Telecommunication

As expected, the Democratic leaders on the House Communications Subcommittee used the Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to hammer FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over policies and actions with which they strongly disagree. In his opening statement, Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) said Chairman Pai had yet to explain to Congress or the American people what it was doing about mobile carriers sharing real-time geolocation data. He also slammed the inaccurate and deeply flawed broadband deployment data, old and faulty business broadband data, and warned the FCC not to act on a USTelecom forb

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a package of fatally flawed plans that would fundamentally undercut Lifeline. May 15's FCC oversight hearing is an opportunity for Congress to hold the agency accountable for its disastrous proposals. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing bold action to help consumers block unwanted robocalls. He has circulated a declaratory ruling that, if adopted, would allow phone companies to block unwanted calls to their customers by default. In addition, companies could allow consumers to block calls not on their own contact list.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced another significant step in ensuring implementation of more reliable caller ID information to combat malicious spoofed robocalls. Chairman Pai expects major phone companies to implement SHAKEN/STIR caller ID authentication standards in 2019, and he will host a summit on July 11, 2019 to examine industry’s progress toward meeting this deadline. The summit will also identify any challenges to deployment of the SHAKEN/STIR framework and discuss how best to overcome them. 

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to improve Video Relay Service (VRS), which enables people with hearing and speech disabilities who use sign language to make telephone calls over broadband with a videophone. The FCC also takes steps to safeguard the program from waste, fraud, and abuse. Today’s action will expand VRS users’ access to direct video communications with people who know sign language by enabling direct video calling between VRS users and customer support call centers in appropriate circumstances.

On March 13, 2019, Sens Tina Smith (D-MN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai requesting an investigation into the business practices of Frontier Communications Corporation, and its subsidiary Citizens Telecommunications Company of Minnesota, LLC. In 2018, hundreds of consumer complaints across the state prompted the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to request the Minnesota Department of Commerce (Department) to open an investigation into Frontier's quality of internet and telephone service, billing practices, and customer service.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging the FCC to deny a petition by the ITTA-Voice of America’s Broadband Providers that would permit carriers to display Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund contributions on customer bills. TRS ensures persons with hearing or speech disabilities are able to use necessary telephone services at no additional cost to an individual consumer.

As the House Commerce Commerce settles in after the latest recess, Telecommunication Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) has been talking up Democrats’ near-term tech and telecom policy plans. He and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) both reaffirmed their plans to soon bring in Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission commissioners before their respective subpanels for separate hearings (the telecom panel was eyeing May 15 for an FCC oversight hearing).

The House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on more than six robocall bills, and there was bipartisan momentum for action. Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH), author of one of the bills, talked up the Republican take on robocalls, which is to empower more info sharing between companies and the Federal Communications Commission, provide access to blocking technology, and to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate robocalls.