Democratic vice presidential contender Tim Kaine, a senator representing Virginia, made many important tech and telecom strides as the state’s governor, said his former technology secretary Aneesh Chopra in a blog post for The Hill Monday. Chopra endorsed the presumptive Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton for president and Kaine for vice president. “To move towards providing universal broadband access to main street businesses, Kaine negotiated with the cable and telecom sector to provide unprecedented transparency on broadband availability down to the address level, which revealed the coverage gaps,” Chopra said. “Coupled with a new Broadband Infrastructure Loan Fund, businesses without access then had the tools to collaborate in their communities to attract internet service providers.” As governor, Kaine convened the state’s Broadband Advisory Council. CTA President Gary Shapiro lauded Kaine’s background, issuing a statement: “Throughout his political career, Senator Kaine has been a supporter of free trade and other issues critical to the technology sector. As governor of Virginia, he supported the expansion of high-speed internet access.” Kaine and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., wrote FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in 2014 calling the digital divide unacceptable and lauding the FCC’s rural broadband trials. Kaine isn't a member of the Commerce or Judiciary committees and typically hasn't weighed in on FCC actions.

Democratic vice presidential contender Tim Kaine, a senator representing Virginia, made many important tech and telecom strides as the state’s governor, said his former technology secretary Aneesh Chopra in a blog post for The Hill Monday. Chopra endorsed the presumptive Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton for president and Kaine for vice president. “To move towards providing universal broadband access to main street businesses, Kaine negotiated with the cable and telecom sector to provide unprecedented transparency on broadband availability down to the address level, which revealed the coverage gaps,” Chopra said. “Coupled with a new Broadband Infrastructure Loan Fund, businesses without access then had the tools to collaborate in their communities to attract internet service providers.” As governor, Kaine convened the state’s Broadband Advisory Council. CTA President Gary Shapiro lauded Kaine’s background, issuing a statement: “Throughout his political career, Senator Kaine has been a supporter of free trade and other issues critical to the technology sector. As governor of Virginia, he supported the expansion of high-speed internet access.” Kaine and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., wrote FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in 2014 calling the digital divide unacceptable and lauding the FCC’s rural broadband trials. Kaine isn't a member of the Commerce or Judiciary committees and typically hasn't weighed in on FCC actions.

Fiber proponents urged the FCC to devise a Connect America Fund subsidy auction to encourage deployment of cutting-edge high-speed networks and services, as initial comments on a Further NPRM were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 10-90. Satellite and some wireless interests suggested the rules should encourage broad deployment and industry participation, and traditional telcos seemed fairly sympathetic to that. Regulators in three northeastern states where Verizon declined initial CAF Phase II support asked the commission to ensure or help their states receive their fair share of support through the auction.

Fiber proponents urged the FCC to devise a Connect America Fund subsidy auction to encourage deployment of cutting-edge high-speed networks and services, as initial comments on a Further NPRM were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 10-90. Satellite and some wireless interests suggested the rules should encourage broad deployment and industry participation, and traditional telcos seemed fairly sympathetic to that. Regulators in three northeastern states where Verizon declined initial CAF Phase II support asked the commission to ensure or help their states receive their fair share of support through the auction.

FCC staff is prepared to fund five rural broadband experiments by Big Bend Telecom in Texas. The Wireline Bureau is ready to authorize Universal Service Administrative Co. to disburse $178,425 for BBT broadband deployment in 15 census blocks, said a public notice Thursday in docket 10-90. The PN said BBT must submit at least one acceptable, irrevocable standby letter of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letter by Aug. 4 to be authorized.

FCC staff is prepared to fund five rural broadband experiments by Big Bend Telecom in Texas. The Wireline Bureau is ready to authorize Universal Service Administrative Co. to disburse $178,425 for BBT broadband deployment in 15 census blocks, said a public notice Thursday in docket 10-90. The PN said BBT must submit at least one acceptable, irrevocable standby letter of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letter by Aug. 4 to be authorized.

Major telcos said they can't provide E-rate discounts and may exit the program unless fixes are made to the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC), an online portal of the Universal Service Administrative Co. "While USAC released several waves of Funding Decision Commitment Letters (FCDL) to date, approving approximately $77.8 million in E-rate funds, these commitments are of little value to applicants unless service providers can access information regarding their customer’s E-rate funding status -- information essential to deliver service and provide the discounts USAC has authorized," said a letter Wednesday from AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications, Sprint, Verizon and Windstream to USAC CEO Christopher Henderson in FCC docket 13-184. The letter followed up on an attached April 20 letter previously not released.

Major telcos said they can't provide E-rate discounts and may exit the program unless fixes are made to the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC), an online portal of the Universal Service Administrative Co. "While USAC released several waves of Funding Decision Commitment Letters (FCDL) to date, approving approximately $77.8 million in E-rate funds, these commitments are of little value to applicants unless service providers can access information regarding their customer’s E-rate funding status -- information essential to deliver service and provide the discounts USAC has authorized," said a letter Wednesday from AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications, Sprint, Verizon and Windstream to USAC CEO Christopher Henderson in FCC docket 13-184. The letter followed up on an attached April 20 letter previously not released.

The uncertain timing of a federal USF contribution overhaul stirred debate over whether states should proceed with changes to their own funds. In replies Friday at the Nebraska Public Service Commission, some telecom companies urged the PSC to wait to revamp its surcharge methodology until the FCC Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service and the FCC act on federal contribution reform. It’s unclear when the Joint Board will issue a recommendation; the FCC USF contribution reform proceeding has been open for more than a decade.

With its universal service fund quickly depleting, the Utah Public Service Commission tentatively decided to increase its USF surcharge to 1.65 percent from 1 percent of billed intrastate retail rates, said a notice in Friday's Utah State Bulletin. The rule change may become effective Aug. 22, though the PSC could change its decision after comments are filed Aug. 15. If no change is made, the rate would increase Oct. 1, the Bulletin said. The new rate is “intended to function as an interim solution to address the current funding deficiency in the least disruptive way possible, and to allow time for the Utah Legislature to consider other changes to the fund,” it said. The Utah Division of Public Utilities last month urged a revamp of the state USF contribution method, saying without a change, the fund balance could dip $3 million this year and run out completely by early 2017 (see 1606210035). The DPU had recommended moving to a charge of 32 cents per line. But a Legislature committee “expressed interested in more fundamental changes to the Utah Universal Service Fund,” the State Bulletin said. Revenue from contributions to state USFs has declined in multiple jurisdictions, our survey has found (see 1607010010).