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Today, the FCC is holding its last Open Meeting of the summer. Here is the agenda. The meeting will first consider a Public Notice to establish two new Innovation Zones for experimental licenses in Boston, MA and Raleigh, NC to study wireless technology use cases and test integration with new technologies. The FCC will next consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) that would propose to adopt clarifications and revisions to the agency’s numbering rules, including requiring additional certifications and ownership disclosures for authorization of direct numbering access. The Commission will also hear a Third Report and Order that would authorize the agency’s private Governance Authority overseeing the STIR/SHAKEN framework to review and revoke a voice service provider’s participation in STIR/SHAKEN. The Order would further establish an appeals process and procedures for providers affected by a revocation. Additionally, the FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that would update the compensation methodology for the Internet Protocol Relay (“IP Relay), a form of Telecommunications Relay Service. Lastly, the FCC will consider an NPRM proposing to update the agency’s political programming rules, followed by a Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration that would grant three petitions for reconsideration of the Part 95 Personal Radio Services Rules Report and Order.

You will find more information about the most significant items after the break.…

Continue Reading FCC Closes Out the Summer With STIR/SHAKEN Revocation in August Open Meeting

Headlining the FCC’s next open meeting, scheduled for November 18 is an item to adopt proposed rules to reallocate the 5.9 GHz band. The FCC would repurpose the lower 45 megahertz of the band for unlicensed use, while retaining the upper portion of the band for Intelligent Transportation Systems (“ITS”) operations and transitioning to Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (“C-V2X”) technology. The Commission plans to seek additional comment on proposed technical rules for outdoor unlicensed use and on implementation timelines for transitioning to C-V2X. The November meeting will also consider two satellite items. The FCC plans to streamline its satellite licensing rules by creating an optional unified license system for satellite and earth station operations, and will propose a new allocation in the 17 GHz band for Fixed Satellite Service (“FSS”) space-to-Earth downlinks. Additionally, the Commission will propose expanding the contribution base for the Telecommunications Relay Services (“TRS”) Fund.

FCC regulatory will likely slow in the aftermath of the election and with an upcoming change in Administration. However, the Commission tees up two new rulemaking proceedings with the November agenda, signaling that the FCC may still be moving forward with policy initiatives  going into a transition period. You will find more details on the most significant November meeting items after the break:…

Continue Reading FCC Highlights Reallocating the 5.9 GHz Band at November Open Meeting

At its September 30 Open Meeting, the FCC took new steps to address costs and service quality related to its IP Captioned Telephone Services (IP CTS) program in a Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. IP CTS, a form of telecommunications relay service (TRS), allows individuals who have difficulty hearing but are speech-capable to use a telephone with an IP-enabled device to communicate over the Internet by simultaneously listening to and reading real-time captions of what th other party is saying.

The item adopted by the Commission builds on its earlier efforts to promote sustainability of the TRS fund, address potential waste, fraud, and abuse in the IP CTS program, and improve IP CTS service quality for users. These efforts began in a June 2018 order where the FCC adopted a new methodology to set compensation rates for IP CTS services based on a calculation of the costs to provide the services and new measures to limit incidents of unnecessary IP CTS use. At the same time, the Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment on potential new standards for the provision of those services. The FCC’s reforms continued in a November 2019 order, where the Commission expanded the TRS Fund contribution base for IP CTS to include intrastate, in addition to interstate, end-user revenues. Following that, in February 2019, the FCC created new rules requiring IP CTS providers to submit user registration information to the existing video relay service (VRS) Database to limit program access to only those determined to be eligible to use IP CTS. The instant Report & Order extends the compensation methodology adopted in June 2018 and the FNPRM proposes new standards to measure and test the quality of captioning based of the NOI responses and input from the Disability Advisory Committee.…

Continue Reading FCC Sets New Rates for IP CTS Compensation and Proposes New Minimum Service Standards

The FCC is slowing down from its busy summer going into August, with its next open meeting scheduled for August 6, 2020. Kicking off the meeting, the Commission anticipates adopting procedures for the auction of new flexible-use overlay licenses in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band (“C-band”), or Auction 107, which is scheduled to begin on December 8, 2020. The FCC would establish specific auction dates and procedures for the clock auction of 280 MHz of spectrum in the C-band. The agency will also consider an item on inmate calling services, responding to remands by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and proposing comprehensive rate reform for inmate calling services. The remainder of the agenda focuses on eliminating and streamlining existing FCC rules. Specifically, the Commission will consider two actions aimed at streamlining broadcast rules that would eliminate the radio duplication rule for AM stations and eliminate the common antenna siting rules for FM and TV broadcaster applicants and licensees. Finally, the Commission plans to repeal certain telecommunications relay service (“TRS”) rules that are no longer necessary given advances in technology since the rules were initially adopted.

