New York Pole Attachment Rules

The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) released a Notice Seeking Comments in response to a petition filed by CTIA – The Wireless Association seeking to update New York’s pole attachment policies.  The Petition asks the PSC to clarify that wireless carriers have the right to attach to utility pole and  to ensure that regulation of pole attachments applies “with equal force, in a non-discriminatory manner, to wireless facilities attached to utility poles,”. Comments are due August 1 and Reply Comments are due August 15, 2016. 

911 Outage Settlement

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau reached a $2.4 million settlement with General Communications, Inc. (GCI) to resolve an investigation into five 911 service outages occurring on the company’s wireless network in Alaska between 2008 and April 2016.  The Enforcement Bureau found that the outages prevented significant numbers of customers from reaching authorities when making 911 calls and that GCI did not provide timely notification of three of the outages to the affected 911 call centers or to the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System (“NORS”).

TCPA Declaratory Ruling

In a Declaratory Ruling released on July 5, the FCC clarified that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not apply to calls made by or on behalf of the federal government in the conduct of official government business, except when a call made by a contractor does not comply with the government’s instructions.  The ruling was issued in response to petitions filed by Broadnet Teleservices LLC, National Employment Network Association, and RTI International. 

Clinton on Pole Attachments and Broadband

Last week Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced her Tech & Innovation Agenda consisting of plans to deliver high-speed broadband to all Americans, laying the groundwork for the next generation of the Internet of Things, and strengthening cybersecurity.  The Agenda also includes plans to provide federal funding for rural broadband and seeks to reform regulatory barriers that allegedly restrain additional fiber and small-cell deployment on utility-poles. 

FCC Filing Fees

The FCC released an Order last week amending its rules to increase nominally the filing fees for applications filed with the FCC.  No change has been made to the FCC’s regulatory fees, which are paid in conjunction with application processing fees for most types of licenses.