December 2020 News Update
FCC Releases 2020 Communications Marketplace Report
December 31, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has released the 2020 Communications Marketplace Report. The FCC is required to publish a communications marketplace report every two years. The 2020 Report begins by providing an assessment on the state of competition for mobile wireless, fixed broadband, voice, and video services. It then goes on to provide significant information on the following topics: assessment of broadband deployment; entry and expansion conditions in the communications marketplace; FCC actions already taken to close digital divide, enhance competition, and encourage deployment of communications services; and FCC agenda to further encourage investment, innovation, deployment, and competition. FCC Commissioners Carr, Rosenworcel, and Starks each released statements on the report.
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FCC Appoints Three New Members Of Federal-State Joint Board On Universal Service
December 30, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has appointed the following three individuals to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service:
The Honorable Michael A. Caron, Commissioner, Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
The Honorable Karen Charles Peterson, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable
The Honorable Brandon Presley, Commissioner, Mississippi Public Service Commission
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FCC Chairman Circulates Draft 12 GHz Band NPRM
December 29, 2020 – FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated to his fellow FCC Commissioners, a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if adopted, will seek comment on whether to allow terrestrial flexible use, including mobile services, in the 12.2 – 12.7 GHz band (12 GHz Band). Chairman Pai’s office released a fact sheet on the NPRM. Generally, the draft NPRM seeks comment on how to maximize efficient use of 500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the 12 GHz band. The NPRM seeks input on possible methods for assigning new flexible use rights in the 12 GHz Band while protecting incumbent users, and asks whether the costs of accommodating new services in the band would exceed the benefits.
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FCC Agenda For January 2021 Open Meeting Contains Only Presentations On Work During Pai Chairmanship
December 23, 2020 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, 2021. There will be no formal FCC orders. Instead, FCC Bureau, Office, and Task Force leaders will summarize the work their teams have done over the last four years in a series of presentations. These include the following:
Panel One – The Commission will hear presentations from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, International Bureau, Office of Engineering and Technology, and Office of Economics and Analytics.
Panel Two – The Commission will hear presentations from the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force.
Panel Three – The Commission will hear presentations from the Media Bureau and the Incentive Auction Task Force.
Panel Four – The Commission will hear presentations from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Enforcement Bureau, and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
Panel Five – The Commission will hear presentations from the Office of Communications Business Opportunities, Office of Managing Director, and Office of General Counsel.
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SEC Files Lawsuit Against Ripple For Unregistered Sale Of Digital Asset XRP
December 23, 2020 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an enforcement lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, CEO Bradley Garlinghouse, and Ripple Labs co-founder Christian A. Larsen, for the sale of digital assets known as XRP in a years-long unregistered securities offering to investors in the U.S. and worldwide.
Ripple Labs, founded in 2012, created the Ripple payments network, which is “a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network” that is intended to “improve the speed, cost and reliability” of cross-border payments. The Ripple network utilizes blockchain and digital asset technology, and supports fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodities, and other units of value. XRP is the native digital asset to the Ripple blockchain.
In the complaint, the SEC alleges that from at least 2013 through the present, the Defendants sold over 14.6 billion units of a XRP, in return for cash or other consideration worth over $1.38 billion U.S. Dollars, to fund Ripple’s operations and enrich Larsen and Garlinghouse. The SEC alleges that at all relevant times during the offerings and sales, XRP was an investment contract and therefore a security subject to the registration requirements of the federal securities laws, but the Defendants failed to register their offers and sales of XRP with the SEC as required by law, and no exemption from this requirement applied. Ultimately, the SEC claims the Defendants’ conduct violates Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a) and77e(c)). The SEC claims Larsen and Garlinghouse aided and abetted Ripple’s violations of the Securities Act provisions. The SEC’s complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. As for relief, the SEC is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
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FinCEN’s Proposed Cryptocurrency Regulations Target Unhosted Wallets
December 18, 2020 – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking which proposes new regulations that would require banks and money service businesses (MSBs) to submit reports, keep records, and verify the identity of customers in relation to transactions involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) or digital assets with legal tender status (LTDA) held in “unhosted wallets,” or held in wallets hosted in a problematic jurisdiction. There is a limited, 15-day public comment period on the NPRM. Comments may be submitted on or before January 4, 2021, using the Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, or via U.S. mail sent to Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Comments should reference Docket Number FINCEN-2020-0020 and RIN number 1506-AB47.
