The Regulatory Mix - Monday, July 18, 2016

The Regulatory Mix, TMI’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 a TMI Briefing.

FCC

Spectrum Frontiers Order

At its July 14, 2016, Open Meeting, the FCC adopted new rules for wireless broadband operations in frequencies above 24 GHz.  The rules are intended to facilitate the transition to 5G networks.  The FCC said its action makes the United States “the first country in the world to make this spectrum available for next generation wireless services. “  The new rules open up nearly 11 GHz of high-frequency spectrum for flexible, mobile, and fixed use wireless broadband: 3.85 GHz of licensed spectrum and 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum.  The rules also create a new Upper Microwave Flexible Use service in the 28 GHz (27.5-28.35 GHz), 37 GHz (37-38.6 GHz), and 39 GHz (38.6-40 GHz) bands, and a new unlicensed band at 64- 71 GHz.  The rules balance different spectrum access approaches, using exclusive use licensing, shared access, and unlicensed access to meet a variety of different needs and uses.  The Fact Sheet is available here.

The FCC also released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which seeks comment on proposal to apply similar flexible use service and technical rules to another 18 GHz of spectrum encompassing  eight additional high-frequency bands.  It seeks comment on a variety of other issues, including refinements to the performance requirements and mobile spectrum holdings policies, and the sharing framework adopted for the 37-37.6 GHz band. 

FCC Open Meeting - August

The FCC announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August 4, 2016, Open Commission Meeting:

1. A Report and Order that would convert the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) from a pilot to a permanent program.
2. A Report and Order that would implement changes to the scope of the wireless hearing aid compatibility rules.
3. An Order on Reconsideration, responding to a petition filed by Michael S. Hamden, that would ensure that the rates for Inmate Calling Services (ICS) are just, reasonable, and fair and explicitly account for facilities’ ICS-related costs.  (See ICS Rates below.)

ICS Rates

A separate Fact Sheet released by FCC Chairman Wheeler outlines his proposed response to Hamden’s petition.  Among other things, Hamden asked the FCC to allow a modest, per-minute facility cost-recovery fee to be added to the inmate calling service rate cap adopted in 2015.  (See the Regulatory Mix dated 3/21/16 and 3/25/16.  TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefings dated 3/7/16, 3/17/16 and 3/24/16). The Fact Sheet indicates that the proposed order will modify the permanent interstate and intrastate rate caps (now stayed by a federal court) to account for costs facilities incur in offering ICS, particularly the higher costs smaller institutions may face.  The proposed changes are as follows:

• 13¢/minute for debit/prepaid calls, in state or federal prisons (up from 11¢/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate);
• 19¢/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails with 1,000 or more inmates (up from 14¢/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate);
• 21¢/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails with 350-999 inmates (up from 16¢/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate)
• 31¢/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails of up to 349 inmates (up from 22¢/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate).Rates for collect calls (unspecified) would be slightly higher in the first year and would be phased down to these caps after a two-year transition period.

Rates for collect calls (unspecified) would be slightly higher in the first year and would be phased down to these caps after a two-year transition period.

 TMI Fall 2016 Telecom Regulatory Seminar & Workshop October 18 & 19 in Maitland, FL. Save the date.