D.C. Circuit Court Upholds Most of 2017 Net Neutrality Order; Vacates State Preemption

On October 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its per curiam decision on the appeal of the FCC’s 2017 net neutrality order, also known as the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. Although the court upheld the Order in large part, it vacated part and remanded part back to the FCC to address three issues in which it found the Order inadequate: “(1) The Order failed to examine the implications of its decisions for public safety; (2) the Order does not sufficiently explain what reclassification will mean for regulation of pole attachments; and (3) the agency did not adequately address Petitioners’ concerns about the effects of broadband reclassification on the Lifeline Program.” The court vacated that part of the Order pre-empting any state or local requirement that “would effectively impose rules or requirements that [the FCC] repealed or decided to refrain from imposing in this order or that would impose more stringent requirements for any aspect of broadband service that [the FCC] address[ed] in this order.”

The court upheld the FCC’s decisions to restore the classification of broadband Internet access service as a less regulated “information service;” reinstate the private mobile service classification of mobile broadband Internet access service; eliminate the Internet Conduct Standard and the Bright Line Rules; and adopt enhanced transparency requirements that mandated ISPs to disclose information about their practices to consumers, entrepreneurs, and the FCC.

Chairman Pai, alongside Commissioners O’Rielly and Carr, were pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the majority of the Order. Chairman Pai said, “Today’s decision is a victory for consumers, broadband deployment, and the free and open Internet. The court affirmed the FCC’s decision to repeal 1930s utility-style regulation of the Internet imposed by the prior Administration.” Commissioner O’Rielly said, “It is heartening to see a court get most of the decision correct. … At the same time, vacating the preemption provisions seems to misread precedent and ignores the technology’s structure, which cannot be segmented into intrastate portions. Inevitably, this will lead to Commission case-by-case preemption efforts and more litigation.” Commissioner Carr said, “Today’s decision is a big win for a free and open Internet and for U.S. leadership in 5G.”

Commissioners Rosenworcel said, “Today’s court decision vacates the FCC’s unlawful effort to block states and localities from protecting an open internet for their citizens. From small towns to big cities, from state houses to governors’ executive actions, states and localities have been stepping in because the FCC shirked its duties. In addition, the court took the agency to task for disregarding its duty to consider how its decision threatens public safety, Lifeline service, and broadband infrastructure.”

Commissioner Starks said, “Above all else, today’s decision breathes new life into the fight for an open internet. It confirms that states can continue to step into the void left by this FCC. To that end, it is a validation of those states that have already sought to protect consumers, and a challenge to those that haven’t yet acted to think hard about how to protect their citizens.”

TMA Issuing Certificates of Verification for FirstNet Services

The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce that it has now started issuing TMA Certificates of Verification to qualifying alarm companies to support review of eligibility for FirstNet services.

As we announced in April, TMA reached an agreement with AT&T to provide qualified alarm companies with a TMA Certificate of Verification that will enable them to apply for eligibility to use FirstNet services for alarm transport communications.

FirstNet is the nationwide public-safety wireless broadband network platform, built and deployed through a first‐of‐its‐kind public‐private partnership between the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) and AT&T. The FirstNet Authority is an independent authority of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

TMA will be issuing certificates to those companies who meet accepted alarm industry standards that result in the transmission of public safety related alarms from systems designed primarily to protect life and/or property (e.g. robbery, burglary, unlawful intrusion, fire, emergency medical) to a Central Station Monitoring Facility that confirms and verifies the authenticity of the alarm and notifies a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for relay to a public safety agency for the purpose of initiating an emergency response.

Public‐safety related alarms are critical to alerting first responders of emergencies requiring their urgent response.

As we mentioned above, for an alarm services company to apply to use FirstNet services for alarm transport communications as an extended primary user in support of public safety, it must first verify compliance through receipt of a TMA Certificate of Verification.

The alarm services company can then seek approval for eligibility to use FirstNet services by presenting the TMA Certificate of Verification to AT&T along with their contract(s) and/or service order(s), or to another alarm services company who will be providing FirstNet services from AT&T.

The TMA Certificate of Verification must be renewed every 12 months from when the initial TMA Certificate is issued.