FinCEN is proposing the new regulations pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The proposed rules would adopt recordkeeping, verification, and reporting requirements for certain deposits, withdrawals, exchanges, or other payments or transfers of CVC or LTDA by, through, or to a bank or MSB that involve an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet.
The proposed rule would require banks and MSBs to file a report with FinCEN containing certain information related to a customer’s CVC or LTDA transaction and counterparty (including name and physical address), and to verify the identity of their customer, if a counterparty to the transaction is using an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet and the transaction is greater than $10,000 (or the transaction is one of multiple CVC transactions involving such counterparty wallets and the customer flowing through the bank or MSB within a 24-hour period that aggregate to value in or value out of greater than $10,000). Banks and MSBs will have 15 days from the date on which a reportable transaction occurs to file a report with FinCEN.
The proposed rule would require banks and MSBs to keep records of a customer’s CVC or LTDA transaction and counterparty, including verifying the identity of their customer, if a counterparty is using an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet and the transaction is greater than $3,000.
An unhosted wallet is a wallet not hosted by a third-party financial system. Covered wallets are defined as those wallets that are held at a financial institution that is not subject to the BSA and is located in a foreign jurisdiction identified by FinCEN on a List of Foreign Jurisdictions (initially jurisdictions of primary money laundering concern).
FinCEN claims “malign actors are increasingly using CVC to facilitate international terrorist financing, weapons proliferation, sanctions evasion, and transnational money laundering,” and other illegal activities such as the sale and purchase of illicit drugs and ransomware attacks. The new regulations are intended “to protect U.S. national security” from these threats. FinCEN has released a document covering Frequently Asked Questions related to the proposed rules.
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Lifeline Filing Reminder: FCC Form 555 Due February 1, 2021
December 17, 2020 – The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has announced that FCC Form 555 – Annual Lifeline ETC Certification Form – is now available for the 2020 filing in USAC’s E-File online portal. All companies that provide Lifeline service must file an FCC Form 555 by Monday, February 1, 2021, with USAC, the FCC, and relevant state and Tribal governments.
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Attorneys General Of 38 States File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
December 17, 2020 – A coalition of 38 states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that charges the Internet search giant with anticompetitive conduct in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. In their complaint, the states allege Google illegally maintains monopoly power over general search engines and related general search advertising markets through a series of anticompetitive contracts and conduct, which harms consumers and advertisers. As for relief, the states have asked the Court to cure any anticompetitive harm from Google’s conduct, prevent any future harm, and undo the continuing effects of past harm to competition. The states’ request for relief includes structural divestitures. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and includes a Motion to Consolidate seeking to combine the case with the pending U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google filed with the same Court. The DOJ’s lawsuit also alleges violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
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Texas & 9 Other States File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
December 16, 2020 – A coalition of 10 U.S. states, led by Texas, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. The states allege Google has monopolized or attempted to monopolize products and services used by advertisers and publishers in online-display advertising, and has engaged in false, misleading and deceptive acts while selling, buying and auctioning online-display ads. Google’s actions, the states allege, have diminished publishers’ ability to monetize content, increased advertisers’ costs to advertise and directly harmed consumers. The following states are plaintiffs: Texas, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Kentucky. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Stonepeak Purchasing Cable & Broadband Companies Owned By Radiate Holdings
December 16, 2020 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and International Bureau are seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by Radiate Holdings, L.P. and Stonepeak Associates IV LLC, seeking transfer of certain communications service providers owned by Radiate Holdings to Stonepeak. Comments are due on or before December 30, 2020, and reply comments are due January 6, 2021.
