Integrity Communications urged the FCC to reconsider its finding that the Universal Service Administrative Co. acted appropriately when it circulated a copy of an audit letter to other E-rate applicant schools. Based on an audit finding against one of Integrity’s customers, USAC suspended E-rate applications that specified Integrity as the service provider. The FCC in its order failed to give USAC any deadline to process Integrity’s funding requests, Integrity said. “The freeze, delay and distribution of the Audit Letter have inflicted severe damage on Integrity,” it said.

AT&T’s July petition seeking an immediate FCC revamp of universal service fund contribution (USF) formulas will be treated as an ex parte filing in the FCC’s open rulemaking on USF and intercarrier compensation reform, the Wireline Bureau said Monday. AT&T urged the FCC to replace its current system based on interstate revenue with one based on phone number count (CD July 31 p5).

All federal universal service support payments must be made by electronics funds transfer, the FCC said Friday. USF recipients should provide their financial information on FCC Form 498. The requirement will become effective this fall when the FCC releases a revised form, it said. “Eliminating the mailing of paper checks will minimize the possibility that payments are lost in transit or delivered to the wrong addresses, and reduce the chance that payments are misappropriated,” the FCC said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment on a letter by the Universal Service Administrative Co. asking for guidance (CD Aug 21 p6) on universal service fund caps for AT&T and Alltel, plus five other matters. Comments are due Oct. 27, replies Nov. 12.

Online hate speech presents a conundrum for service providers and concerned parents alike, speakers at the NTIA’s Online Safety and Technology Working Group said Thursday. Not universally illegal, like child pornography, it’s nonetheless distasteful, often psychologically harmful to children and teens, and sometimes so skillfully crafted that it’s difficult to immediately identify, they said. Member Larry Magid of SafeKids.com and ConnectSafely.org, relating an incident in which his own child came across a hate site while researching Martin Luther King, Jr., asked whether hate sites or pages should be blocked by service providers or if they should be treated as an opportunity for education.

Federal agencies would have a year to create a plan to guide federal cybersecurity research efforts, under a bill approved Wednesday by the Research and Science Education Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee. Chairman Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., and Ranking Member Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., expressed support for the Cybersecurity Research and Development Act.

Addressing broadband adoption problems in minority communities, among low-income families and in other under- privileged communities is essential for a successful national broadband plan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies lunch Tuesday. Also at the event, Commissioner Michael Copps urged boosting minority media ownership, while the joint caucus for black elected officials urged policies that would ensure growing digital adoption for minority communities.

Addressing broadband adoption problems in minority communities, among low-income families and in other under- privileged communities is essential for a successful national broadband plan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies lunch Tuesday. Also at the event, Commissioner Michael Copps urged boosting minority media ownership, while the joint caucus for black elected officials urged policies that would ensure growing digital adoption for minority communities.

Addressing broadband adoption problems in minority communities, among low-income families and in other under- privileged communities is essential for a successful national broadband plan, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies lunch Tuesday. Also at the event, the joint caucus for black elected officials urged policies that would ensure growing digital adoption for minority communities. Adoption and access are two key challenges, Genachowski said. While many communities have access to broadband, adoption rates are still low, particularly among minorities, low-income families and seniors, he said. It’s essential to tackle adoption barriers because broadband is the platform for job opportunities, business growth, education, health care, energy and public safety, he said, saying the majority of Fortune 500 companies post their openings online. Additionally, broadband is the platform for “Government 2.0,” enabling better services for more people through social networking and integration advantages of Web 2.0, he said. The Obama Administration should review and repurpose national community service initiatives and funding to include communications and information technology as one of the core elements of these programs, said a report by the joint caucus of black elected officials, released at the event. Existing broadband stimulus funding and any future appropriations should be much more heavily weighted toward supporting sustainable broadband adoption, particularly those programs that are localized to meet the needs of African-American consumers, the report said. The national broadband policy should include a restructuring of the Universal Service Fund to provide financial support to households that cannot afford broadband, it said. A possible opportunity is to allocate funds toward a broadband connect program that could be offered to low-income consumers that require a government subsidy to get online, it said. Additionally, federal and local legislators should ensure developers who receive government housing subsidies install and maintain free or low-cost broadband services for disadvantaged residents, the report said. African Americans cited availability, price, relevance and usability as major reasons for not getting online, it said. The joint caucus of black elected officials also urged the federal government to provide additional resources for state and local governments and to include digital literacy in worker training and retraining initiatives.

The results of Qwest’s two-year, seven-figure effort to improve phone service in remote, sparsely populated Cherry County, Neb., will be taken up at a town-hall meeting Wednesday at the library in Valentine. Public Service Commissioner Jerry Vap called the session to get residents’ comments on the quality of their phone service after the extensive upgrade. A 2006 commission order required fixes including widespread cable testing and replacement. Problems cropped up when Qwest installed booster units along existing lines. The lines, many decades old, had been carrying a 4w load. The boosters, rated at 40w, knocked out service across the enormous county, Vap said. After the work, “the service in Cherry County is great, compared to the rest of Nebraska and, in fact, to all of our 14-state region,” a Qwest representative said. He estimated that Qwest spent “a couple of million” dollars of its own money plus $1-2 million from the Universal Service Fund, on the project.