Industry groups pressed NTIA to give states maximum flexibility in awarding the billions of forthcoming dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the agency prepares to roll out program rules for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle-mile programs, in comments we reviewed (see 2202070053). The agency made most of the more than 750 comments it received available Wednesday.

The FCC will soon adopt rules that "crack down on revenue sharing” and exclusive access arrangements between broadband providers and building owners in multi-tenant environments said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2201210039). The record the FCC received last year on broadband access in MTEs “made one thing very clear,” Rosenworcel said: “The agency’s existing rules are not what they could be.” Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington encouraged NTIA to prioritize unserved areas in its new broadband programs. Other panelists urged the FCC to revise the USF.

A draft FCC Further NPRM that would seek comment on rural healthcare program revisions would make needed changes to how the rates database is calculated and modernize funding cap rules, said experts in recent interviews (see 2201280065). The draft, if adopted during the Feb. 18 commissioners' meeting, would also seek comment on whether the agency should redefine rurality and how that affects program participation.

FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction recipients will undergo more scrutiny in 2022 with increased audits and verifications as part of the agency's "rural broadband accountability plan," said a news release Friday. It's "part of an ongoing effort to increase accountability and to build upon existing audit and verification processes performed by the Universal Service Administrative Co.," said a fact sheet. The FCC also announced that more than $1.2 billion in RDOF support is ready to be authorized for 23 providers, as expected (see 2201270030).

Total demand for USF programs topped $9 billion in 2021, reported the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service on Friday. About $5 billion in high-cost support was claimed in 2020, with FCC staff estimating a similar amount claimed in 2021. Demand for low-income programs in 2021 was more than $1 billion. More than 7 million consumers participated in Lifeline in 2020, with 7,000 tribal subscribers participating in Link Up. More than $1 billion of the $2.4 billion committed to E-rate in 2021 was disbursed. Total rural healthcare funding disbursed was $49 million as of June 30. The USF Q4 2021 contribution factor was 29.1%, down from 31.8% in Q3.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will vote “later this week” on draft affordable connectivity program rules, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, he said during an Information Technology Industry Council webinar Tuesday. “I expect a lot from this program going forward” (see 2201070060). ACP rules must be finalized within 60 days of the law's enactment, which is Friday.

A draft FCC NPRM would require ISPs to disclose certain information to consumers through a broadband label, if approved during the agency's January meeting, said a fact sheet Thursday (see 2201050057). Other drafts include an order updating the E-rate program's rules to ensure tribal libraries' access to the program, an order updating political programming rules, an NPRM updating equipment authorization rules, and an order resolving "pending issues" on white space spectrum.

The FCC Wireline Bureau granted five of seven waiver requests on the Emergency Connectivity Fund's $400 cap for connected devices, said an order Tuesday in docket 21-93. All the petitioners serve students and staff with disabilities. St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf, Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, and NYSARC-New York City Chapter, AHRC New York City were granted a waiver. Fresno Unified School District's two waiver requests were granted. The Bay Area Technology School was denied a waiver to buy equipment accessories and more than one connected device per student. Health Science High & Middle College in San Diego was denied a waiver to purchase connected devices "compatible with software used in a specialty academic program focused on career preparation." The bureau directed the Universal Service Administrative Co. to complete its review of the seven funding requests within 60 days.

Alternative connect America cost model I (A-CAM), rural broadband experiment, and Alaska plan support recipients may continue pretesting 70% of Universal Service Administrative Co.-selected samples for the first two quarters of 2022, said an FCC Wireline Bureau order Monday in docket 10-90 granting in part NTCA’s request for an extension of a similar waiver (see 2012210050). It on its own extended similar relief to A-CAM II, Connect America Fund broadband loop support and CAF II auction recipients. The bureau "[agreed] that the global semiconductor shortage has caused delays in both the manufacture and the delivery of equipment,” encouraging carriers to "move as swiftly as possible to test their full sample size." The bureau granted REV Broadband's request to waive pretesting requirements for its subsidiaries receiving CAF broadband support loop support for Q1, citing the "lingering effects of Hurricane Ida." It denied NTCA's request to adopt a "simplified waiver process" and extend the pretesting period for A-CAM, rural broadband experiment, and Alaska plan carriers.

CTIA asked a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to reconsider a Kentucky 911 case. Earlier this month, the 6th Circuit said the U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky erred in concluding that a Kentucky 911 law conflicts with and is preempted by the 2018 federal Wireless Telecom Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act (see 2112030060). The wireless association asked the original 6th Circuit panel Friday to rehear or, “at minimum,” vacate the district court opinion, “decline to definitively address these questions of law, and permit the district court on remand to address these issues in the first instance.” The appeals judges “took too narrow a view of the federal interests that would be obstructed should Kentucky be permitted to impose these special burdens on Lifeline participation,” CTIA wrote. “The panel left unaddressed a few key arguments CTIA made that illuminate the ‘full purposes’ of Congress under the Communications Act” and the wireless tax fairness law “to safeguard federal universal service funds,” it said.