[1st-mile-nm] FCC: A Summer Blockbuster Open Meeting

[Richard Lowenberg]

I thought that some of you might enjoy reading/browsing this posting 
from FCC Chairman Pai.

https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/blog/2018/05/16/summer-blockbuster-open-meeting

A SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER OPEN MEETING

May 16, 2018 - 1:33 pm
By Ajit Pai | FCC Chairman

In the spirit of the summer blockbuster season, the Commission’s June
7 meeting is going to be our own version of “Avengers: Infinity
War.”  We’re taking familiar headliners—freeing up spectrum,
removing barriers to infrastructure buildout, expanding satellite
services, modernizing outdated rules, eliminating waste, improving
accessibility, protecting consumers—and rolling them into one,
super-sized meeting.

Fittingly, our featured order is a sequel of its own.  For the past few
years, one of the agency’s highest priorities has been repurposing
high-band spectrum for next-generation wireless services like 5G.  In
2016, the FCC unanimously adopted the _Spectrum Frontiers Order_, which
established rules for wireless broadband operations in frequencies at or
above 24 GHz.  Last year, we approved the _Second Report and Order,
_which modified the 2016 rules and made available an additional 1,700
megahertz of wireless spectrum for flexible use in the 24 GHz and 47 GHz
bands.  Today, I’m circulating a _Third Report and Order_ _and_
_Further Notice_ that takes the next steps necessary to promote U.S.
leadership in 5G and to deliver advanced wireless services to American
consumers.

My plan contains multiple proposals for multiple bands, so I’ll tick
through them quickly.  First, it would establish performance
requirements for IoT networks, revise our mobile spectrum holdings
rules, and resolve pending sharing and operability issues in the 24 GHz
band.  Second, for the lower 37 GHz band, we would resolve pending
petitions for reconsideration and establish a band plan.  Third, the
_Further Notice_ asks further questions about the sharing framework for
federal and non-federal use in the 37 GHz band.  Fourth, it also
proposes making spectrum in both the 26 GHz and 42 GHz bands available
for flexible wireless use.  There’s a lot to digest here, but the big
takeaway is that the FCC is taking action to unleash spectrum for the
next-generation wireless services that will help grow our economy, boost
our nation’s competitiveness, and improve our quality of life.

As I said at the outset, our June meeting features the Commission’s
greatest hits.  Removing regulatory barriers to encourage the deployment
of next-generation networks and close the digital divide certainly fits
that bill.  That’s something that consumers strongly support; as
I’ve traveled from the Mountain West to the Gulf Coast, I’ve heard
many of them say that they want to benefit from modern, more resilient
technologies like optical fiber instead of limping along with slower
services like DSL provided over old, often-degraded copper.  To respond
to that desire, I’ve shared an order with my colleagues that would
make it easier for companies to discontinue outdated, legacy services
and transition to the networks of the future.  These reforms would
enable the private sector to stop spending scarce dollars propping up
fading technologies of the past and promote investment in technologies
of the future.  They will also make it easier to restore service in the
aftermath of natural disasters and other catastrophic and unforeseen
events.

Another key to closing the digital divide is lowering the cost of
broadband services for consumers.  Unfortunately, the FCC’s current
rules impose disparate financial burdens on certain rural broadband
providers, and their customers literally wind up paying the price.  Bear
with me on this:  The FCC has consistently declined to impose Universal
Service Fund (USF) contributions obligations on broadband Internet
access service.  In English, that essentially means we don’t tax
broadband.  But rural carriers that offer certain broadband transmission
services are uniquely required to contribute to the USF on the revenues
from those offerings.  Again in English, this essentially means rural
companies (hence their customers) have to pay broadband taxes that
others don’t have to pay.  On June 7, we’ll vote on an order that
would relieve small, rural carriers from having to pay these broadband
taxes, thereby reducing the cost of broadband services for their
customers.

Since 2017, the FCC has placed greater emphasis on enabling new
satellite technologies to help close the digital divide.  In particular,
we’ve looked to the skies and have approved the first
non-geostationary satellite orbit satellites that would enable
high-speed Internet access comparable to Earth-bound offerings.  Our
June agenda includes two items that would allow satellite companies to
offer new services in the United States.  The first would expand the
U.S. market access of O3b Limited, allowing it to use 26 additional
satellites to supply broadband to American customers.  The second
authorizes Audacy Corporation, a California-based startup, to deploy a
middle-Earth-orbit satellite constellation that enables satellite
systems to “talk” to each other.

