USTelecom urged President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration (see 2011090049) and the next Congress to progress on broadband issues next year, including through COVID-19 aid legislation. Also Monday, Biden’s transition team cited “universal broadband” access as among priorities for infrastructure funding to help restore the U.S. economy. Democrats kept their House majority (see 2011050056). Control of the Senate remains unclear. Congress should “advance legislation to rapidly and fully invest in the broadband infrastructure programs required to quickly and permanently close the digital divide in,” USTelecom said. Congress should fund the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (S-1822) and “fast-track a major initiative that makes public resources available to ensure low-income students and all at-risk Americans have access to broadband at home.” The group appeared to urge an upcoming Democratic majority at the FCC not to seek to again reclassify broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, saying “dusting off policies from the 1930s and even the 1990s doesn’t deliver this across-the-board protection.” USTelecom wants the U.S. government to “reinvigorate its cyber engagement with global allies” and fund efforts like the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). The group didn't answer questions.

USTelecom urged President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration (see 2011090049) and the next Congress to progress on broadband issues next year, including through COVID-19 aid legislation. Also Monday, Biden’s transition team cited “universal broadband” access as among priorities for infrastructure funding to help restore the U.S. economy. Democrats kept their House majority (see 2011050056). Control of the Senate remains unclear. Congress should “advance legislation to rapidly and fully invest in the broadband infrastructure programs required to quickly and permanently close the digital divide in,” USTelecom said. Congress should fund the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (S-1822) and “fast-track a major initiative that makes public resources available to ensure low-income students and all at-risk Americans have access to broadband at home.” The group appeared to urge an upcoming Democratic majority at the FCC not to seek to again reclassify broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, saying “dusting off policies from the 1930s and even the 1990s doesn’t deliver this across-the-board protection.” USTelecom wants the U.S. government to “reinvigorate its cyber engagement with global allies” and fund efforts like the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). The group didn't answer questions.

Joe Biden's presidential transition team for the FCC is starting to take shape, but it's early on given most national news organizations declared his win Saturday. President Donald Trump hasn’t conceded. A few names are emerging for the landing team, and a final list isn't likely until after Thanksgiving, stakeholders said in interviews. Team leaders from former President Barack Obama's interregnum 12 years ago said cooperation from the outgoing administration is critical.

T-Mobile agreed to pay $200 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation of waste, fraud and abuse connected with Sprint receiving Lifeline subsidies for 885,000 subscribers who weren’t using the service, said an order and consent decree Wednesday (see 2011040016). T-Mobile bought Sprint earlier this year. The payment “is the largest fixed-amount settlement the Commission has ever secured to resolve an investigation,” said an FCC news release. “While we inherited this issue with our merger, we are glad that it is now resolved,” T-Mobile emailed.

The GAO said Friday it’s recommending the FCC “revise” its performance goals and measures for its high-cost USF program to ensure they're “measurable and quantifiable” to better align “with leading practices.” Doing so will allow the commission to “improve the performance information it uses in its decision-making processes about how to allocate the program’s finite resources,” the GAO said. It found in interviews with stakeholders that the high-cost program’s goals “generally reflect important and appropriate strategic objectives” but don’t meet the standards outlined in the Government Performance and Results Act that they be “objective, quantifiable, and measurable.”

The GAO said Friday it’s recommending the FCC “revise” its performance goals and measures for its high-cost USF program to ensure they're “measurable and quantifiable” to better align “with leading practices.” Doing so will allow the commission to “improve the performance information it uses in its decision-making processes about how to allocate the program’s finite resources,” the GAO said. It found in interviews with stakeholders that the high-cost program’s goals “generally reflect important and appropriate strategic objectives” but don’t meet the standards outlined in the Government Performance and Results Act that they be “objective, quantifiable, and measurable.”

In what he said will likely be his final speech as a commissioner, Mike O’Rielly told a GSMA/CTIA conference FCC should focus on the 7 GHz and other bands in the months ahead and that some, if not all 7 Ghz, should be repurposed for 5G. Beyond making the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for 5G, and potentially spectrum below 3.45, the next vein of spectrum to tap for 5G isn't clear and warrants a discussion, said AT&T Vice President-Federal Regulatory Hank Hultquist.

Don’t spend state USF money where there's at least one unsubsidized provider, cable and wireless industries commented Monday in docket UM 2040 at the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Don't give support to any census block with at least one unsubsidized provider of voice or that was awarded federal or state high-cost or broadband funding, said the Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association. “The presence of an unsubsidized competitor should render an area ineligible for high cost support,” CTIA commented. The Oregon Telecommunications Association disagreed. Requiring OUSF only in areas without unsubsidized competition is "a premise that has no basis in statute,” it said. State law requires support "be provided to eligible telecommunications carriers in an amount that is equal to the difference between the cost of providing basic telephone service and the bench mark less any explicit compensation received by the carrier from federal sources specifically used to recover local loop costs and less any explicit support received by the carrier from a federal universal service program.” The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board urged “a clearer understanding of competition from unsubsidized services and their potential impact on subsidized services.”

The FCC approved a 5G Fund as expected Tuesday, with partial dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks (see 2010230056). Commissioners also approved revised TV white spaces rules 5-0, raising additional questions in a Further NPRM, including on the use of the Longley-Rice irregular terrain model for looking at interference (see 2010220048).

FCC draft orders on expanding video description and allowing voluntary all-digital AM service are expected to be approved unanimously at Tuesday’s open meeting, said FCC and industry officials in interviews. Neither item has substantively changed from the draft versions released earlier this month (see 2010050056), FCC officials said. Ben Downs, vice president for early all-digital AM supporter Bryan Broadcasting, said he’s not surprised by the broad support for the AM radio order: “This is the right thing for everyone.” Items with unanimous support are sometimes voted ahead of open meetings, but that’s unlikely to happen with these, FCC officials said.