The FCC Wireline Bureau directed the Universal Service Administrative Co. to fully fund eligible category one and two E-rate requests for funding year 2023. Total demand will be $1.66 billion for category one services and $1.29 billion for category two services, said a public notice Friday in docket 02-6.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should grant Consumers’ Research’s request for a rehearing of its challenge of the FCC’s USF 2021 Q4 contribution factor because the authority to decide taxing and spending policies can't be "delegated,” said the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Free State Foundation in an amicus brief Tuesday (docket 21-3886).
Commissioners supported cutting in half the Texas USF surcharge, unanimously without discussion, at a livestreamed Texas Public Utility Commission meeting Thursday. The monthly TUSF fee will drop to 12% from 24% of intrastate telecom revenue on July 1, which is when the commission expects to complete arrearage and interest payments to rural local exchange carriers that it underpaid (see 2305040026). Texas RLEC groups sounded optimistic Thursday they would be repaid.
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., said during and after a Thursday hearing they’re forming a USF-focused task force to evaluate how to move forward on a comprehensive revamp of the program that may update its contribution factor to include non-wireline entities. Senate Communications members cited several telecom policy matters that intertwine with the push for USF changes, including future funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity fund and restoring the commission’s lapsed spectrum auction authority.
The GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews before a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing about what kind of modifications they would like for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust the initial $14.2 billion in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024, perhaps as early as Q1. The Commerce Oversight hearing highlighted partisan fault lines over how much Congress should modify the existing federal broadband funding apparatus.
NTIA released a new online tool and two reports highlighting federal investments in broadband programs Monday. The reports, mandated by the Access Broadband Act, include a description of the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth's work, how many households were served by universal service programs or federal broadband support, and a "framework to guide future estimates of the economic impact of broadband deployment efforts," said a news release. The reports "show how federal agencies across the Biden-Harris Administration are working together to target funding through the Internet for All initiative and close the digital divide,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: “We will provide high-speed internet service to everyone by focusing on access, affordability and equity.” The report's findings included a substantial increase of $11.8 billion in investments from FY 2020 to FY 2021. More funding also went to digital inclusion or adoption efforts compared to infrastructure deployment and mapping. "This Broadband shift in outlays represents a change in priorities to connect underserved communities but also part of the maturation cycle as broadband investments begin to impact communities and economic activity," per the report. The dashboard includes spending data from 13 agencies and funding by program at the state level. It also reports tribal broadband funding for the first time. The dashboard showed tribal entities residing in Oklahoma received a "significant concentration" of funding, about 59.3% of total tribal broadband funding.
A possible path to averting Alaska USF’s June 30 termination emerged in comments last week at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. The Department of Law (DOL) told the RCA it would consider approving an extension on an emergency basis if the commission fixes legal defects with an earlier proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by three years. Meanwhile, telecom companies and public advocates warned of rate increases and degraded service if commissioners allow the fund to die.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is accepting applications for $14 million in broadband grants through the state rural universal service fund, the agency said Friday. Projects must support at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds. Expanding broadband to rural areas is important, said Commissioner James Ellison.
California’s connections-based method “is directly at odds” with the FCC’s revenue-based mechanism for USF contribution, T-Mobile and subsidiaries argued at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In an opening brief Monday, they urged the court to reverse a U.S. District Court for Northern California decision and direct the lower court to issue a preliminary injunction against the California Public Utilities Commission decision that took effect April 1.
Representatives of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition met with staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a petition SHLB filed with the Consortium for School Networking seeking an extension of Emergency Connectivity Fund service delivery dates. SHLB “reiterated that the Commission should extend the deadline to allow applicants that have received or will receive funding commitments to use all of the committed funding for two reasons: (1) it appears that there is enough funding remaining to cover all pending demand and (2) even if there was not enough funding, it is unlikely [the Universal Service Administrative Co.] could identify unused funding fast enough to turn around and distribute it to other applicants,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-93.