Participants in a real-time text field trial "reported high satisfaction scores on the tested RTT technology," said Gallaudet University's Technology Access Program, Omnitor and the University of Wisconsin's Trace Center, in a report posted Friday in FCC docket 15-178. It covered a 2015 field trial of real-time text and its interoperability performed by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access across three different calling environments. The report also notes overviews of current deployment and standards for real-time text. Telecom carriers see RTT technology as an IP-based replacement for text telephony services. Cellular South is the latest carrier seeking a TTY waiver to use RTT (see 1511240009).

Two contenders for the GOP presidential nomination blasted net neutrality regulation in videos posted last week by a group called Protect Internet Freedom. The group’s website doesn’t list its funding or details of its formation. “The net neutrality rules promulgated by this administration along with the big businesses that stand to benefit are as good an example of crony capitalism as any,” former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said in one video. “Net neutrality proponents did a masterful job of marketing all this with the help of late night hosts and political spin, arguing it would level the Internet playing field. The truth, however, is that it will insert Washington bureaucracy and control into the 21st century’s greatest success story.” She argued that only big companies can handle the imposition of such regulations. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also criticized the FCC’s February order. “Calling it a utility or getting the government involved is exactly the wrong thing to do,” Paul said in another video. “I’m absolutely opposed to having the Internet considered to be a utility. I would undo every bit of it that’s done through executive order and I would try to keep the government’s tentacles and overreach out of the Internet.” Paul also criticized rival candidate Donald Trump for recently saying he's open to shutting down parts of the Internet for national security reasons. “The Internet’s about speech, and I don’t think we ought to be considering any candidate that wants to put impediments to freedom of speech,” Paul said.

Supporters of an FCC proposal to set aside vacant TV band channels in every market nationwide for unlicensed use after the TV incentive auction “have repeatedly ignored the dramatic policy shift it would represent and the associated harm it would cause,” NAB said in a letter filed at the FCC, reporting on meetings between NAB officials and aides to the commissioners. “The Commission’s proposal would, for the first time, remove channels within the TV band from TV use in favor of unlicensed use, and constrain broadcasters’ ability to meet a central tenet of the Communications Act: robust and ubiquitous service to the American people,” NAB said. The proposal would also be harmful for viewers across the country, “particularly in rural areas, who rely on [low-power] TV and translator service,” NAB said. In June, the FCC proposed to reserve at least one TV channel in every market in the U.S. for white spaces devices and wireless mics after the incentive auction and repacking (see 1506160043). NAB filed in docket 12-268.

Stations participating in the incentive auction and involved in pending transactions will need to take special steps since FCC registration numbers were frozen as of Dec. 8, the Incentive Auction Task Force announced in a public notice Thursday. Since FRNs are used to access the auction system, broadcasters involved in transactions that want to offer up the spectrum of their newly acquired stations have two options, the PN said. First, the purchaser could “contractually designate” the seller -- under whose FRN the sold stations would still be licensed -- as the purchaser’s bidding agent for the stations affected. Or, the parties could agree that the buyer will use the seller’s FRN in the auction, though this could give both parties access to the bidding data associated with that FRN, the PN said. A new FRN can be generated and assigned to the seller’s remaining stations, the PN said. FCC approval of any pending transactions will be conditioned on the parties’ express agreement to one of these options, the PN said. The agency isn’t liable for any information gained through the use of a shared FRN, and the parties are still subject to the quiet period communications prohibitions, the PN said.

The FCC fined Purple Communications $11.94 million for "improperly billing" the Telecommunications Relay Service Fund, which subsidizes services for persons with speech and hearing disabilities. "The Commission found that Purple sought and received millions in reimbursements from the TRS Fund and failed to reasonably verify over 40,000 'users' with obviously false names, including gibberish and profanities," an FCC news release said Friday. "As a result of Purple’s inadequate verification procedures, 'users' could have registered with names like ‘sdfsdf cicwcicw,’ 'Myname Yourname,' or 'Lot$a Money,' for which Purple could be reimbursed," it said. Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said any improper billing of a federal program is unlawful, "but it is particularly unconscionable when that money is diverted from providing service to consumers with real speech or hearing disabilities who need to be able to make phone calls." The commission found no reason to cancel or reduce a proposed penalty in a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture after reviewing Purple's response, an FCC order said. Commissioner Michael O'Rielly concurred in the action. A Purple representative had no immediate comment.

