The FCC’s National Broadband Plan is expected to contain provisions that would require carriers to offer free broadband, as a condition on spectrum licenses up for sale in future FCC auctions, FCC officials said Wednesday. The FCC is also working with NTIA to find spectrum to pair with the AWS3 band, the spectrum originally sought by M2Z for a proposed free network.
The Wireless Bureau must play an equal role with the Wireline Bureau in FCC Universal Service Fund “reform” efforts, Rural Carrier Association CEO Steve Berry wrote Chairman Julius Genachowski. “The fact that the wireless industry is underrepresented on USAC’s Board of Directors and on the Universal Service Federal-State Joint Board further underscores the challenges that rural and regional wireless carriers face in having their concerns addressed,” RCA said. “While RCA applauds the FCC’s efforts to overhaul the USF, RCA is greatly concerned that the interests of rural and regional wireless carriers are not adequately represented in the Commission’s deliberative process,” Berry said.
The FCC will issue a white paper following release of the National Broadband Plan urging the expansion of broadband accessibility and adoption among disabled people, commission members said during a Silicon Flatirons event in Washington. A $10 million dollar Universal Service Fund allowance, changes to hearing aid compatibility rules and lowering the cost of assistive devices are some of the major recommendations, the commission said. “Few populations stand to benefit more from broadband than the millions of Americans with disabilities,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “Broadband allows people with disabilities to live independent lives in their communities of choice.”
Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., of the House Communications Subcommittee said he’s working hard on his privacy bill, but action on that likely will wait until after his Universal Service Fund bill. “We are working simultaneously on both drafts.” Boucher plans to release a discussion draft in the “near term,” but he wouldn’t specify a date. He said he wants privacy legislation to preserve “all the legitimate advertising practices,” adding, “Our goal is not to interfere with legitimate targeted advertising [or] behavioral advertising practices. Our goal is to give Internet users a greater confidence that their experience on the Web is secure.” Boucher declined to give an example of a legitimate practice before he circulates a discussion draft.
An Oklahoma proposal for a statewide toll-free calling plan is “fundamentally flawed” and should be set aside in favor of a “more targeted solution,” Verizon said in preliminary comments to the Corporation Commission. The plan proposes to ban “an entire class of competitors -- interexchange carriers -- from serving an admittedly competitive market,” the company said.
Recommendations in the National Broadband Plan on education include upgrading the E-rate program, supporting and promoting online learning and unlocking the power of data to personalize learning and improve decision-making, said Steve Midgley, the FCC broadband team’s education director. He spoke at a Wednesday briefing hosted by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the State Educational Technology Directors Assocation (SETDA).
The FCC Wireline Bureau should quickly process Grande Communications’ appeal of a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision on its contributor audit, the telco said in a letter to the commission. Grande seeks a “reversal of USAC’s unlawful attempt to collect Universal Service Fund twice on the telecommunications services sold to Grande resellers.” The telco filed the request in December and no comments have been submitted. “The lack of opposition to Grande’s appeal is significant,” the company said. Grande said it wants the appeal to include a review of the USAC’s “reclassification of a per-line local exchange fee as a federal interstate subscriber line charge” and its classification of a DSL-based Internet access service as a telecom offering.
A “fundamental” recommendation of the National Broadband Plan will be creation of “partnerships” between the government and the private and nonprofit sectors to bring down the cost of computers and monthly broadband service for the poor and to provide free training and applications to help people access education and employment information online, said Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Tuesday at the Digital Inclusion Summit, co-hosted by the FCC. “The government can’t do it alone,” Donovan said. Tuesday’s summit included four of the five FCC commissioners and members of Congress. It came a week before formal unveiling of the National Broadband Plan by the FCC. The Tuesday meeting was also hosted by the Knight Foundation.
A “fundamental” recommendation of the National Broadband Plan will be creation of “partnerships” between the government and the private and nonprofit sectors to bring down the cost of computers and monthly broadband service for the poor and to provide free training and applications to help people access education and employment information online, said Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Tuesday at the Digital Inclusion Summit, co-hosted by the FCC. “The government can’t do it alone,” Donovan said. Tuesday’s summit included four of the five FCC commissioners and members of Congress. It came a week before formal unveiling of the National Broadband Plan by the FCC. The Tuesday meeting was also hosted by the Knight Foundation.
An Oklahoma proposal for a statewide toll-free calling plan is “fundamentally flawed” and should be set aside in favor of a “more targeted solution,” Verizon said late Friday in preliminary comments to the Corporation Commission. The plan proposes to ban “an entire class of competitors -- interexchange carriers -- from serving an admittedly competitive market,” the company said.