Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565) lead House sponsor Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., told us she's cautiously optimistic ahead of the opening of a discharge petition Thursday to force a floor vote on the measure (H.Res. 1119). HR-6929/S-3565 proposes allocating $7 billion for FY 2024 to the ailing FCC connectivity program. Thursday marks the end of a seven-legislative-day waiting period before Clarke can begin collecting signatures on the petition, which would require backing from at least 218 members before becoming effective (see 2404100075). Republican observers, even those who support giving ACP stopgap money, are skeptical the discharge petition bid will succeed.

The connections-based Utah Universal Service Fund (UUSF) surcharge could increase by 27 cents to 98 cents monthly per access line, a 38% increase, the Utah Public Service Commission said in a Monday notice. The increase is needed due to AT&T overcounting access lines subject to the surcharge for nearly two years, from August 2021 to July 2023, the PSC said. After correcting the reporting error, “the actual number of access lines subject to the surcharge have now been reduced by approximately 260,000 per month and thus results in less revenue to meet the costs associated with the UUSF statutory obligations.” Also, UUSF distribution estimates “were significantly underestimated,” the PSC said. “Unless public comment convinces the PSC to alter its plans,” the new rate will take effect July 1. Comments are due June 3.

The FCC's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) is “contrary to law” because it “improperly expands” the schools and libraries universal service program under Section 254 of the Communications Act, said the Competitive Enterprise Institute in an amicus brief April 9 (docket 23-60641) at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., is circulating a discharge petition (H.Res. 1119) in a bid to force a floor vote on her Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565), which would appropriate $7 billion to keep the ailing FCC broadband fund running through the end of FY 2024. Clarke's petition will likely help ACP backers in their push to advance the funding proposal out of the lower chamber and amplify pressure on Congress to act before the program's current money runs out in the coming weeks, lobbyists told us. Advocates acknowledge they still face headwinds in the Senate, where leaders continue eyeing alternative vehicles for the appropriation. Congress approved the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package last month without ACP money (see 2403280001).

The FCC's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) is an "unlawful exercise" of the commission's statutory authority "and may damage American students' health and diminish their educational achievement," said Michigan State University law professor Adam Candeub in a 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court amicus brief Friday (docket 23-60641).

The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee, which will have a special focus on AI, held its first meeting under its new charter Thursday at FCC headquarters. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC eagerly awaits the group’s work on AI and robocalls. The group also heard reports from FCC staff about several consumer issues before the agency, including the affordable connectivity program's demise (see 2404020075). CAC last met in August (see 2208300059).

A school bus is neither a classroom nor a library and that “makes short work of this case under basic principles of administrative law,” the opening brief said Tuesday (docket 23-60641) in support of a 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals petition to defeat the FCC’s Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040).

A school bus is neither a classroom nor a library and that “makes short work of this case under basic principles of administrative law,” the opening brief said Tuesday (docket 23-60641) in support of a 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals petition to defeat the FCC’s Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel re-emphasized the potential impact of affordable connectivity program funding exhaustion in letters Tuesday to Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and other congressional leaders. Cantwell and other lawmakers are eyeing ways they can allocate stopgap funding that would keep ACP running through the rest of FY 2024. Congress approved the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act minibus spending bill last month without that money (see 2403280001). Rosenworcel warned lawmakers Tuesday that notices from the Universal Service Administrative Co. and ISPs warning participants that April would be the last month of a full ACP subsidy may be sent when many committee members "are at home in their districts and hearing from their constituents about the benefits of the ACP.” She attached data to each letter outlining “the number of enrolled ACP households in each state, territory, and congressional district.” Press reports about ACP participants’ reactions to the program’s potential end “echo" what the commission has heard "from ACP households directly, with many writing the agency to express their distress and fear that ending this program could lead them to lose access to the internet at home,” Rosenworcel said. “In what is perverse, both rural and Tribal communities will likely see new broadband deployment in remote areas” via funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, “but persistent challenges with cost -- absent the ACP -- may limit the ability of this investment to close the digital divide.” The FCC “remains ready to keep this program running, should Congress provide additional funding,” she said: “We have come too far to allow this successful effort to promote internet access for all to end.”

CTIA still disagrees with a Kentucky 911 law that was upheld in court Friday, the wireless industry association said Tuesday. The U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky ruled that federal law doesn’t preempt the state from requiring Lifeline providers to directly pay state 911 fees. Kentucky’s policy is constitutional and doesn’t frustrate Congress’ universal service objectives, the court said.