“FirstNet services will enhance our ability to support public safety and first responders. I am very pleased the alarm industry will be able to use FirstNet services for alarm transport communications,” said Louis T. Fiore, chairman of AICC and past president of TMA.

“Delivering emergency alarms via the FirstNet communications platform supports public safety, helping first responders get the information they need to respond to an alarm-initiated incident. By working with TMA as part of the rigorous eligibility process, we can help to make sure that alarms transmitted using FirstNet services are relevant to and align with the public safety mission and truly serve on the frontlines of notification should a public safety incident occur,” said Bob Sloan, chief operating officer, FirstNet Program at AT&T. “We’re pleased to see the thorough examinations TMA has conducted over the past six months before issuing its first Certificates of Verification.”

For more information, please contact TMA Executive Director Celia Besore at 703‐660‐4913 or at cbesore@tma.us.

Net Neutrality Fight Heads to States, Capitol Hill

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dropped a long-awaited ruling Tuesday on the FCC’s rollback of the Obama-era net neutrality rules, largely upholding the Republican-led repeal. But the court knocked down the FCC’s attempt to broadly override state efforts to craft their own net neutrality rules. An FCC senior official told reporters the ruling leaves open the possibility of the FCC challenging state laws on a case-by-case basis. Goldstein & Russell partner Kevin Russell, who argued against the FCC’s repeal, said that would be a “difficult task.”

 No one thinks this fight is over, but the next battleground may be in California. Remember: The state passed its own net neutrality rules in 2018 but agreed to hold off on enforcing them while the FCC’s rules faced a legal challenge. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra hailed the D.C. court for rebuffing “the FCC’s effort to preempt state net neutrality laws through regulation,” but his office said it was still evaluating its next steps in light of the federal ruling (which could still be reconsidered by the full complement of D.C. Circuit judges and/or the Supreme Court), according to a dispatch from POLITICO California reporters Jeremy B. White and Katy Murphy. Full Color Future Chair Mignon Clyburn, who as a Democratic FCC commissioner voted to approve the repealed rules, told POLITICO that the ruling will “allow each state to determine its own net neutrality future.” She added, “Any state wishing to protect entrepreneurs should follow the lead of California, Colorado, and Vermont in enacting laws protecting entrepreneurs and people of color with strong net neutrality requirements.”

— Over on the Hill, the ruling renewed calls for federal net neutrality legislation. Rep. Greg Walden, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Republicans in the chamber want to work on a “serious, bipartisan approach to creating a national standard.” Bipartisan legislation may prove as elusive as ever, though. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) marked Tuesday’s ruling by pushing his Save the Internet Act, urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bring it to a vote. That House-passed measure (H.R. 1644) would restore the Obama-era rules and has proven deeply unpopular with Republicans; McConnell previously declared it “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

House E&C Plans Hearing On Huawei Gear Use in U.S. Networks

The House Energy and Commerce telecom subcommittee will hold a hearing next Tuesday (Sept. 24) on efforts to legislate on removing foreign telecommunications gear from U.S. networks.

“We look forward to pushing ahead with legislation to root-out suspect network equipment nationwide ,” E&C Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) said in a joint statement today.

The Sept. 24 session comes amid panel leaders’ talks on how to provide funds to help rural telecom companies ditch gear from Chinese providers like Huawei and ZTE, as POLITICO reported last week. Rural carriers, which chose this equipment for its low cost,fear Trump administration moves to block out Huawei will leave them with hefty bills. Senate Commerce lawmakers this summer approved a measure, S. 1625 (116), that would unleash $700 million to help these rural telecom companies.

“The smaller ones are probably the ones that need the help, and how you draw that line will be a challenge,” E&C ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) told POLITICO recently. “There are models here that would work. For the improved communications networks and the increased security, it would be worth the federal investment.”

Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said at a wireless conference today that “any funding should require recipients to observe good cybersecurity practices in the future.”

The panel didn’t announce witnesses for the session, which will also focus on ways to “improve coordination and management of spectrum resources to better serve the American people,” according to Pallone and Doyle.

Florida on Our Mind

As hurricane Dorian makes it’s way toward the east coast of Florida, please know that you and your loved ones are close in thought at this time.