LifeLock agreed to pay $100 million to settle FTC charges that the company failed to act to protect users' data and continued to make deceptive claims about its identity theft protection services, violating a 2010 federal court order (see 1507210041). “That consumers paid [LifeLock] for help in protecting their sensitive personal information makes the charges in this case particularly troubling,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement Thursday. The commission approved the order 3-1, with Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen dissenting. Under the settlement, $68 million may be used to reimburse customers in a class-action lawsuit against the company and in settlements state attorneys general have negotiated on behalf of other consumers. It can't be used for any administrative or legal costs of the lawsuit. An FTC spokesman said the agency will use the remaining $32 million to provide redress to other consumers who weren't part of the class-action suit or state AG settlements. In a separate statement, Ohlhausen said the "record lacks a clear and convincing evidence that LifeLock failed to establish and maintain a comprehensive information security program designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of consumers' personal information." She said LifeLock's compliance with the payment card data security standard and other data security certifications undermined FTC staff's ability to clear the "high threshold" and succeed on the July contempt motion, which alleged LifeLock violated the 2010 order. LifeLock, which neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, said in a statement the allegations "are related to advertisements that we no longer run and policies that are no longer in place. The settlement does not require us to change any of our current products or practices. Furthermore, there is no evidence that LifeLock has ever had any of its customers' data stolen, and the FTC did not allege otherwise." The company said it has made "significant investments in our people, processes and systems" in recent years to address more complex and prevalent ID threats. The FTC said the settlement is the largest obtained by the commission in enforcing an order.

Despite reluctance in much of the rest of the world, the U.S. plans to plow ahead on making spectrum available for 5G "in a timely manner," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday. That the World Radiocommunication Conference-15 said it would look at bands above 6 GHz for 5G but not the 28 GHz band (see 1510230050) -- which had been an FCC priority -- "will not slow the activity in this country," Wheeler said as the commissioners heard a report on WRC-15, which wrapped up last month. Minus 28 GHz, the bands identified by WRC-19 and the bands part of the FCC spectrum frontiers NPRM have significant overlap, said International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre. Spectrum frontiers likely will be complete by WRC-19, she said. Identifying global allocations of spectrum is increasingly difficult, De La Torre said. Regional allocations "might be more realistic," she said: WRC footnotes denoting the policy of one or a small collection of nations are increasingly common.

NTCA clarified Thursday it believes the FCC can adopt a single order relatively soon to set the rules for giving rural rate-of-return carriers the option of receiving USF support based on a broadband cost model, fix a "stand-alone broadband problem," and adopt some other changes to legacy mechanisms. NTCA believes a second, later order would be needed, but not to nail down further model details; instead, it believes the FCC can make technical refinements to the model as it implements the first order -- including by conducting a "challenge process" to RLEC high-cost areas -- and addresses other issues, NTCA Senior Vice President-Policy Mike Romano told us Thursday. Romano was reacting to a Communications Daily story that said NTCA had proposed a "two-step path" for adopting a rate-of return model-based support option (see 1512160060). He acknowledged there was a "semantics" issue in how different phases and actions could be described. NTCA does believe the FCC should take more time to adopt an order on its proposed "bifurcated approach" to updating legacy rate-of-return USF support that would be available for RLECs not opting for model-based support, Romano said. NTCA believes a Further NPRM would be helpful on the bifurcated approach, but isn't necessary on the model, he said.

The White House confirmed it hired Ashkan Soltani, a privacy expert who until recently was the FTC's chief technologist (see 1512030034) and before that helped with The Washington Post's coverage of NSA document leaker Edward Snowden (see 1410290060). The Office of Science and Technology Policy hired Soltani as senior adviser to U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, who used to work for Google and tweeted about Soltani's hiring. "Ashkan will focus on consumer protection, big data, and privacy issues, including algorithmic accountability, data ethics, and data discrimination," an OSTP spokeswoman emailed Thursday. "Ashkan will also help with capacity building for technologists in government, including working with agencies to build career paths for technologists across government."

Charter Communications' low-cost broadband service it plans to offer low-income subscribers after consummating its purchases of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable will offer 30/4 Mbps speeds at $14.99/month, with modems at no cost, the company said in a news release Thursday. Eligibility for the service will be limited to families with students taking part in the National School Lunch Program and/or senior citizens who receive Supplemental Security Income program benefits. Current phone and video customers who meet one of the criteria can enroll, Charter said, though enrollees can't have had a Charter/BHN/TWC broadband subscription within 60 days before signing up. The company said it would begin offering the service within six months of the close of the $89.1 billion deals. Charter had promised expansion of broadband offerings for low-income subscribers as part of its acquisition (see 1506250039).