NTIA wants comments on its new $48.2 billion broadband grant programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. EST in docket NTIA-2021-0002, the agency said Friday (see 2112160050). NTIA is seeking comments on the broadband equity, access and deployment, middle-mile broadband infrastructure program and digital equity planning grant programs. It asks how it should ensure the programs meet their goals, what kind of technical assistance states and localities may need, whether supply chain and labor constraints will affect certain programs, and what metrics the agency should consider. "We need to hear directly from the communities who will benefit from these programs so we can fund solutions that appropriately address their needs and meet the challenge before us," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. NTIA said it intends to release another request for comment on the state digital equity capacity grant and digital equity competitive grant programs.

NARUC's Feb. 13-16 conference in Washington will be a hybrid event, the group announced Thursday (see 2112220064). Scheduled virtual sessions will be listed on the event's agenda page, it said. In-person attendees are required to wear a mask indoors and a "vaccination status check station" will be available Jan. 15. NARUC didn't comment.

Fiber broadband deployment grew by 12% in 2021 and now passes more than 60.5 million homes, said a report Wednesday from the Fiber Broadband Association done by RVA Market Research & Consulting. The report said 43% of U.S. households have access to fiber, and more fiber could be deployed in the next five years than was deployed to date if "all federal infrastructure funding is directed at fiber." Supply chain issues and labor shortages are the "greatest perceived concern of mid-size and small providers," the report said. “The private sector is increasing its understanding of the importance of fiber and government efforts to close the digital divide have never been greater," said FBA CEO Gary Bolton: "This momentum is exciting and sets the stage for our industry to finally deliver digital equity to everyone regardless of where they live, work or play.”

The FTC received more than 5 million Do Not Call complaints in FY 2021, the agency said Wednesday in its biennial report to Congress on the DNC Registry. Consumer complaints about robocalls "increased significantly" to an average of 300,000 per month during the first three quarters, the report said. The registry also increased by more than 2.8 million phone numbers in FY 2021, totaling more than 244 million active registrations to date.

The rule that requires all covered text providers to support text messaging to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline via 988 by July 16 takes effect Feb. 4, says Wednesday's Federal Register. The rule was adopted 4-0 at the FCC's November meeting (see 2111180047).

Petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's net neutrality remand order "remain pending," the FCC told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a filing Monday in docket 21-1016 (see 2104090035). The agency said it "continues to be appropriate to hold this case in abeyance pending the ongoing agency proceedings" and it will file another status report in 90 days, as required by the court.

Allow bulk Wi-Fi purchasers to certify to a service provider that its affordable connectivity program discount "has been passed through fully to multiple households" without having to send the households a bill, said Rhode Island nonprofit One Neighborhood Builders in comments posted Tuesday in docket 21-450. The group offers free Wi-Fi to low-income households through the Ocean State Higher Education Economic Development and Administrative Network, which leases fiber cables owned by Cox. Allowing OSHEAN to pay for the internet cost without sending users a bill would "make the ACP funds more accessible for unconnected households without burdening small nonprofits and households with additional paperwork," it said. The group said the change could lead to "several hundred households" signing up for ACP. The FCC didn't allow reimbursement during the emergency broadband benefit program in cases where a household "does not pay a fee for the service, either to the provider or a bulk purchaser/aggregator, but the fee is paid by another entity."

Ligado keeps contacting federal agencies about their GPS devices, and has yet to hear about a single device seemingly needing repair or replacement due to Ligado operations, it said in an FCC docket 11-109 quarterly report Monday. It said it "looks forward to partnering" with DOD, the National Security Council, FCC and Commerce Department on Ligado-related provisions of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2112270042) and "finally putting this vital mid-band spectrum to use to propel 5G in 2022."

T-Mobile told the FCC it will no longer offer current IP captioned telephone service offerings, effective Jan. 1, 2022. T-Mobile became an IP-CTS player with its buy of Sprint. The carrier will continue providing IP relay services, text technology (TTY), speech-to-speech relay, Spanish relay and relay conference captioning, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 03-123. T-Mobile will also continue providing state-based relay programs in 37 states and Puerto Rico and analog, state-funded CTS, it said.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado received a $3.2 million grant for broadband infrastructure construction from the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, said a news release Wednesday. The project will "provide high-speed internet service connecting the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation and the city of Towaoc to the city of Cortez."