Radiate Holdings, a Delaware limited partnership, serves as the common parent entity for the following companies that provide cable, competitive telecommunications, and broadband services to over one million customers in multiple states: RCN Telecom Services (Lehigh) LLC; RCN Telecom Services of Philadelphia, LLC; RCN Telecom Services of New York, LP; RCN Telecom Services of Massachusetts, LLC; RCN Telecom Services of Illinois, LLC; Starpower Communications, LLC; Grande Communications Networks, LLC; Astound Broadband LLC; Astound Phone Service, LLC; ETS Telephone Company, Inc.; and ETS Cablevision, Inc. Together, these companies form the sixth largest cable operator in the U.S. while also operating as telecommunications service providers in ten states and the District of Columbia.
Stonepeak Associates IV LLC is a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with private equity funds managed by Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a specialized private equity firm that invests in strategically important infrastructure assets within the communications, energy, power, water, renewables, and transportation sectors.
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FCC Waiver Allows Rate-Of-Return Carriers To Include Actual Rates For Broadband-Only Lines For First Three Months Of 2019 On FCC Form 509
December 16, 2020 – On its own motion, the FCC has waived Sections 54.901 and 54.903 of its rules to allow rate-of-return carriers to include their actual rates for consumer broadband-only lines for the first three months of 2019 on their FCC Form 509, which must be filed by December 31, 2020. The waiver is intended to insulate rate-of-return carriers from excessive universal service support true-ups, which would unreasonably reduce the amounts of Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS) they receive. The CAF BLS mechanism supports standalone broadband service and the interstate portion of the common line. CAF BLS is paid preliminarily. First, rate-of-return carriers file FCC Form 508, a forecast of costs and revenues for the upcoming tariff year, and then they file FCC Form 509 at the end of the year to show actual cost and revenue data. The Universal Service Administrative Company uses the information to reconcile the amount of CAF-BLS each rate-of-return carrier received based on forecasted data. This is the third straight year the FCC has waived the rules governing the reporting of consumer broadband-only loop revenues on FCC Form 509.
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AST SpaceMobile To Go Public Via SPAC; Will Build Space-Based Cellular Broadband Network
December 16, 2020 – AST & Science LLC has announced it will become a publicly traded company after being acquired by New Providence Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The SPAC deal values AST & Science at $1.8 billion. AST & Science, LLC, a Texas-based manufacturer of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, will rebrand itself as AST SpaceMobile. The deal will help fund the company’s effort to construct a space-based cellular broadband network accessible by standard smartphones that “will provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet.” Additional information on AST SpaceMobile and its network are available on the company’s website. AST SpaceMobile filed a Petition For Declaratory Ruling in April 2020 with the FCC requesting approval for an LEO constellation that will provide fixed-satellite service and mobile-satellite service to fixed and mobile devices (smartphones) employing LTE communications architecture.
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Email Privacy Act Reintroduced In House
December 15, 2020 – Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and Rodney Davis (R-IL) have reintroduced the Email Privacy Act, legislation that would create privacy protections for emails. The Email Privacy Act, if passed, will amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). More specifically, it will amend three parts of Title II of ECPA, known as the Stored Communications Act, which are codified at Sections 2702, 2703, and 2705 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Generally, the bill prohibits service providers from voluntarily disclosing the contents of subscriber emails and information regarding subscriber accounts, and it establishes various procedures that a governmental entity must follow before it can compel a service provider to disclose a customer’s communications or records. The Email Privacy Act has been introduced unsuccessfully in the 115th, 114th, and 113th Congress. It was most recently introduced unsuccessfully in the 116th Congress as an amendment to a defense authorization bill.
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FCC Releases Report On Impact Of Broadband Penetration On U.S. Farm Productivity
December 15, 2020 – The FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytic has released a paper which evaluates the benefit of rural broadband development on the U.S. farming industry. Using FCC Form 477 data on broadband deployment and U.S. Department of Agriculture data on agricultural productivity, the report, Impact of Broadband Penetration on U.S. Farm Productivity, concludes that broadband availability has significant positive impacts on crop yields and other farm production metrics. Key findings by the Office of Economics and Analytic include the following:
Overall, there is evidence of crop yield improvements from increased broadband service penetration rates at thresholds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds.
A 1% increase in the number of 25+/3+ connections per 1,000 households is associated with a 3.6% increase in corn yields, as measured in bushels per acre.
There is evidence of cost savings at thresholds of 10 Mbps download and 0.768 Mbps upload speeds.
