Today:  US Congress CPNI Hearing, FCC 1Q 2018 Inflation Adjustment for Cable Operators, FCC Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process 

US Congress CPNI Hearing

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), announced it will hold a hearing on  July 11, 2018 entitled, “Protecting Customer Proprietary Network Information in the Internet Age.”  Under the Communications Act of 1996, telecommunications carriers must protect the confidentiality of customer proprietary network information (CPNI), the personal information that consumers relay when communicating over telecommunications networks.  However, consumers today communicate across many other types of networks via apps, and online platforms and services.  The #SubCommTech will discuss the changing digital landscape and how that has diversified the range of entities that have access to information that would be classified as CPNI in the hands of a telecommunications carrier. 

“In 1996, Congress recognized the importance of protecting consumers’ privacy when using the primary method for communication at the time: telecommunications networks. Much has changed in 22 years, and consumers are using all types of networks to connect with family and friends. It’s critical that consumers’ personal information is protected no matter what kind of network they’re using. Next week’s hearing will be an important opportunity to check-in on the confidentiality of CPNI in the internet age,” said #SubCommTech Chairman Blackburn.

FCC Releases 1Q 2018 Inflation Adjustment for Cable Operators

The FCC announced the most recent inflation adjustment factors for cable operators.  For operators filing quarterly using FCC Form 1240, the 1Q18 inflation factor is 2.20%.  Operators calculating the Inflation Factor for a True-Up Period that includes some portion of the 4Q17 should enter the inflation factor on the appropriate lines of Worksheet 1 of FCC Form 1240 as “0.0220.” Operators using this factor for calculating the Projected Period Inflation Segment of FCC Form 1240 should enter this number on Line C3 (January 1996 version), or Line C5 (July 1996 version) as “1.0220.”

FCC Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process

The FCC provided an additional update about the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge process.  It reported that, as of June 30, 2018, a total of 80 entities have access to the Universal Service Administrator Company (USAC) MF-II Challenge Process Portal to participate in the MF-II challenge process.  Of these entities, 37 are mobile service providers required to file Form 477 data; 13 are state government entities; 14 are local government entities; 12 are Tribal government entities; and four are other entities that have filed petitions requesting, and have each been granted, a waiver to participate. To date, challengers have submitted data including 399,390 speed tests.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.