Howard Buskirk

A declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding, posted in Thursday’s Daily Digest, addresses objections by Commissioner Nathan Simington that the ruling was an “unlawful course of action.” Simington and Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented on the ruling, approved 3-2 last week (see 2310190056|). The commission added additional text clarifying its authority to make the change. “Accordingly, section 254(h)(1)(B) of the Communications Act authorizes the Commission to support the provision of communications services, including broadband, to schools and libraries for educational purposes, and this Declaratory Ruling fits squarely within that authority,” the final order says. The final version further clarifies commission authority in a new footnote. “Section 254(h)(1)(B) does not contain any reference to ‘classrooms,’ and thus the dissenters’ concerns that section 254(h)(2)(A) is limited to ‘access to advanced . . . services for . . . classrooms,’ are inapposite,” the footnote says: “Nevertheless, we also note that Congress declined to define ‘classrooms’ for this purpose, and recent history has shown that in today’s world, teaching and learning often occur outside of brick and mortar school buildings and thus ‘classroom’ may be interpreted more broadly.” The commission found that “the use of Wi-Fi on school buses to aid the many students who lack robust internet access at home similarly enhances eligible schools’ and libraries’ access to advanced telecommunications and information services.” The ruling includes written statements by the five commissioners.

Open radio access network supporters told the FCC the proposed 5G Fund should be seen as an opportunity to encourage the deployment of open networks, per comments posted this week in docket 20-32 (see 2310240046). The 5G Fund “presents a unique and critical opportunity for the FCC to reinvigorate U.S. technological leadership with Open RAN deployments using open and interoperable interfaces,” said Mavenir. ORAN is “ready for the U.S. market today,” already being deployed by Dish Network and Triangle Communications “and thus should be a key part of 5G Fund deployments given its cost savings and improved security benefits,” the ORAN company said. “The competitive, security, and innovation-related advantages of Open RAN are widely recognized, and DISH’s successful nationwide Open RAN deployment demonstrates that these benefits are not merely theoretical: they are being realized each day in the field,” Dish said. The FCC should use the 5G Fund to encourage the deployment of ORAN technologies, said US Ignite. ORAN “has the potential to bolster U.S. leadership in wireless technology, bolster the domestic telecommunications supply chain, and enhance national security,” US Ignite said: “Despite telecom networks being critical to our national security and economic development, there are no large U.S. radio equipment vendors in the marketplace, with only a handful of European and Asian vendors able to provide at-scale deployment of 5G networks globally.” ORAN is “poised to promote wireless network security while driving innovation, lowering costs, increasing vendor diversity and supply chain robustness, and enabling more flexible network architectures,” said the ARA Platform for Advanced Wireless Research at Iowa State University. ORAN is “of particular interest to rural America, not only because it can potentially reduce cost and thus is consistent with the Commission’s objective to efficiently and effectively distribute finite universal service support, but also because it reduces barrier[s] to innovation and can enable rural-focused wireless technology development and deployment,” ARA said.

AT&T, Dish Network, NCTA and public interest groups were among those to call on the FCC to revisit spectrum caps, in response to a September notice from the FCC (see 2309220064). Other comments saw the rulemaking as a waste of time for the agency. AT&T asked for a rulemaking two years ago, focused on mid-band holdings, but the FCC's questions go beyond what AT&T sought (see 2310060051).

T-Mobile remains at least two years ahead of its competition on the deployment of spectrum for 5G, CEO Mike Seivert told analysts Wednesday as the carrier announced Q3 results. T-Mobile said it added 850,000 postpaid smartphones in the quarter, with churn of 0.87%. The carrier also announced it now covers 300 million POPs with dedicated mid-band 5G, two months ahead of its target.

The FCC released drafts Wednesday on items it will address at the commissioners' Nov. 15 open meeting, headlined by digital discrimination rules and an order on providing survivors of domestic violence with safe and affordable access to communications. Other items on the agenda include the adoption of digital discrimination rules, the use of AI in fighting robocalls, SIM swap and port-out fraud and amateur radio changes. Commissioners will also consider a declaratory ruling and memorandum opinion in response to a 2022 petition by Minnesota Independent Equal Access Corp. (MIEAC) seeking relief from dominant carrier regulation of its interstate switched access service.

Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T told the FCC it should move with care on a 5G fund, especially given the perilous state of the USF. Groups representing small carriers said the fund is critical to connecting millions of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 20-32 in response to a Further NPRM approved by commissioners 4-0 in September (see 2309210035).

Verizon officials emphasized improvements in the company’s overall financial performance Tuesday, as the carrier reported Q3 earnings. Verizon lost 51,000 postpaid residential phone customers but picked up a net 151,000 business subscribers, for 100,000 total postpaid phone net adds in the quarter, above consensus estimates of 63,600. Verizon’s stock price increased sharply, closing up 9.17% for the day at $34.30.

The FCC will look at ways to use AI, machine learning and patterns of use to help identify fraud in robocalls and robotexts, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an AARP webinar Monday. The FCC will launch a proceeding this week, she said. AI can also potentially be used to simulate the voices of friends or family, and the FCC needs to understand those dangers, Rosenworcel said. One of the ways policymakers get “in front of” problems is by starting a proceeding, she said.

The final version of the FCC wireless emergency alerts order, approved by commissioners 5-0 last week (see 2310190056), contained a few tweaks over the draft. The order requires participating wireless providers to transmit emergency messages in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language. The order now requires participating carriers to update their WEA election information in a new database “biannually as we do with our Broadband Data Collection.” While the draft proposed updates within 30 days of any changes “we are persuaded” by CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association “that filing every 6 months (biannually) is consistent with our BDC requirements [and] would accomplish our goals without unduly burdening Participating … Providers,” the order says. In another change, the FCC now directs the Public Safety Bureau to seek comment on whether templates, to be installed on handsets to translate alerts into various languages, “can be made available on all devices.” The order adds a paragraph on how best to educate consumers on the availability of alerts in other languages. “Raising public awareness about this critical step is an important component of ensuring consumers are able to take advantage of multilingual alerts,” the order says: “Equally important is helping consumers understand how to set a WEA-capable device to a default language that enables them to receive multilingual alerts. We encourage all stakeholders involved in the distribution of WEA … to conduct outreach to educate the public about setting their WEA-capable devices to their preferred language to receive multilingual alerts.” The FCC also directs its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to publish a consumer guide. The order was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest.

AT&T reported 468,000 postpaid phone and 296,000 AT&T Fiber net adds in Q3, as it became the first of the major carriers to report. Other financial indicators were also mostly an improvement over last year. CEO John Stankey slammed the FCC’s expected vote later that day approving an NPRM on net neutrality (see 2310190020), suggesting policymakers should address other problems. “Why we would use taxpayer money and resources and political capital to chase a problem that doesn't exist is a bit of a mystery to me,” Stankey said Thursday.