launch of the digital services playbook.

The economic advisers to GOP presidential nominee include one aide with a connection to the content industry. Donald Trump unveiled Friday the names of 13 men comprising his economic advisory council, including Trump campaign finance chairman Steven Mnuchin, CEO of private investment firm Dune Capital Investment. The campaign touts his “extensive management and investment experience especially in” media and technology industries. He was named to his Trump campaign role in May. In 2014, Mnuchin was named co-chairman of the board of Relativity, a media company involved in content and distribution. He lauded its efforts “to build a global media company that is redefining what it means to be a content creator in the 21st century,” a news release then said. Relativity filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year after Mnuchin’s departure. None of the other members of the council, who include a Heritage Foundation economist and Senate Budget Committee staffer, show any apparent ties to telecom or media policy.