Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the appointment of Henning Schulzrinne as Senior Advisor for Technology, based in the agency’s Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. Dr. Schulzrinne will take over as FCC Chief Technologist at the end of 2016, when the current Chief Technologist, Scott Jordan, leaves the agency.

Dr. Schulzrinne previously served as FCC Chief Technologist from 2011 to 2014, and has continued to serve the FCC as a part time advisor. He is Levy professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University. Schulzrinne received his undergraduate degree in economics and electrical engineering from the Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany, his MSEE degree as a Fulbright scholar from the University of Cincinnati (OH) and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (MA). He helped develop key protocols that enable voice-over-IP (VoIP) and other multimedia applications including the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Dr. Jordan, who will remain as FCC Chief Technologist until he leaves the agency in December, joined the FCC in 2014 from the University of California, Irvine, where he is a professor of computer science. He received his undergraduate degrees, as well as his Master’s Degree and Ph.D in electrical engineering and computer science, from the University of California, Berkeley. His research has focused on communications platforms, and differentiated services on the Internet.

On June 21, Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to express her support for strong consumer privacy rules for broadband Internet access service.

On August 23, Chairman Wheeler replied saying, “I agree that privacy should not be a luxury good reserved only for the wealthy. In the Commission's broadband privacy proposal, we have sought comment on business practices that offer customers financial inducements, such as discounted service rates, for their consent to use and share their information. The record developed in this proceeding reflects widely disparate views on this issue. Some commenters argue that these business models unfairly disadvantage low-income or vulnerable populations. Other commenters maintain that consumers, including low-income consumers, stand to benefit from the use and sharing of their information and should be given the opportunity to make that choice. As the Commission continues to examine the substantial record in the proceeding, I can assure you that we will carefully consider the risks and benefits of adopting rules regarding such practices with particular attention to the effect of these business models on low-income consumers.”

On June 27, Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler about emergency 911 services.

Sen Schumer wrote: “Recent events have demonstrated the need to access 911 dispatchers with more than traditional voice calls. In fact, during the Orlando shooting, many individuals were able to use their cell phones to text loved ones; however they were unable to text 911. The usefulness of an advanced 911 system in states where the technology exists demonstrates the substantial help it is for those with disabilities or in situations where initiating a voice call may be too dangerous. In areas where call centers experience high call volumes, 911 technologies like Next Generation (NG911), which supports voice, text, data, and video communication, can help overburdened emergency centers better handle their response.”

On August 23, Chairman Wheeler replied saying, “I agree that we collectively can do more to help the nation's PSAPs overcome the funding, planning, and operational challenges that are stalling the transition to NG911 , and I will continue to be an aggressive champion towards that end. In your letter, you urge the Commission to convene all the appropriate stakeholders to identify barriers to NG911 implementation and ways to speed up the process. We have already begun this task by convening our PSAP Task Force, which has brought together many of the nation's leading experts on 911 and NG911 , including practicing 911 professionals from state and local government, as well as representatives from public safety organizations, industry, consumer groups, and the federal government. Earlier this year, the Task Force issued a comprehensive report containing recommendations to help PSAPs migrate to Next Generation architecture, develop sustainable funding models, and provide cybersecurity protection to the 911 system as it transitions to IP-based technology. The Task Force is continuing to refine its recommendations and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to help implement them. In particular, we intend to expand our engagement to include local and state government leaders, including state legislators and governors, who are essential to making the NG911 transition happen in their states and communities.”

On July 22, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced the roll-out schedule for the new version of the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) platform. We also stated in the July 28 Public Notice that user profile information was moved to the new platform on August 1, 2016, and that August 31, 2016 would be the planned cutover date for filing NORS outage reports using the new platform. We have since concluded, based on discussions with communications providers that NORS users should migrate to the new platform during a cutover window in two steps.

In the first step beginning August 31, 2016, CenturyLink, Verizon, and T-Mobile will be moved to the new production system. When a company is moved to the new production system, the company’s NORS users will be required to file all outage reports using the new platform and will not be permitted to use the current platform. Before a company is moved to the new platform, NORS users from that company should continue to make all required filings under Part 4 in the current version of the NORS system. In the second step, the remaining companies will be migrated. The second step will be completed as soon as possible, but no later than September 30, 2016. The current NORS platform will not be available for filing of formal NORS reports after the completion of the second step.

This Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addresses the 758-769/788-799 MHz band, which the Federal Communications Commission licensed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) on a nationwide basis pursuant to the provisions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The Report and Order adopts rules intended to resolve the remaining questions posed in the 2013 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in these dockets. The FCC provides a mechanism to facilitate the relocation of the public safety narrowband incumbents currently operating on FirstNet’s spectrum. The FCC also affirmatively declines at this time to impose specific build-out requirements on FirstNet as a condition of renewal of its license. Rather, the FCC finds that the build-out obligations and specifications of the Act, coupled with the specifications of FirstNet’s recently released Request for Proposal (Final RFP), provide adequate milestones to ensure rural coverage while also providing both FirstNet and the states flexibility in terms of planning for optimal network coverage. The FCC will continue to monitor FirstNet’s buildout progress against these milestones, and expect that existing reporting obligations will be sufficient to allow the FCC to carry out its license renewal responsibilities.

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC opens a new proceeding to seek comment on proposed procedures for administering the state opt-out process as provided under the Public Safety Spectrum Act, as well as on its implementation of the specific statutory standards by which the FCC is obligated to evaluate state opt-out applications.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted on August 10 and released on Aug 25 its Second Report and Order, bringing to a close the 2010 and 2014 Quadrennial Review proceedings. The FCC maintains strong media ownership rules, takes steps to help promote small business participation in the broadcast industry, and adopts rules that will help to promote transparency in local television markets. The FCC found that the public interest is best served by retaining its existing rules, with some minor modifications.

The Federal Communications Commission denied a request by the Rural Wireless Association and NTCA: The Rural Broadband Association to suspend or slow the incentive spectrum auction in September while the organizations attend a pair of conferences.

"Suspending or reducing the bidding schedule for six full days could undermine our goal of promoting an efficient and successful auction process," said Margaret Wiener, chief of the auctions and spectrum access division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, adding there needs to be a compelling reason to do so.

Access to robust, affordable advanced telecommunications services, ought to be available to everyone — no matter who they are, no matter where they live. That is not only the core tenet of the #ConnectingCommunities tour I launched in April, it is one of the ‘prime directives’ of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. An invitation from Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) brought me to New Mexico, where I engaged in in-depth discussions about the successes and challenges that New Mexico and Navajo Nation face as they bring connectivity to their communities.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced his intention to appoint Paul de Sa as chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. de Sa will be returning to a leadership position he held under former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (“OSP”) – which includes economists, technologists, and lawyers – advises the Commissioners on policy initiatives, develops strategic plans, and helps identify the agency's policy objectives. It also provides research and analysis regarding emerging communications issues. From 2012 to 2016, de Sa was the senior analyst covering US telecommunications at Bernstein Research, where he published research on topics relevant for telecom and cable investors, including fixed and mobile broadband, spectrum, corporate strategy and competition.

de Sa was OSP chief from 2009 to 2012 and prior to that was a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Washington (DC) and Seoul offices, where he worked in the telecom/media, private equity and corporate finance practices. de Sa holds an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford, was a John F. Kennedy Memorial Scholar at MIT, and researched technology policy as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard.

de Sa will take over for Elizabeth Biley Andrion who has been serving as acting chief of OSP since January and plans to leave the Commission later this month. Jay Schwarz will continue as acting deputy chief.

In the hit Broadway musical Hamilton Eliza Schuyler sings, “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” Eliza, of course, is talking about the American Revolution. We can feel the same way about the revolution we are living through. Our revolution is a network revolution.

Driven by ever-evolving technology, the networks that connect us are changing…and the patterns of commerce and culture that depend on those connections are changing as a result. This is a time of incredible opportunity and reshaping. It is a time of testing. To be a part of it is a privilege. Charlie Firestone has asked me to forecast what lies ahead for this revolution and the FCC. Today, we stand in the shadow of those Americans who lived through their own network revolution. Just as they were, we are challenged to make sense of the new network realities. That is our test at the FCC. For the past almost eight years, the FCC has sought to confront network change head-on; to harness the network revolution to encourage economic growth, while standing with those who use the network as consumers and innovators. In that regard, the history of the network experience that preceded us is not some curiosity, it is a compass. I think of the lessons of the past as a “back azimuth,” a concept familiar to navigators in which a landmark in the rear is used to inform the path forward. In the communications technology space, our back azimuth is what I call the Network Compact: the responsibilities of those who build and operate networks. There are five components of the Network Compact: access, interconnection, consumer protection, public safety, and national security.