NARUC Panel Tackles Robocalling and Spoofing

This week, at NARUC’s Annual Conference in California, I spoke on a panel addressing an important consumer issue: Robocalling. These unwanted, automatic calls ring on our landline phones, and now increasingly on our wireless phones. The NARUC panel presented the consumer issues with these calls, solutions to combat the calls that have been proposed by industry, and the tools that are available today to help stop the calls.

My remarks focused on the added problem that spoofing creates: the ability to have a number appear in your caller ID that is a local, familiar number when the caller could actually be from out of the country. Spoofing has been used quite effectively in a number of scams, including IRS scam, when robocalls were made to consumers and then number appeared to be from Washington, D.C. The callers stated they were from the IRS and the consumer owed money in back taxes. This is just one of many unfortunate forms of illegal robocalling that preyed on consumers.

AT&T’s Linda Vanderloop spoke about the industry-led Robocall Strike Force that is working with the FCC to find technical network solutions to stop robocalling. The Strike Force issued a report to the FCC a few weeks ago with the progress they have made thus far and they will continue their work over the next six months. Mike Brady from Comcast, described how effective call blocker tools are at stopping robocalling, and described one service called “Nomorobo” that has been found to be helpful to consumers. Brent Struthers of Neustar spoke about some other technical solutions that will be on the horizon, including enhanced caller ID that will provide consumers with much more detailed information to help eliminate confusion.

Finally, I believe there needs to be an emphasis on consumer education and awareness. An informed consumer is the best defense again robocall scams. For more information about tips and tools to help stop robocalls, check out the FCC’s new page: www.fcc.gov/unwanted-calls.

Global Growth of Mobile Internet Usage

I recently read about a new report from Zenith’s Mobile Advertising Forecasts regarding global mobile usage. The surprising country that tops the list for greatest mobile Internet usage is Spain. With 85% of mobile usage in the country coming from smartphones, it exceeds Hong Kong (79%) and China (with (76%). The U.S. is next with 74% and then Italy and India, respectively each with 73%.

The most interesting overall statistic is that mobile Internet usage globally is at 75% this year, compared to 40% in 2012, a significant increase. This increase over the past four years has been due to an increase in smartphone ownership. The report indicates that globally there are now 56% of people who have smartphones compared with 23% in 2012. In some countries, smartphone ownership rates are quite high (92% in Ireland and 91% in Singapore) and are expected to reach significant rates by the year 2018.  For example, by 2018, 94% of people in Ireland are expected to own smartphones and adoption rates are expected to reach 92% in both Singapore and Switzerland.

I think it’s important to consider these exploding adoption rates of smartphones globally, because there will be an increase in mobile data usage and an ongoing need for more spectrum.

AT&T-Time Warner Merger and Zero-Rating

An article in the Wall Street Journal, “AT&T-Time Warner Deal Stokes Debate Over ‘Zero Rating’,” focuses on what is likely to be a big topic of discussion around the AT&T-Time Warner Merger: zero rating, or free data.

Free data offerings are relatively new practices that have been enacted by a number of providers to allow consumers to stream some services without them counting against their monthly data allotment. The practice has been hugely popular with consumers and has been viewed by many as a tangible consumer benefit. A CTIA-commissioned poll showed that consumers in all age groups are strongly interested in free data services that do not count against a wireless customer’s monthly data allotment.

As the WSJ points out, the opportunity for new offerings, including additional free data programs, as a result of the AT&T-Time Warner deal may result in regulatory scrutiny. The FCC has indicated that it will review zero-rating offerings on a case-by-case basis to ensure they do not have a negative impact on competition and do not run counter to net neutrality rules. However, at a press conference in November Chairman Wheeler himself pointed out that one example of free data programs, T-Mobile’s BingeOn, is “highly innovative and highly competitive.”

For consumers, zero-rating offerings provide an opportunity to expand their experience with online services. The opportunity for innovation in this space is unlimited and consumers, particularly those in low-income communities who can least afford to exceed data caps, will be the greatest of the beneficiaries. The Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC) released a report in May describing the ways these plans are pro-minority consumers in which they argue the programs themselves are premised on the fact that intense competition among device, content, and network providers will bring a more “affordable connection to the future” for consumers.

It remains to be seen whether free data offerings will be relevant in the context of the AT&T Time Warner merger, but in the meantime it is no secret that consumers benefit from and have been very receptive to these offerings. For that reason, we should remain open and amenable to these free data programs.

Smart Cities in the Age of 5G

Yesterday I attended an event that focused on innovation in our urban centers, “Smart Cities in the Age of 5G.” Georgetown University’s Center for Business and Public Policy partnered with the Wireless Technology Association to host the program. Peter Rysavy of the Wireless Technology Association opened with remarks on the importance of dedicating thoughtful discussion to the next generation of wireless technology, 5G, and innovation in our cities.

Eric Dresselhuys of Silver Spring Networks, the keynote presenter, spoke of the incredible opportunities of smart cities, “to be able to connect everything.’ There are a number of challenges to be addressed that include the longevity of assets, security (ensuring security and privacy of network/connections), extensibility (how to create platforms that can extend from one thing to another) and, of course, reliability.  Dresselhuys spoke about the more than 500 smart city projects happening in 16 countries around the world and highlighted some of the activities in Copenhagen and Paris.

In these cities, there have been immense financial and environmental benefits from smart lighting projects and other smart technologies. Smart city plans include smart lighting, parking place detection, gas and water meters, traffic monitoring, streetlights, energy meters, and many other services to come with 5G. Dresselhuys offered three steps for cities to consider to become “smart.” He said they need to be create a vision, prioritize infrastructure modernization with cost/benefit and livability, and focus on initial applications you can grow.

Finally, he provided the important policy implications for how to support and promote smart cities. He said they must enable innovation by making spectrum available, focus legislation of what we want, not the “how,” fund the efforts, and share best practices and ideas as much as possible. I think it’s always important to consider policy – what is and is not helpful – to promote innovation and, in this case the future of smart cities. It was interesting to consider the programs that are already happening in our urban centers, and to also think about what greater benefits are ahead with 5G.

Robocall Strikeforce Reports to FCC

This week, there was a second meeting of the Robocall Strike Force at the FCC. At this meeting, a 47 page report was presented to the FCC, with short and long-term solutions for working on addressing the problems with robocalls, and the steps to take to stop this persistent problem for consumers. At the meeting, AT&T Chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson, who has chaired the Strike Force, spoke about the progress that has been made already and the progress the Strike Force hopes to continue to make.

The Strike Force report included a couple of notable steps that were already taken to help stop troublesome robocalls. First, the Strike Force discussed a trial to stop spoofing that involved 11 companies halting fake IRS calls. It was successful at reducing the spoofed calls and now the Strike Force is asking more companies to participate in the effort. Secondly, the FCC has created a page on its website to provide some consumer information on unwanted robocalls. The page, Stop Unwanted Calls, Texts and Faxes, offers some practical information, as well as steps consumers can take for further action against the pesky calls.

FCC Chairman Wheeler outlined the accomplishments of the Strike Force the steps they will continue to take in the coming months. The Chairman’s analysis can be found here. While there has already been much progress made during the two months of work by the Strike Force, clearly stopping unwanted robocalls is a significant challenge and the work is far from done.

Interested in viewing the complete Robocall Strike Force report? It is available here.