Telecom Alert: Wireless Emergency Alerts Rulemaking; 2.5 GHz Auction Licenses Removed; 911 Job Reclassification; RDOF Support Authorized [Vol. XIX, Issue 16]

Wireless Emergency Alerts Rulemaking

The FCC will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at its Open Meeting on April 21 seeking comment on how to improve the effectiveness of Wireless Emergency Alerts (“WEA”).  WEA has been used more than 61,000 times since its launce a decade ago to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations, through alerts on mobile devices.  Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on how participating providers should measure performance of WEA and ways to improve WEA’s reliability and speed.  For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).

Licenses Removed from 2.5 GHz Auction

Last week, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced that it removed 19 licenses from the inventory if its 2.5 GHz band auction (“Auction 108”) (Vol. XIX, Issue 13), which will commence in July.  The inventory released in March did not account for all canceled, terminated, or expired licenses that were granted waivers for late-filed renewals, and the Commission found 19 instances where county/channel block combinations had no unassigned spectrum.  Bidding in Auction 108 will begin on July 29, 2022, and parties may submit short-form applications between April 27 and May 10.  For more information, please contact Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).

Rosenworcel Supports 911 Job Reclassification

Last week, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote a letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) offering her support in reviewing the current employment classification of 911 professionals in the Standard Occupational Classification (“SOC”) system.  The SOC system is the federal statistical standard used by federal agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.  911 professionals have historically been classified as an “Office and Administrative Support Occupation,” but Chairwoman Rosenworcel suggests grouping them in the “Protective Service” category.

RDOF Support Authorized

The FCC issued a Public Notice last week authorizing support for 1,345 winning bids (Vol. XIX, Issue 14).  Applicants authorized in this round of authorizations must report their first set of location data by March 1, 2023 and continue to report this information by March 1 of each year until all build-out requirements are satisfied.  The Commission also granted a waiver of its rules to allow applicants to default on certain census blocks that raised concerns about whether funding in those areas would be the best use of funds.  For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186).