Our _Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative_ has been a consistent
source of content for Commission meetings, and our June meeting will be
no different.  This time, we tackle the FCC’s leased access rules.
These rules require cable operators to set aside channel capacity for
commercial use by unaffiliated video programmers.  The glaring problem
with our leased access rules is that they’ve been in legal limbo for a
decade.  The Commission updated them in 2008, but the Office of
Management and Budget never approved them and a federal court halted
them.  All this means that the 2008 update never went into effect and
businesses are still operating under rules adopted nearly 25 years ago.
I’ve proposed to vacate the 2008 Order and start over with a clean
slate regarding our leased access rules—including an examination of
how to modernize them to fit the modern marketplace.

We’ll also be reviewing our rules to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.
  Historically, our intercarrier compensation system has in many cases
enabled arbitrage as a business model.  In 2011, the FCC adopted reforms
to the ICC system that curbed some abuses.  But there are still too many
loopholes that allow bad actors to game the system.  This June, the
Commission will consider two items that eye further reform of the
intercarrier compensation system.   The first is an _Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking _looking at how to eliminate incentives to artificially
inflate call volumes and to inefficiently route calls.  The second
focuses on getting rid of incentives for bad actors to abuse the
toll-free system (known as 8YY), such as by flooding 8YY numbers with
robocalls for the purpose of racking up originating access charges.

Speaking of toll-free numbers, we’ll also consider in June how to make
sure that the texting capabilities of toll-free numbers aren’t
hijacked by unauthorized parties.  Toll-free numbers are a popular tool
used by businesses and government to be more open and accessible to the
public.  And increasingly, these toll-free numbers are used by
businesses for text communications.  This can be a valuable and
innovative use of toll-free numbers.  But to make sure third parties
that don’t abuse the system by “text-enabling” a toll-free number
they don’t own, we want to set rules of the road for activating this
function.

Another valuable and innovative service that we’ll be addressing at
our June meeting is Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP
CTS).  This is a telecommunications service (technically, a
telecommunications relay service, or TRS) that allows individuals with
hearing loss to both read captions and use their residual hearing to
understand a telephone conversation.  Use of IP CTS is paid for entirely
through the FCC’s TRS Fund, and it’s grown exponentially in recent
years.  Today, this service represents almost 80% of the total minutes
compensated out of the Commission TRS Fund—at a cost of nearly one
billion dollars.  At the same time, the contribution base for the TRS
Fund is shrinking.  We simply have to take action to preserve the
viability of IP CTS for those people with hearing loss who need it.
That’s why we’ll be voting on moving IP CTS compensation rates
closer to actual provider costs, on measures to limit unnecessary IP CTS
use, and on exploring ways to expand the TRS Fund contribution base.
The order would also allow service providers to use fully-automated
speech recognition to generate captions and bring the benefits of this
innovation to IP CTS users.

We not only want to expand access to technologies and services that help
consumers, we want to shield them from illegal and harmful practices.
Two longstanding and continuing problems for consumers are slamming and
cramming.  Slamming is the unauthorized change of a consumer’s
preferred telecommunications provider.  Cramming is the placement of
unauthorized charges on a consumer’s telephone bill.  The FCC has
taken enforcement actions against slamming and cramming for several
years, but the rules against these types of fraud need to be
strengthened.  That’s why I’m proposing new rules that include a
clear ban on misrepresentations made during sales calls and a clean
prohibition against placing unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone
bills.  My proposal would also put additional teeth into our
anti-slamming rules by clarifying that carriers who abuse our
third-party verification process will be suspended from using that
system for two years.

Rounding out our June meeting will be an enforcement item, which I
can’t currently disclose.  Think of it as the surprise teaser at the
conclusion of every Marvel movie.

Like “Infinity War,” our June meeting will have a running time that
many may find excessive.  But it also stands to unleash billions in
economic activity and include multiple crowd-pleasers that I hope will
leave the audience wanting more.


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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