Today: FCC LNPA Transition, FCC Spectrum for IOT, U.S. Congress Budget Oversight Hearings  

FCC LNPA Transition

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai sent a letter to the parties to the Local Number Portability Administrator transition reminding them of their obligations to meet pending deadlines.  Specifically regional cutovers to the new LNPA are scheduled to begin on April 8, 2018, and complete May 25, 2018. The letter notes that the parties have yet to reach agreement on a contingency rollback plan.  Saying this is “unacceptable,” Pai said it was “imperative that the parties quickly reach agreement on a workable contingency rollback approach before regional cutovers are set to begin.  I expect all parties to carry out their transition and contractual responsibilities and obligations in good faith and to work cooperatively throughout the transition.”  The parties were directed to report the details of their agreement by February 16, 2018.

FCC on Spectrum for the Internet of Things (IoT)

FCC Chairman Pai responded to several Congressional letters asking for the FCC’s reaction to the Government Accountability Office’s report “INTERNET OF THINGS: FCC Should Track Growth To Ensure Sufficient Spectrum Remains Available”  The report recommended that the FCC track the growth in (1) high-bandwidth IoT devices and (2) IoT devices that rely on unlicensed spectrum.  FCC Chairman Pai assured members that the FCC is taking an all-of-the-above approach to spectrum and is striving to expand access in low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum to support licensed and unlicensed applications.  Pai noted that, in addition to IoT, Internet access, messaging, voice calling, video content, emergency services and a wide variety of applications contribute to the growing demand for spectrum.  He said that FCC staff relies on a variety of sources to determine overall spectrum trends and notes that simply knowing the numbers of high bandwidth “Things” produced or tracking the numbers of IoT devices that rely on unlicensed spectrum does not correlate in a meaningful way to the spectrum impact of such devices. Pai said the FCC is “continuing to provide spectrum under our flexible use policies that can be used for IoT and many other uses” and will “continue to track the growth and evolution of IoT as well as other wireless applications and ensure that IoT spectrum needs together with those of the many services supported by the nation's wireless infrastructure will continue to be met.”

U.S. Congress Budget Oversight Hearings

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) announced a series of hearings related to President Trump’s federal budget request.  The President’s request is expected to be released on February 12, 2018.  All FCC Commissioners will testify before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on February 16, 2018.

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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.