A 1% increase in the number of 10+/0.768+ connections per 1,000 households is associated with a 2.4% decrease in operating expenses per farm operation.
The paper provides an introductory look at changes in the composition and speed thresholds of connectivity available for selected field crops over time.
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FCC Clarifies Telephone Consumer Protection Act; Government Contractors Must Have Consent Before Robocalling Consumers
December 14, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued an Order On Reconsideration which revises past FCC interpretations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) related to customer consent. In short, the FCC’s Order on Reconsideration clarifies that contractors working for federal, state, or local governments, as well as local governments, must obtain consumer consent before robocalling consumers. Previously, the FCC interpreted the TCPA to exclude calls made by the federal government from the prior-express-consent requirements, and then extended that interpretation to contractors acting as agents of the federal government. Two organizations raised objections to this reading and sought reconsideration, arguing that federal contractors are “persons” under the TCPA and should be required to obtain prior express consent from consumers. The FCC has now changed course. In the Order On Reconsideration, the FCC has reversed its previous interpretations “to the extent that it provided that a federal contractor making calls on behalf of the government was not a ‘person’ subject to the restrictions in section 227(b)(1) of the TCPA.” Also, the FCC has clarified that “a state government caller making calls in the conduct of official government business is not a ‘person’ subject to section 227(b)(1) of the TCPA, while a state or local government contractor, like a federal contractor, is a ‘person’ and thus not exempt.” And last, the FCC has clarified that “a local government is a ‘person’ subject to the TCPA.”
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FTC Orders Social Media Companies To Provide Information On How They Collect Data From Users
December 14, 2020 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered nine social media and video streaming companies to provide data explaining how they collect, use, and present personal information, their advertising and user engagement practices, and how their practices affect children and teens. The orders were sent to Amazon.com, Inc.; ByteDance Ltd. (TikTok); Discord Inc.; Facebook, Inc.; Reddit, Inc.; Snap Inc.; Twitter, Inc.; WhatsApp Inc.; and YouTube LLC. The FTC is seeking information related to the following:
how the social media and video streaming services collect, use, track, estimate, or derive personal and demographic information;
how the services determine which ads and other content are shown to consumers;
whether the services apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information;
how the services measure, promote, and research user engagement; and
how the services’ practices affect children and teens.
The FTC issued the orders pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act – 15 U.S.C. § 46(b), which authorizes the FTC to conduct wide-ranging studies that do not have a specific law enforcement purpose. The companies must respond within 45 days from receiving the order. Draft copies of the orders and other related documents are available on the FTC’s website.
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CenturyLink Fined $500,000 For 911 Outage That Occurred In 2018
December 14, 2020 – The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has entered into a Consent Decree with CenturyLink, Inc. which resolves the Bureau’s investigation into whether CenturyLink violated Sections 9.4 and 9.5 the FCC’s rules in connection with a multistate outage experienced by CenturyLink on December 27-28, 2018. The outage occurred on one of CenturyLink’s transport networks and affected CenturyLink’s delivery of some 911 calls. As part of the settlement, CenturyLink will pay a $500,000 fine to the U.S. Treasury.
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USF Contribution Factor Skyrockets To 31.8 Percent – New All Time High
December 14, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Managing Director has announced that the proposed universal service fund (USF) contribution factor for the first quarter of 2021 will be 31.8 percent. This breaks the previous USF contribution factor record of 27.1 percent set during the fourth quarter of 2020. For the first quarter of 2021, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects $10.068713 billion in total interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues will be collected. USAC estimates that $2.407990 billion is needed to cover the total demand and expenses for all Federal universal service support mechanisms in the first quarter of 2021. If the FCC takes no action on the proposed USF contribution factor within 14 days, it will be declared approved. Historical information on quarterly universal service fund contribution factors is available online from the FCC.
