Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, wanted FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to see firsthand the telecom challenges of Alaska, hosting Wheeler for a visit last week. “I took Chairman Wheeler to Anchorage, Kotzebue and Kiana so that he could see how to best deliver connectivity to an urban community, a hub community and a rural village,” Begich told us in a statement. “He heard Alaskans talk about the need for better, more affordable bandwidth to improve education, medical services and to help grow businesses across the state.” Begich’s daily schedule records show visits to Kiana and Kotzebue Thursday and Anchorage the previous day, which included a meeting with General Communications Inc. and a discussion about broadband deployment. An FCC spokesman confirmed to us Friday that Wheeler was in Alaska meeting with Begich and staff to the state’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans. An ex parte filing from Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative recounted a meeting Wednesday that included Wheeler and aide Patrick Halley discussing Alaska’s rural challenges with Copper Valley Chief Financial Officer Pam Murphy, Alaska Telephone Association Executive Director Christine O'Connor, Begich legislative correspondent Rafi Bortnick and Young legislative assistant Jason Suslavich. “I thanked the Chairman for his leadership in eliminating the QRA [quantile regression analysis high-cost support] model, but expressed my concern with what would replace QRA to distribute High Cost USF support,” Copper Valley CEO David Dengel wrote in the ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1qXzW2L). “I told the Chairman that because of the elimination of the QRA, CVT is able to deploy fiber to the community of Slana this summer at a cost of approximately $650,000.” They discussed the factors any high-cost support model would have to include. “The FCC has already invested significant amounts of Universal Service Fund support in Alaska in the past several decades which has allowed for twenty first century technologies to reach hundreds of villages across the state,” Begich said. “Without this support, none of that would be possible and Alaska would be left in the dark. I showed Chairman Wheeler that we are putting these funds to good use and making a case for future investment."

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, wanted FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to see firsthand the telecom challenges of Alaska, hosting Wheeler for a visit last week. “I took Chairman Wheeler to Anchorage, Kotzebue and Kiana so that he could see how to best deliver connectivity to an urban community, a hub community and a rural village,” Begich told us in a statement. “He heard Alaskans talk about the need for better, more affordable bandwidth to improve education, medical services and to help grow businesses across the state.” Begich’s daily schedule records show visits to Kiana and Kotzebue Thursday and Anchorage the previous day, which included a meeting with General Communications Inc. and a discussion about broadband deployment. An FCC spokesman confirmed to us Friday that Wheeler was in Alaska meeting with Begich and staff to the state’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans. An ex parte filing from Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative recounted a meeting Wednesday that included Wheeler and aide Patrick Halley discussing Alaska’s rural challenges with Copper Valley Chief Financial Officer Pam Murphy, Alaska Telephone Association Executive Director Christine O'Connor, Begich legislative correspondent Rafi Bortnick and Young legislative assistant Jason Suslavich. “I thanked the Chairman for his leadership in eliminating the QRA [quantile regression analysis high-cost support] model, but expressed my concern with what would replace QRA to distribute High Cost USF support,” Copper Valley CEO David Dengel wrote in the ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1qXzW2L). “I told the Chairman that because of the elimination of the QRA, CVT is able to deploy fiber to the community of Slana this summer at a cost of approximately $650,000.” They discussed the factors any high-cost support model would have to include. “The FCC has already invested significant amounts of Universal Service Fund support in Alaska in the past several decades which has allowed for twenty first century technologies to reach hundreds of villages across the state,” Begich said. “Without this support, none of that would be possible and Alaska would be left in the dark. I showed Chairman Wheeler that we are putting these funds to good use and making a case for future investment."

The FCC Wireline Bureau instructed the Universal Service Administrative Co. to take another look at its decision to deny Spokane School District 81’s request for E-rate funding for funding year 2010 on the grounds that the district had violated FCC competitive bidding requirements. USAC said the district had incorrectly relied on the “price of eligible and ineligible items as the primary factor in its vendor selection process,” said a bureau notice released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/Vklmtu). The FCC upheld that decision. Spokane sought reconsideration as it provided evidence that it had “segregated E-rate eligible and ineligible costs” in the selection process. Based on a review of the new evidence the district offered that it did use “price of eligible services as the primary factor” in choosing a vendor, the bureau said in granting reconsideration, “we conclude that Spokane’s vendor selection did not violate the Commission’s competitive bidding requirements.”

Wireless carriers asked the FCC to revise Connect America Fund (CAF) rules to remove any discrimination against wireless. The request came in filings at the FCC, most of which were posted Monday. The FCC sought comment on rules for the CAF II program, which will provide up to $1.8 billion per year in support to providers that offer broadband service in commission-identified eligible areas. The FCC also sought comment on the Mobility Fund Phase II program (MFII).

Wireless carriers asked the FCC to revise Connect America Fund (CAF) rules to remove any discrimination against wireless. The request came in filings at the FCC, most of which were posted Monday. The FCC sought comment on rules for the CAF II program, which will provide up to $1.8 billion per year in support to providers that offer broadband service in commission-identified eligible areas. The FCC also sought comment on the Mobility Fund Phase II program (MFII).

USF contribution reform “should not be seen as a backdoor way of increasing the size of the universal service fund or imposing new fees on the Internet,” FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a statement. The agency asked the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service Thursday to recommend how to modify contribution methodology (WID Aug 7 p6). The commission approved the referral (http://bit.ly/1oh17cQ) unanimously. It referred the joint board to the commission’s 2012 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the issue, and asked for recommendations “with a particular focus on how any modifications to the contribution system would impact achievement of the statutory principle that there be state as well as federal mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service.” Network convergence and technological innovation “have transformed the telecommunications industry, and the contribution system has become increasingly complex and difficult to administer,” said the order, which asked for the recommendations by April 7. “The Joint Board process ensures that the agency will receive expert recommendations from the States officials closest to the consumers affected by changes to the Universal Service program,” said NARUC Telecommunications Chairman Chris Nelson in a statement. Nelson, vice chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, is on the state board.

USF contribution reform “should not be seen as a backdoor way of increasing the size of the universal service fund or imposing new fees on the Internet,” FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a statement. The agency asked the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service Thursday to recommend how to modify contribution methodology (CD Aug. 7 p5). The commission approved the referral (http://bit.ly/1oh17cQ) unanimously. It referred the joint board to the commission’s 2012 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the issue, and asked for recommendations “with a particular focus on how any modifications to the contribution system would impact achievement of the statutory principle that there be state as well as federal mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service.” Network convergence and technological innovation “have transformed the telecommunications industry, and the contribution system has become increasingly complex and difficult to administer,” said the order, which asked for the recommendations by April 7. “The Joint Board process ensures that the agency will receive expert recommendations from the States officials closest to the consumers affected by changes to the Universal Service program,” said NARUC Telecommunications Chairman Chris Nelson in a statement. Nelson, vice chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, is on the state board.

An FCC order on circulation would generically ask the agency’s Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to examine changes to USF contribution methodology without recommending how the group should proceed, said agency and industry officials in interviews this week.

An FCC order on circulation would generically ask the agency’s Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to examine changes to USF contribution methodology without recommending how the group should proceed, said agency and industry officials in interviews this week.

Basing net neutrality rules on Communications Act Title II would mean small- and medium-sized ISPs would be “burdened with the costs required to retain lawyers” and “to administer the reporting and other rules that would no doubt go along with it,” 99 companies wrote Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, hoping to push President Barack Obama’s administration to oppose treating the companies as common carriers. “We want to get the president’s ear,” said Alex Phillips, FCC committee chairman for the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, of the letter to the cabinet-level agency from WISPA members.