Don’t “exclude mobile-satellite service providers" from the 2022 5G Fund auction if they can deliver in unserved or underserved areas to "technical and performance standards,” AST & Science said in calls with FCC staff. “Encourage the use of advanced technologies to deliver universal service funding to the most difficult to serve areas by earmarking a small portion (10% to 15%) of the 5G Fund for qualified applicants who commit to use innovative, non-traditional systems to serve areas that otherwise are highly unlikely to receive service.” Monday's posting is in docket 20-32.

Don’t “exclude mobile-satellite service providers" from the 2022 5G Fund auction if they can deliver in unserved or underserved areas to "technical and performance standards,” AST & Science said in calls with FCC staff. “Encourage the use of advanced technologies to deliver universal service funding to the most difficult to serve areas by earmarking a small portion (10% to 15%) of the 5G Fund for qualified applicants who commit to use innovative, non-traditional systems to serve areas that otherwise are highly unlikely to receive service.” Monday's posting is in docket 20-32.

All three Mississippi Public Service Commission members asked the FCC to audit AT&T on its use of more than $283 million in Connect America Fund support to expand broadband to 133,000 Mississippi locations. The FCC is looking into this, a spokesperson said Wednesday. “As part of our annual certification of” eligible telecom carriers, “evidence has been uncovered by our agency that leads to great concern surrounding the validity of AT&T Mississippi’s claims and the honesty of data submitted by them to the Universal Service Administrative Company’s High Cost Universal Broadband,” said a Tuesday letter signed by Chairman Dane Maxwell (R) and Commissioners Brandon Presley (D) and Brent Bailey (R). The PSC investigation found “concrete, specific examples” showing the company reported addresses as served when they aren't, said the commissioners, alleging AT&T has “actual knowledge” of the allegedly invalid submissions. AT&T responded last month to the PSC’s subpoena (see 2009180047). "The data we report as part of Phase II of the Connect America Fund is already subject to strict audit and compliance measures by the federal government," and the carrier is focused on deploying high-speed infrastructure across Mississippi, a company spokesperson emailed now.

Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's nearly seven-year FCC career will wrap up by year's end. During the agency's September meeting Wednesday, he said he's folding on others' efforts to get himself renominated. He said he's leaving regardless of how the November presidential election plays out (see 2009300014).

The National Tribal Telecommunications Association seconded concerns NTCA raised in August about the resurgent FCC budget control mechanism on rural LECs receiving cost-based Connect America Fund broadband loop support or high-cost loop support. NTCA said the mechanism “will reduce by more than $37 million” over the next year “the amount of universal service support to be received by several hundred small rural companies and cooperatives.” NTTA members, like rural LECs in general, “have been making significant efforts to ensure customers retain broadband service, including not disconnecting service for an inability to pay due to COVID-19 related financial difficulties many customers are facing,” said NTTA's docket 10-90 filing Tuesday: “NTCA’s request to waive the operation of the [mechanism] ‘for the pendency of the COVID-19 national emergency’ should be adopted … as soon as possible.”

The Mississippi Public Service Commission got information from AT&T responsive to the agency’s subpoena about what happened with more than $283 million in Connect America Fund support to expand broadband to 133,000 Mississippi locations (see 2009100059), PSC Chairman Brandon Presley said Friday. “We’re continuing our investigation” and will share findings with Universal Service Administrative Co., Presley told us. The PSC is still finding addresses where the company claims it provides service yet denies customers’ requests for installation, he said. Mississippi law and PSC rules "protect against the public disclosure of competitively-sensitive information, including the number of customers we serve," an AT&T spokesperson said. "We have informed the commission that we will provide the requested information subject to those safeguards."

The Mississippi Public Service Commission got information from AT&T responsive to the agency’s subpoena about what happened with more than $283 million in Connect America Fund support to expand broadband to 133,000 Mississippi locations (see 2009100059), PSC Chairman Brandon Presley said Friday. “We’re continuing our investigation” and will share findings with Universal Service Administrative Co., Presley told us. The PSC is still finding addresses where the company claims it provides service yet denies customers’ requests for installation, he said. Mississippi law and PSC rules "protect against the public disclosure of competitively-sensitive information, including the number of customers we serve," an AT&T spokesperson said. "We have informed the commission that we will provide the requested information subject to those safeguards."

Universal Administrative Service Co. is opening a second 2020 filing window Sept. 21 to Oct. 16 to allow schools in the E-rate program to request funding to buy more bandwidth to meet added on-campus connectivity demands due to the pandemic, without having to go through a new competitive bidding process, says the FCC in Monday's Federal Register. The order was approved last week (see 2009160036).

Universal Administrative Service Co. is opening a second 2020 filing window Sept. 21 to Oct. 16 to allow schools in the E-rate program to request funding to buy more bandwidth to meet added on-campus connectivity demands due to the pandemic, without having to go through a new competitive bidding process, says the FCC in Monday's Federal Register. The order was approved last week (see 2009160036).

The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. should “comprehensively assess fraud risks to the E-rate program and follow leading practices when designing and implementing data analytics to prevent and detect fraud,” GAO said in a report sought by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. The FCC Office of Inspector General reported to Congress in 2017 that the commission’s ability to detect and deter E-rate fraud was limited because of lack of oversight controls. GAO said Wednesday it found E-rate’s program design allows participants to “self-certify” and lacks sufficient FCC oversight to “identify potential fraud risks. For example, an applicant could receive payments for services they've claimed to have provided, but don't have the documentation.” Reliance on self-certification “is an inherent overarching key fraud risk affecting the E-rate program application and funding phases,” the auditor said. “This key fraud risk presents opportunities for applicants, service providers, or consultants to misrepresent dozens of self-certification statements on various application and funding FCC forms.” Other key fraud risks include “opportunities to misrepresent compliance with competitive-bidding requirements,” instances where “various E-rate program participants” can “collude” and potential conflicts of interest “when an E-rate consultant or Educational Service Agency represents both the applicant and service provider in the same transaction.” The proposed coordinated FCC-USAC assessments of E-rate fraud risks should include “implementing their respective plans for developing periodic fraud risk assessments, examining suitability of existing fraud controls, and compiling fraud risk profiles, GAO recommended. The FCC chairman should ensure the commission and USAC “follow the leading practices in GAO’s Fraud Risk Framework when designing and implementing data-analytics activities to prevent and detect fraud as part of their respective antifraud strategies for the E-rate program.” The FCC should direct USAC “to clearly define and fully document the data fields in all relevant E-rate program computer systems to help improve FCC’s ability to understand and use data to manage fraud risks,” GAO said. The FCC agreed about the recommendations. Coordination with USAC on E-rate assessments “complements” the regulator’s “existing efforts and will help the Commission and USAC to build on those efforts to mitigate fraud risk,” said FCC Managing Director Mark Stephens and Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith in an attached letter. The FCC and USAC “have been working collaboratively to incorporate the use of data-analytics activities into our fraud risk management plans and starting last year, began using data analytics in the context of investigation and enforcement.” The FCC plans to “direct USAC to better document and define the data fields in its E-Rate systems, with an initial focus on the key data fields that USAC relies on most to administer” the program, Monteith and Stephens said. USAC declined to comment.