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FCC Affirms Decision To Designate Huawei As National Security Threat
December 11, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Memorandum Opinion And Order which affirms the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau’s decision to designate Huawei Technologies Co., and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries a threat to the security of U.S. communications networks. In the November 2019 Protecting Against National Security Threats Order, the FCC adopted a rule that prospectively prohibits the use of universal service fund support to purchase or obtain any equipment or services produced or provided by a “covered company” posing a national security threat to the integrity of U.S. communications networks or the U.S. communications supply chain. The FCC initially designated Huawei and ZTE as covered companies and directed the PSHS Bureau to determine whether to issue final designations, which it did in June 2020. Huawei filed an application for review of the PSHS Bureau’s final designation. The FCC’s Memorandum Opinion And Order denies the request, and affirms the “determination that Huawei poses a threat to the security and integrity of [the] nation’s communications networks or the communications supply chain.”
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Dobson Technologies Purchasing Lavaca Tel. & Subsidiaries
December 9, 2020 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by Lavaca Telephone Company, Inc. d/b/a Pinnacle Communications (Lavaca) and Dobson Technologies, Inc. (Dobson) requesting consent to transfer control of Lavaca and its subsidiaries, Pinnacle Telecom, LLC and Vantage Telecom LLC d/b/a Pinnacle Telecom to Dobson. Comments are due on or before December 23, 2020, and reply comments are due December 30, 2020.
Lavaca, an Arkansas corporation, provides service as an incumbent local exchange carrier to approximately 1,748 access lines in the Lavaca exchange in rural western Arkansas and the Panama/Shady Point exchange in rural eastern Oklahoma. Pinnacle Telecom, an Arkansas LLC and wholly owned subsidiary of Lavaca, is authorized to provide service as a competitive LEC in Arkansas and in limited areas in Oklahoma. Pinnacle Telecom holds a 51% membership interest in Vantage Telecom, an Arkansas LLC, which provides service as a competitive LEC in Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as wholesale telecommunications services in Missouri.
Dobson is an Oklahoma-based, privately-owned telephony company. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Dobson owns and operates a 4,000-mile fiber optic network in Oklahoma and Texas, operates as an ILEC in western and eastern Oklahoma, and provides fiber-based CLEC services in Oklahoma and Texas. Pursuant to a November 2020 Equity Interest Purchase Agreement, Dobson will acquire all of the equity interests in Lavaca and, indirectly, its subsidiaries, including the minority shares in Vantage held by third parties.
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FTC & 46 States Bring Antitrust Lawsuit Against Facebook
December 9, 2020 – The Federal Trade Commission and 46 state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, alleging “the company is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.” In the FTC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court, the FTC alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy to eliminate threats to its social networking monopoly “by buying up companies that present competitive threats and by imposing restrictive policies that unjustifiably hinder actual or potential rivals that Facebook does not or cannot acquire.” As for relief, the FTC is seeking a permanent injunction that could, among other things, require Facebook to divest Instagram and WhatsApp; prohibit Facebook from imposing anticompetitive conditions on software developers; and require Facebook to seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions. In the state AGs’ complaint, the AGs allege Facebook has had monopoly power in the U.S. personal social networking market for almost a decade, and has illegally maintained that monopoly power “by deploying a buy-or-bury strategy that thwarts competition and harms both users and advertisers.” Only four states – Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and South Dakota – are not involved in the lawsuit.
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FCC Terminates TV White Space Vacant Channel Proceeding
December 8, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has released a Report And Order that terminates the TV White Space vacant channel proceeding. In a 2015 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC considered designating one vacant TV channel (6 MHz) throughout the U.S. for use by white space devices and wireless microphones. The FCC had expected that after the broadcast incentive auction and repack of the TV bands, there would be at least one unassigned channel in the UHF broadcast television band in all areas in the U.S. that could be available for shared use by white space devices and wireless microphone operations. White space device proponents such as Microsoft Corporation, Google, Inc., WISPA, the Wi-Fi Alliance, and CEA supported the proposal, while the broadcast industry opposed it. In the Report And Order, the FCC found that “[t]he spectrum landscape has changed significantly since 2015.” Notably, the FCC said numerous major metropolitan areas in the U.S. have no vacant, 6 MHz channels,” which undermines the goal of creating a nationwide vacant channel. Ultimately, the FCC concluded that preserving a vacant nationwide TV channel for unlicensed use “does not serve the public interest,” and “support of white space device and wireless microphone users is now more effectively being achieved through other Commission proceedings.”
