Today:  FCC Open Meeting Tentative Agenda for June Meeting, Chairman Pai Blog on Supporting our Public Safety Heroes

FCC Open Meeting - Tentative Agenda For June Meeting

The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its June 22, 2017, Open Meeting.  The following items were included:

• New Emergency Alert System Event Code For Blue Alerts: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would amend the Commission’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules to add a dedicated event code, “BLU,” for Blue Alerts, so that EAS alerts can deliver actionable information to the public when a law enforcement officer is killed, seriously injured, missing in connection with his or her official duties, or if there is an imminent and credible threat to a law enforcement officer.
• First Responder Network Authority: A Report and Order that establishes the procedures and standards the Commission will use to review alternative plans submitted by states seeking to "opt-out" of the FirstNet network and to build their own Radio Access Networks that are interoperable with FirstNet.
• Exemption to Calling Number Identification Service: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would amend the Caller ID rules to allow disclosure of blocked Caller ID information to aid law enforcement in investigating threatening calls and continue the waiver of those rules that is currently in effect for Jewish Community Centers.
• OneWeb Market Access Request: An Order and Declaratory Ruling that recommends granting OneWeb’s request to be permitted to access the U.S. market using its proposed global non-geostationary satellite constellation for the provision of broadband communications services in the United States.
• Improving Competitive Broadband Access to Multiple Tenant Environments: A Notice of Inquiry that seeks comment on ways to facilitate greater consumer choice and enhance broadband deployment in multiple tenant environments such as apartment buildings, condominium buildings, shopping malls, or cooperatives.  The Notice of Inquiry further seeks comment on the current state of broadband competition in such locations and whether additional Commission action in this area is warranted to eliminate or reduce barriers faced by broadband providers that seek to serve the occupants of multiple tenant environments.
• Electronic Annual Notice Declaratory Ruling: A Declaratory Ruling which would clarify that the “written information” that cable operators must provide to their subscribers via annual notices pursuant to Section 76.1602(b) of the Commission’s rules may be provided via e-mail.
• Modernization of Payphone Compensation Rules: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that (1) proposes to eliminate the requirement that carriers that complete payphone calls conduct an annual audit of their payphone call tracking systems and file an associated annual audit report with the Commission, and (2) waives the annual audit and associated reporting requirement for 2017.

The FCC will also consider an (unspecified) enforcement action.

Chairman Pai Blog on “Supporting our Public Safety Heroes”

In connection with the release of the Open Meeting agenda, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai posted a blog noting that June was Public Safety Month at the FCC and highlighting the three public safety issues on the agenda.  The blog also mentions the other items on the agenda and includes his prediction as to who will win the NBA championship: “As we head into summer, millions of Americans will be watching their favorite heroes on the silver screen (paging Wonder Woman), the basketball court (my prediction: Golden State over Cleveland in 7), and elsewhere.  But let’s also remember those less-heralded heroes who make sacrifices every day on our behalf, especially the men and women in law enforcement who put on the uniform and put their lives on the line for us.  During Public Safety Month in June, I’m proud that the FCC will be honoring that commitment.”

___________________________________________________________________

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.

See demo of the Switched Access Rates Database below!