You will find more details on the most significant August meeting items after the break:…

Continue Reading FCC Previews C-Band Auction Procedures and Inmate Calling Services Reform for August Open Meeting

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly unfolds, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been active to keep communications services available through various waivers, extensions, and other regulatory relief. Kelley Drye’s Communications Practice Group is tracking these actions and what they mean for communications service providers and their customers. CommLaw Monitor will provide regular updates to its analysis of the latest regulatory and legislative actions impacting your business and the communications industry. Click on the “COVID-19” blog category for previous updates.

If you have any urgent questions, please contact your usual Kelley Drye attorney or any member of the Communications Practice Group. For more information on other aspects of the federal and state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as labor and employment and other issues, please visit Kelley Drye’s COVID-19 Response Resource Center.…

Continue Reading COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know – June 29, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly unfolds, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been active to keep communications services available through various waivers, extensions, and other regulatory relief. Kelley Drye’s Communications Practice Group is tracking these actions and what they mean for communications service providers and their customers. CommLaw Monitor will provide regular updates to its analysis of the latest regulatory and legislative actions impacting your business and the communications industry. Click on the “COVID-19” blog category for previous updates.

If you have any urgent questions, please contact your usual Kelley Drye attorney or any member of the Communications Practice Group. For more information on other aspects of the federal and state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as labor and employment and other issues, please visit Kelley Drye’s COVID-19 Response Resource Center.…

Continue Reading COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know – May 18, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly unfolds, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been active to keep communications services available through various waivers, extensions, and other regulatory relief. Kelley Drye’s Communications Practice Group is tracking these actions and what they mean for communications service providers and their customers. CommLaw Monitor will provide regular updates to its analysis of the latest regulatory and legislative actions impacting your business and the communications industry. Click on the “COVID-19” blog category for previous updates.

If you have any urgent questions, please contact your usual Kelley Drye attorney or any member of the Communications Practice Group. For more information on other aspects of the federal and state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as labor and employment and other issues, please visit Kelley Drye’s COVID-19 Response Resource Center.…

Continue Reading COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know – April 27, 2020

As COVID-19 has reached pandemic levels, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been active to keep communications services available through various waivers and actions. Kelley Drye’s Communications practice group is tracking these actions and what they mean for communications service providers. CommLaw Monitor will provide regular updates to its analysis of the latest regulatory and legislative actions impacting your business. Subscribe to receive these alerts.

If you have any questions, please contact your usual Kelley Drye attorney or any member of the Communications Practice Group. For more information on labor, advertising, and other issues, visit Kelley Drye’s COVID-19 Response Resource Center.…

Continue Reading COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know

At its Open Meeting on January 30, the FCC adopted a Report and Order (“Order”) making video relay service (“VRS”) calls that use communications assistants (“CAs”) that work from home (as opposed to at a call center) eligible for compensation from the Telecommunications Relay Service (“TRS”) Fund. According to the FCC, this change will afford VRS providers more flexibility in the type of CAs they can employ, which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this service for consumers with hearing or speech disabilities. All VRS providers must comply with new safeguards and any applicants to be a VRS provider will need to request authorization to use at-home CAs and include a proposed compliance plan.
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Continue Reading FCC Makes Remote VRS Call Assistants Pilot Program Permanent

At its November Open Meeting, the FCC approved a Report and Order (“Order”) that expands the contribution base for IP captioned telephone service (“CTS”), supported by the telecommunications relay service (“TRS”) Fund, to include intrastate voice communications services. Currently, only interstate voice providers (telecommunications and VoIP) are required to contribute a portion of their end-user revenues to support the TRS Fund. The Order extends that responsibility to providers with intrastate revenues. This rule change, which will be effective for the TRS Fund Year 2020-21, is intended to address an imbalance in the financial obligation on interstate versus intrastate voice providers to support IP CTS costs, which has experienced an approximately $745 million increase from 2013 to the current funding year.
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Continue Reading TRS Fund Contributors to Pay on Intrastate Revenues to Support IP Captioned Telephone Service