Tribal libraries may soon get the clarity they sought on E-rate eligibility rules, as industry and tribal groups widely approved, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 02-6, FCC-proposed updates to the definition of an eligible library (see 2110010070). Some said more is needed to encourage participation.
Gabriella Novello
Gabriella Novello, Assistant Editor, is a journalist for Communications Daily covering telecommunications and the Federal Communications Commission. She joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2020, after covering election integrity and the 2020 presidential election at WhoWhatWhy. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in health promotion at American University. You can follow Novello on Instagram and Twitter: @NOVELLOGAB.
The FCC precision agriculture task force unanimously approved its final report and recommendations to the FCC and Department of Agriculture on the connectivity and technology needs of precision ag, during the final meeting of its initial term. A central focus of Wednesday’s virtual meeting was how the document should address the concept of symmetrical speeds.
Funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to continue a modified version of the emergency broadband benefit program is being hailed as a game changer by advocacy groups for including language allowing the FCC to provide grants for outreach efforts (see 2111080067). Under the EBB program, the FCC wasn't allowed to use funds for this purpose (see 2102260058).
The FCC Wireline Bureau paused phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support until Dec. 1, 2022, said an order Friday (see 2111050051). Staff waived the increase of minimum service standards for mobile broadband until then, as expected (see 2111030038). The bureau didn't address the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration and instead acted on its own motion.
Inmate calling service providers and advocacy groups disagreed with some proposed reporting requirements in FCC mandatory data collection, in comments posted Friday (see 2105200044). Including surveillance and security costs is "vital" to determining rate caps, said Worth Rises in docket 12-375, saying the FCC should impose a penalty on ICS providers that "manipulate" those costs. The Prison Policy Institute sought clarity on how security services are defined. The Wright Petitioners, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and Public Knowledge agreed and urged "robust collection" of data. Securus said security costs are "inextricably intertwined with the provisions of ICS," which Global Tel*Link echoed. Mandatory data collection is "not the proper administrative vehicle for evaluating what categories of security costs are directly related to ICS," GTL said. On a reporting period, advocacy groups and Securus want 2019-2021; NCIC suggested 2021 is "the most relevant year." GTL objected to several aspects of the proposed data collection. It said providers don't maintain sufficient records because they're nondominant competitive carriers and aren't required to do so: The FCC would "foist upon" them accounting and reporting requirements "impossible to satisfy."
The U.S. should adopt a "100% policy" on broadband access, said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a League of United Latin American Citizens webinar, as "100% of our households should have access to electricity, clean water, and fast and reliable broadband that they can afford." Rosenworcel called it her "primary goal." Students that lacked access to virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic were "disproportionately rural, low-income, and Latinx," she said: "Our collective success depends on getting every one of those students connected." Touting the Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rosenworcel wants the FCC to continue working on "a way to solve the homework gap once and for all." Also Thursday, LULAC announced a partnership with Heartland Forward and will use $50,000 in grant funding for outreach efforts to boost emergency broadband benefit program enrollment among Latino households. Partnerships like this are "crucial to expanding outreach and enrollment efforts, particularly in Latino communities where many still don’t have the home internet access they need," Rosenworcel said in a statement.
The FCC Wireline Bureau paused phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support until Dec. 1, 2022, said an order Friday, in a move that some had expected (see here). Staff waived the increase of minimum service standards for mobile broadband until then. The bureau didn't address the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration and instead acted on its own motion.
The FCC is likely to act soon on the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration of the scheduled Dec. 1 phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support, experts said in recent interviews. The service's backers anticipate the agency will at least pause, if not reverse, its 2016 decision (see 1603310056).
U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit judges questioned whether the FCC failed to consider data Inteliquent submitted to the commission before the agency adopted its 8YY access reform order, Monday in case 20-1471 (see 2010090064). Central is whether the rate factors in cost or whether the FCC considered all data it received.
President Joe Biden’s designation of Jessica Rosenworcel as the first woman to hold the permanent FCC chair and his intent to nominate Democratic ex-FCC official Gigi Sohn as the first openly LGBTQ+ commissioner are being hailed as milestones. Biden also is renominating Rosenworcel to the commission. See our report here.