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FCC Announces Winners Of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction
December 7, 2020 – The FCC has announced the winning bidders in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction – Auction 904. Bidding concluded on November 25, 2020. A list of the winning bidders is available here. An interactive map of the RDOF auction results is available on the Auction 904 web page at www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
There were 180 winning bidders, with the 10-year support amount totaling $9.23 billion and covering 5,220,833 locations in 49 states and one territory. Of the 5,295,771 locations in the 61,766 eligible census block groups, approximately 99% of the locations are covered by winning bids. Winning bids for downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps cover 99.7% of these locations, with over 85% of locations covered by winning bids for Gigabit speed service. A summary of the results by state is available here.
Winning bidders are required to submit a post-auction long-form application (FCC Form 683) no later than January 29, 2021. The Auction 904 long-form application filing instructions are available here. Winning bidders that wish to assign some or all of their winning bids to related entities must do so by December 22, 2020, using the Divide Winning Bids process. Additional information is available from the FCC’s Public Notice.
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FCC Allows Voice Service Providers To Block One-Ring Scam Calls
December 1, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued an Report And Order which implements Section 12 of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) to fight one-ring scams. Specifically, the Order expressly allows voice service providers to block calls from numbers that are highly likely to be associated with one-ring scams. Generally, a one-ring scam occurs when a consumer is robocalled, but the call is disconnecting after only one-ring which induces the consumer to call back. The consumer usually incurs toll charges because one-ring scam calls typically originate internationally, even though the caller ID shows a domestic number. Sometimes the scam involves a phony voicemail message urging a consumer to call back concerning an important question or issue. Terminating providers will not be required to give customers an opportunity to opt out of the blocking of one-ring scam calls. Additionally, the safe harbor for inadvertent blocking of wanted robocalls using reasonable analytics will be extended to one-ring scam call blocking.
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Logix Fiber Networks Dinged With $64,000 Fine For Failing To Comply With FCC Network Outage Reporting Requirements
December 1, 2020 – The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has entered into a Consent Decree with Logix Communications, LP. dba Logix Fiber Networks, which resolves the Bureau’s investigation into whether Logix timely filed required reports in the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS). Logix, a wireline communications provider, was notified by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau in April 2020 that it had failed to file the required Notification, Initial Report, and Final Report in connection with a reportable network outage that Logix experienced on January 5, 2020. Logix then submitted the reports, but the matter was referred to the Enforcement Bureau for investigation. The Consent Decree requires Logix to admit it failed to timely file the required network outage reports; implement a compliance plan to ensure future compliance; and will pay a $64,000 civil penalty.
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C-Band: FCC Releases Updated List Of Lump Sum Elections Submitted By FSS Incumbent Earth Stations, Shows 97.7% Accepted
December 1, 2020 – The FCC’s International Bureau has issued an updated table of lump sum elections made by of Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) incumbent earth stations operating in the C-Band (3.7 – 4.2 GHz). The updated information shows the International Bureau’s final disposition of lump sum elections that had been conditionally accepted on October 30, 2020, pending submission of corrective filings in the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS). There were 17 filings that were conditionally accepting, of which 16 have now been approved by the Bureau. To summarize, approximately 2,000 filings from more than 1,500 separate entities were submitted by the September 14, 2020, lump sum election deadline. The updated results show that the Bureau has accepted 1,476 out of a total of 1,510 lump sum elections, or 97.7% of all elections. The Bureau has denied 34 lump sum elections, or 2.3% of elections.
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C-Band: FCC Releases Updated List Of Incumbent FSS Earth Stations
December 1, 2020 – The FCC’s International Bureau has released an updated list of Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations in the C-Band (3.7 – 4.2 GHz) that qualify as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the FCC’s C-Band transition. The list contains updates made since the last release of incumbent earth stations on October 23, 2020, such as administrative changes, surrender notices, and antenna deletions made during the review of lump sum elections. Also, the updated list identifies incumbent earth stations that elected to receive lump sum C-Band transition payments and shows which earth station operators intend to migrate to the upper 200 megahertz of the C-Band by the end of the transition or discontinue C-Band operations.
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