On May 27, INCOMPAS filed comments in the FCC's proceeding on protecting the privacy of customers of broadband and other telecom services. 

INCOMPAS lauded the Commission for its efforts to develop a privacy framework for BIAS that safeguards the important confidential information of BIAS subscribers. Developing a privacy framework for BIAS was commensurate with the Commission's efforts in the Open Internet proceeding and its decision to reclassify BIAS under Title II (a position that INCOMPAS has long held). 

Last week, three telecom-related bills passed the House and have moved to the Senate:

• H.R. 4167 - Kari's Law Act of 2016, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert) - This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require multi-line telephone systems to have a default configuration that allows users to directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 (without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit "9") from any station equipped with dialing facilities. Businesses installing such systems must configure the systems to provide a notification to a central location at the facility where the system is installed when a person at the facility initiates a call to 9-1-1 using the system, provided that the system is able to be so configured without an improvement to the hardware.
• H.R. 3998 - Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone) - This bill requires the FCC to commence proceedings on the provision of roaming agreements between mobile service providers to: (1) allow for mobile service at reasonable rates during emergencies when there is a mobile service outage lasting longer than 24 hours, and (2) provide for roaming agreements at no charge for communications during emergencies to or from 911 services.
• H.R. 2589 - To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission to publish on its Internet website changes to the rules of the Commission not later than 24 hours after adoption (Sponsored by Rep. Renee Ellmers) - Requires the FCC, within 24 hours after adopting, repealing, or amending a provision that appears or will appear in the Code of Federal Regulations, to publish on the FCC website the text of the provisions it is adopting or repealing or the text indicating how the provision is being amended.