Friday, June 7, 2019
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Legislation to Improve Broadband Connectivity Passes Senate
News From June 2019 FCC Meeting
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News From June 2019 FCC Meeting
The Federal Communications Commission voted to make clear that voice service providers may aggressively block unwanted robocalls before they reach consumers. The FCC approved a Declaratory Ruling to affirm that voice service providers may, as the default, block unwanted calls based on reasonable call analytics, as long as their customers are informed and have the opportunity to opt out of the blocking. This action empowers providers to protect their customers from unwanted robocalls before those calls even reach the customers’ phones. While many phone companies now offer their customers call blocking tools on an opt-in basis, the Declaratory Ruling clarifies that they can provide them as the default, thus allowing them to protect more consumers from unwanted robocalls and making it more cost-effective to implement call blocking programs. The ruling also clarifies that providers may offer their customers the choice to opt-in to tools that block calls from any number that does not appear on a customer’s contact list or other “white lists.” This option would allow consumers to decide directly whose calls they are willing to receive. Consumer white lists could be based on the customer’s own contact list, updated automatically as consumers add and remove contacts from their smartphones.
The FCC also adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes requiring voice service providers to implement the SHAKEN/STIR caller ID authentication framework, if major voice service providers fail to do so by the end of this year. It also seeks comment on whether the FCC should create a safe harbor for providers that block calls that are maliciously spoofed so that caller ID cannot be authenticated and that block calls that are “unsigned.”
The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing its leased access rules. These rules require cable operators to set aside channel capacity for commercial use by unaffiliated video programmers. The FCC found that vacating burdensome requirements set forth in the 2008 Order as consistent with today’s highly competitive video marketplace. Second, the Report and Order streamlines the FCC’s existing leased access rules. For example, it eliminates the requirement that cable operators make leased access available on a part-time basis, and it modifies the FCC’s rules to require cable operators, regardless of system size, to respond only to bona fide requests from prospective leased access programmers.
In the Second Further Notice, the FCC seeks comment on a proposal to simplify the leased access rate formula so that rates will be specific to the tier on which the programming is carried.
The Federal Communications Commission proposed changes to its part 87 Aviation Radio Service rules to support the deployment of more advanced avionics technology, increase efficient use of aeronautical spectrum, and improve aviation safety. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes technical and service rules for the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System, which will enable broadband communications capability to support airport surface operations. In addition, the Notice proposes new service rules and rule changes to assist pilots in the detection of objects in degraded visual environments, such as fog, or potential land-based obstructions.
The Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act has passed the Senate. The legislation, cosponsored by Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Technology, to conduct a study of the effects of the digital economy and the adoption of broadband deployment on the US economy. The Secretary will consider broadband deployment and adoption of digital-enabling infrastructure, e-commerce and platform-enabled peer-to-peer commerce, and the production and consumption of digital media. The Secretary may consult representatives of business, including rural and urban internet service providers and telecommunications infrastructure providers; state, local, and Tribal government agencies; and consumer and community organizations.
As part of its 2015 merger with DirecTV, the Federal Communications Commission required that AT&T expand its deployment of high-speed, fiber-optic broadband internet service to 12.5 million customer locations, as well as to E-rate eligible schools and libraries, by July 2019. Consider that done, said AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan; AT&T now has a large inventory of fiber-based assets that it can sell to, and that the build-out actually reached 14.5 million customer locations.
"That's behind us now," Donovan said of the merger commitment. "We'll continue to invest in fiber but we'll do it based on the incremental, economic case. We're not running to any household target."
Gov Janet Mills (D-ME) signed the nation’s toughest internet privacy protection bill into law. The new law requires customers to proactively allow internet service providers to use their personal data. It prevents the use, sale or distribution of a customer’s personal information by providers without the express consent of the customer. Other states have internet privacy laws, but they require customers to opt-out of having their personal data used by internet service providers. "With this common-sense law, Maine people can access the internet with the knowledge and comfort that their personal information cannot be bought or sold by their ISPs without their express approval," said Gov Mills. The bill is based on the broadband privacy rules adopted by the Tom Wheeler FCC in 2016 and repealed by Congress in 2017.
Benton Senior Fellow and former counsel to Chairman Wheeler Gigi Sohn said: "The cable and broadband industry sent a parade of high-powered and highly-paid Washington, DC-based lawyers to Augusta in an effort to defeat this bill, using the same arguments they used to kill the FCC’s sensible and popular 2016 broadband privacy rules. But Maine legislators believed that protecting their constituents’ privacy was paramount and moved expeditiously to do so. When the federal government stands down, the states must step up, and that is what Maine has done here. If the passage of this bill lights a fire under Congress to pass long overdue comprehensive data privacy legislation, there will be even more reason to celebrate today’s accomplishment."
The fundamental right to seek and disseminate information through an independent press is under attack, and part of the assault has come from an unexpected source. Elected leaders in many democracies, who should be press freedom’s staunchest defenders, have made explicit attempts to silence critical media voices and strengthen outlets that serve up favorable coverage. The trend is linked to a global decline in democracy itself: The erosion of press freedom is both a symptom of and a contributor to the breakdown of other democratic institutions and principles, a fact that makes it especially alarming. Key findings:
- Freedom of the media has been deteriorating around the world over the past decade.
- In some of the most influential democracies in the world, populist leaders have overseen concerted attempts to throttle the independence of the media sector.
- While the threats to global media freedom are real and concerning in their own right, their impact on the state of democracy is what makes them truly dangerous.
- Experience has shown, however, that press freedom can rebound from even lengthy stints of repression when given the opportunity. The basic desire for democratic liberties, including access to honest and fact-based journalism, can never be extinguished.
Legislation in the House and Senate would provide a temporary “safe harbor” — a four-year antitrust exemption for news publishers as they negotiate with Google and Facebook over how news content is used and how advertising dollars are distributed. While Google and Facebook gave media organizations new, and popular, ways to distribute their journalism, they also sucked up much of the advertising revenue. Meanwhile, the tech platforms benefited because they drew lucrative audiences for “content” — the journalism produced by local reporters who, as a rule, are hard-working and not well paid. It’s encouraging to see the newspaper publishers better organized and more aggressive than in the past. It’s even more encouraging to see senators and representatives understand the value that local newspapers bring to their constituents.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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Kevin Taglang
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