VOL. 13, NO. 43
October 30, 2017
UPCOMING EVENTS

February 7, 2018

February 8, 2018
INCOMPAS Members Only Meetings
Washington, D.C.

MEMBER NEWS



RFP DEADLINES

November 16
FCC DEADLINES
November 7

November 9

November 13

November 15 

December 15
House to Hold Hearing on Net Neutrality and the Role of Antitrust
On Wednesday, November 1 at 10 a.m., the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on Net Neutrality and the Role of Antitrust.

Witnesses include:
  • Maureen Ohlhausen, Acting Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
  • Michael Romano, Senior Vice President of Industry Affairs & Business Development, NTCA (The Rural Broadband Association)
  • Terrell McSweeny, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
  • Robert McDowell, Former Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
FCC Addresses Number Portability, Wireless Investment
at October Open Meeting
At its October Open Meeting last week, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comment on the regulatory and technological changes that would be required to implement complete nationwide number portability between all service providers, regardless of size or type. Because the transition to complete nationwide number portability will require extensive work, collaboration and support by all parties involved, the Notice proposes taking an incremental approach.

Other actions at the Open Meeting included:
  • Exemption to Calling Number Identification Service - In a press release, the FCC detailed its draft Report and Order that creates an exemption to a rule prohibiting carriers from disclosing caller ID information and enables law enforcement authorities - under specific circumstances - to access blocked caller ID information when needed to identify threatening callers.
  • Promoting Investment in the 3550-3700 MHz Band - The Commission has released an NPRM that proposes to revise rules in the 3.5 GHz (Citizen Broadband Radio Service) band. Specifically, the NPRM seeks significant changes to the rules governing the second service tier (Priority Access Licensees) of the three-tier spectrum sharing framework.
FCC Releases Tentative Agenda for November 16 Open Meeting 
The FCC released the tentative agenda for the its November Open Meeting, which includes:
  • Blocking Unlawful Robocalls - The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would expressly authorize voice service providers to block certain types of robocalls that falsely appear to be from telephone numbers that do not or cannot make outgoing calls. It also would prohibit voice service providers from blocking 911 calls under these rules, encourage voice service providers to provide a mechanism to allow subscribers whose legitimate calls are blocked in error to stop such blocking, and clarify that providers may exclude calls blocked under these rules from their call completion reports.
  • Spectrum Bands Above 24 GHz - The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration and Memorandum Opinion and Order that would make available 1,700 MHz of additional high-frequency spectrum for flexible terrestrial wireless use; provide 4 gigahertz for core satellite use; and adopt, refine or affirm a number of service rules to promote robust deployment in these bands, and a Second FNPRM seeking comment on certain related earth station, buildout and licensing issues.
  • Replacement Utility Poles Report & Order - The Commission will consider a Report and Order to eliminate the requirement for historic preservation review where utility poles are replaced with substantially identical poles that can support antennas or other wireless communications equipment, and to consolidate the Commission's historic preservation review rules into a single rule.
  • Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment - The Commission will consider a Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, and FNPRM and Order that will revise and seek comment on further changes to the Commission's pole attachment rules, network change disclosure processes and section 214(a) discontinuance processes to remove barriers to infrastructure investment and promote broadband deployment. It also will seek comment on taking targeted actions to facilitate rebuilding and repairing broadband infrastructure after natural disasters.
  • Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers - The Commission will consider a Fourth Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, Memorandum Opinion and Order, NPRM and NOI to adopt and propose measures to effectively and efficiently bridge the digital divide for Lifeline subscribers and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program.
Other items on the agenda include a reconsideration of broadcast ownership rules, modernization of cable data collection and "next generation" broadcast television standard. Drafts of all items, as well as one-page summaries, are available on the FCC website.

The Open Meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 16 at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. It will be streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live.