Here are some Quicklinks to resources that may be of assistance to you in preparing for the storm:

Protecting your pets:

Please be safe.

Bradenton, FL is now live with ASAP

The City of Bradenton FL is the 55th PSAP in the United States and the 7th PSAP in the state of Florida to implement the ASAP program. The City of Bradenton went live on Wednesday, August 7th with Vector Security and Rapid Response Monitoring, followed by Tyco (Johnson Controls), Affiliated Monitoring, Brinks Home Security, Protection One, Vivint, Guardian, AT&T Digital Life, National Monitoring Center, Alert 360 and Security Central.

Hamilton County, OH is now live on ASAP

Hamilton County Ohio is the 54th PSAP in the United States and the 3rd PSAP in the state of Ohio to implement the ASAP program. Hamilton County went live on Tuesday, July 23rd and Wednesday, July 24th with Vector Security and Rapid Response Monitoring, followed by Brinks Home Security, Security Central, Vivint, Protection One, AT&T Digital Life, Guardian Protection Services, Affiliated Monitoring, and Tyco (Johnson Controls).

Charlotte County, FL is now live with ASAP.

Charlotte County is the 53rd PSAP in the United States and the 6th PSAP in the state of Florida to implement the ASAP program. Charlotte County went live on Monday, July 15th and Tuesday, July 16th with Vector Security, followed by Rapid Response Monitoring, Brinks Home Security, National Monitoring Center, Security Central, Vivint, Protection One, AT&T Digital Life, Guardian Protection Services, Affiliated Monitoring, and Tyco (Johnson Controls).

“We are excited to implement the ASAP to PSAP interface between the Alarm Monitoring Association and our Computer Aided Dispatch system.”,said Melanie Bailey, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Communications Manager. “This new process will benefit both the community and agency by reducing the time it takes to process an alarm .”

DHS – CISA Statement on Iranian Cybersecurity Threat

In response to reports of an increase in cybersecurity threats, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher C. Krebs issued a statement on Saturday, June 22, 2019.

TMA encourages all members to read the full statement below and take appropriate protective measures.

FULL STATEMENT

Statement on Iranian Cybersecurity Threats

WASHINGTON – In response to reports of an increase in cybersecurity threats, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher C. Krebs issued the following statement:

“CISA is aware of a recent rise in malicious cyber activity directed at United States industries and government agencies by Iranian regime actors and proxies. We will continue to work with our intelligence community and cybersecurity partners to monitor Iranian cyber activity, share information, and take steps to keep America and our allies safe.

“Iranian regime actors and proxies are increasingly using destructive ‘wiper’ attacks, looking to do much more than just steal data and money. These efforts are often enabled through common tactics like spear phishing, password spraying, and credential stuffing. What might start as an account compromise, where you think you might just lose data, can quickly become a situation where you’ve lost your whole network.

“In times like these it’s important to make sure you’ve shored up your basic defenses, like using multi-factor authentication, and if you suspect an incident – take it seriously and act quickly.You can find other tips and best practices for staying safe online here.

“Anyone who has relevant information or suspects a compromise should immediately contact us at NCCICCUSTOMERSERVICE@hq.dhs.gov.”

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Guardian Protection and CPI Security Take Top 2019 TMA Awards at ESX19

TMA 2019 Excellence and Marvel Technology Awards we’re presented at the ESX 2019 Opening Celebration in Indianapolis, IN, Monday, June 3.

TMA Excellence Awards sponsor and partner SDM Magazine Editor Laura Stepanek had the honor of announcing the 2019 Excellence Awards winners, which include:

Monitoring Center of the Year
Guardian Protection

Manager of the Year
Sarah Murphy, Sonitrol of Fresno

Operator of the Year
Charles White, Affiliated Monitoring, Inc.

Support Person of the Year
Ben Perry, Universal Atlantic Systems

TMA Marvel Technology Award sponsor and partner Security Sales and Integration Editor Scott Goldfine had the honor to present CPI Security with the 2019 Marvel Technology Award.

Congratulations to all of our 2019 finalists and winners.

Look for details on the winners in the Summer issue of Dispatch.