New York state can speed broadband deployment by requiring pole owners to share pole replacement costs with attachers, cable companies said in comments last week at the New York Public Service Commission. Pole owners disagreed, suggesting using the influx of state and federal broadband funding to pay for replacements. Some other attachers urged the PSC to act quickly on less controversial issues in docket 22-M-0101, especially with the FCC considering similar issues in its docket 17-84.
California will shift to a connections-based state USF contribution method and adopt one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) rules for pole attachments, utility commissioners decided at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. Also, the California Public Utilities Commission denied -- at least for now -- eligible telecom carrier designation for Starlink, needed for federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support.
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance and Consortium for School Networking asked the FCC to abandon its proposal to establish a national bidding portal for the E-rate program. The commission's NPRM on the item and August letter of support from the DOJ Antitrust Division include claims that "obscure the sufficiency of the current tools used by the program administrator, auditors, the FCC and other law enforcement officials to police and enforce the bidding requirements," the groups said in a letter posted Tuesday in docket 21-455 (see 2208160055). Claiming applicants and service providers self-certify compliance with bidding requirements doesn't "acknowledge the frequent, extensive pre-funding and post-commitment auditing of underlying bidding documentation to confirm the veracity of these certifications," the groups said. A data analytics program is also "well underway," they said, citing a May 2021 FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Managing Director letter to the Universal Service Administrative Co. directing it to do so. The "stringent limitation on communications" in the NPRM and DOJ's letter also "create a conflict of laws with state and local regulations," the groups said, and the portal has the "real potential to be harmful to applicants who earnestly try to comply with program rules."
Alaska would shift to connections-based contribution for state USF under a joint proposal by many of the state’s local exchange carriers. The Alaska attorney general’s regulatory affairs and public advocacy (RAPA) section urged the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) Monday to adopt the Friday-filed plan, which would push back an imminent sunset of the Alaska USF (AUSF) by three years to June 30, 2026. “By that time, the focus of significant federal infrastructure funding in Alaska will be better known, and the Commission will have more information that it may use to determine the best AUSF policy for the long term,” said the proposal.
A draft notice of inquiry on 12.7-13.25 GHz portrays the band as potentially providing part of the answer to the wireless industry’s quest for more mid-band to refill the spectrum pipeline. The NOI was among four items Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated Thursday for a vote at the Oct. 27 commissioners' meeting (see 2210050065). Also circulated: a Further NPRM that would give two more years of life to the FCC’s support for wireless carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands rebuilding after the 2017 hurricanes, an NPRM on emergency alerting, and a Stir/Shaken NOI.
The FCC should act now to ensure the Universal Service Fund remains sustainable once programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are fully implemented, panelists said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Some disagreed about whether the FCC should expand the contribution base to include broadband internet access service (BIAS) or wait for Congressional action.
The FCC committed nearly $55 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund Support, totaling more than $5.9 billion to date, said a news release Wednesday. The new funding will support more than 200 schools, 20 libraries and 2 consortiums. The Wireline Bureau also granted petitions from the Evans-Brant Central School District in Angola, New York; Lummi Nation School in Bellingham, Washington; and Naaleh High School for Girls in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, to waive the third ECF application filing window deadline, in an order Wednesday. The bureau said each petitioner faced technical issues when attempting to access the ECF portal, and remanded their applications to the Universal Service Administrative Co. for review.
The FCC will release a notice of funding opportunity “in the coming months” for organizations seeking funding through the affordable connectivity program’s outreach grant program, said Derik Goatson, Office of Native Affairs Policy legal adviser, during a Consumer Action webinar Tuesday (see 2208050023). The grant program’s review process will “prioritize applicants who target underserved low-income households and communities with low ACP enrollment rates,” Goatson said, noting “many of these communities are often tribal communities.”
Policymakers should remove special legal protections for tech platforms under Communications Decency Act Section 230, increase algorithm transparency and set clear data collection limits, the White House said Thursday, outlining principles for enhancing competition and tech accountability.
The FCC won’t include funds for indirect full-time equivalents connected with aspects of the USF in calculating broadcaster regulatory fees but rejected many other broadcast proposals for reduced fees, said the FY2022 regulatory fees order and notice of inquiry released Friday. Radio stations that faced a 13% reg fee increase from 2021 will instead have an increase of 7% or 8%, broadcast industry officials said. Commissioners adopted the order unanimously Thursday. “Regulatory fees are not based on a precise allocation of specific employees with certain work assignments each year and instead are based on a higher-level approach,” said the order. Regulatory fees must be collected before the Sept. 30 end of the federal fiscal year.