An FCC spokesperson countered Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s criticism Friday of a Public Safety Bureau report on last year’s hurricane response system. Rosenworcel said it's “too little, too late” (see 1808240052). “Unlike Commissioner Rosenworcel, this FCC prioritizes action,” the spokesperson emailed. “We have made available over $130 million in universal service funding to help recovery efforts, granted more than 900 waivers and requests for Special Temporary Authority to help re-establish communications in hurricane-affected areas, expedited approval of an experimental license for Alphabet’s Project Loon to provide Internet access to residents, approved targeted and flexible E-Rate support to help restore connectivity of schools and libraries, granted temporary waivers of Lifeline’s recertification rules, and accelerated the post-incentive auction transition to support Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island broadcasters.” After Harvey, Irma and Maria, Chairman Ajit Pai “quickly went to meet with first responders," the spokesperson said, to "find out what the FCC could do to help.”
An FCC spokesperson countered Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s criticism Friday of a Public Safety Bureau report on last year’s hurricane response system. Rosenworcel said it's “too little, too late” (see 1808240052). “Unlike Commissioner Rosenworcel, this FCC prioritizes action,” the spokesperson emailed. “We have made available over $130 million in universal service funding to help recovery efforts, granted more than 900 waivers and requests for Special Temporary Authority to help re-establish communications in hurricane-affected areas, expedited approval of an experimental license for Alphabet’s Project Loon to provide Internet access to residents, approved targeted and flexible E-Rate support to help restore connectivity of schools and libraries, granted temporary waivers of Lifeline’s recertification rules, and accelerated the post-incentive auction transition to support Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island broadcasters.” After Harvey, Irma and Maria, Chairman Ajit Pai “quickly went to meet with first responders," the spokesperson said, to "find out what the FCC could do to help.”
FCC commissioners approved an order extending the Mobility Fund II challenge window by an additional 90 days. All four commissioners voted yes, though Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel partially dissented, saying the agency needs to do more on its own to fix the maps that will be used to identify areas without 4G LTE. The fund will provide up to $4.53 billion to support 4G LTE in unserved areas. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order earlier this month extending the challenge deadline (see 1808030042).
The FCC said E-rate support can meet $2.77 billion in school and library demand for funding year 2018 (which started July 1), as estimated by the Universal Service Administrative Co.: $2.025 billion for "category one" telecom and internet connections, and $745 million for "category two" internal connections. USAC is directed to fully fund all eligible requests, given an E-rate annual budget of $4.06 billion, plus $1.2 billion in unused funding carried forward from the past, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 02-6 and Monday's Daily Digest
Incumbents and rivals painted different pictures of fixed broadband competition as the FCC prepares a communications market report by year-end required by the Ray Baum's Act. NCTA said competition "is delivering substantial benefits to consumers," bolstered by deregulation, and USTelecom said the fixed broadband market continues to be "dynamic," with increasing competitive alternatives. But Incompas said "data is insufficient to conclude the fixed broadband marketplace is competitive," and urged the agency to dismiss a USTelecom wholesale forbearance petition. Comments were due Friday in docket 18-231.
Incumbents and rivals painted different pictures of fixed broadband competition as the FCC prepares a communications market report by year-end required by the Ray Baum's Act. NCTA said competition "is delivering substantial benefits to consumers," bolstered by deregulation, and USTelecom said the fixed broadband market continues to be "dynamic," with increasing competitive alternatives. But Incompas said "data is insufficient to conclude the fixed broadband marketplace is competitive," and urged the agency to dismiss a USTelecom wholesale forbearance petition. Comments were due Friday in docket 18-231.
The FCC granted a waiver to an Alaskan E-rate applicant and invited others to seek relief due to similar application processing problems. Pribilof School District of St. Paul Island sought more than $300,000 in E-rate support to provide satellite internet access to 65 low-income students on two islands in the Bering Sea. Following a "series of errors" in the Universal Service Administrative Co.'s rollout of the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC), "Pribilof filed its application for funding and its subsequent waiver request after the applicable deadlines," said a unanimous commission order in docket 02-6 Wednesday. "[W]e grant relief to Pribilof and give an opportunity for relief to other similarly situated applicants whose applications were rejected because of failures of the EPC platform during funding year 2016." It directed the Wireline Bureau to initiate a process giving other FY 2016 applicants 60 days "to demonstrate that they experienced the same special circumstances as Pribilof and that a waiver would be in the public interest." Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's said his "concern has been the misguided position that information provided by USAC on the EPC news feed constitutes notice to an applicant of a funding decision and sets the deadline to appeal the decision." He thanked Chairman Ajit Pai for making revisions "to clarify that items posted on the EPC news feed are merely informational in nature." He recommended the FCC "take the next available opportunity to codify a rule that any funding decision be communicated by letter and distributed directly to the applicant’s designated contact(s), preferably by electronic means." Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel lauded the decision.
Nebraska commissioners voted 4-1 for a hybrid state USF contribution mechanism with a $1.75 per connection surcharge for residential wireline, postpaid wireless and interconnected VoIP services and a 6.95 percent revenue-based surcharge for business and other services. CenturyLink and small rural carriers Wednesday applauded the Public Service Commission’s Tuesday rate design order in docket NUSF-111, which followed last year’s decision to move to a connections-based contribution mechanism. Cox and CTIA raised red flags. Other state commissions are working toward USF updates, including Alaska, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
A Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing to re-examine proposals to improve rural broadband deployments appears aimed in part at looking at what lawmakers can do in the next Congress given the limited legislative work time left this year, communications sector officials and lobbyists said in interviews. House Communications aimed to revisit the broadband proposals after recent FCC and congressional efforts (see 1807130065). A House Commerce Committee GOP staff memo notes language from several bills House Communications reviewed in January made it into the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act FCC reauthorization and spectrum legislative package (HR-4986), which President Donald Trump signed into law as part of the $1.3 trillion FY 2018 omnibus spending bill (HR-1625). House Commerce also cleared other broadband legislation recently (see 1803230038 and 1807120063).
A Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing to re-examine proposals to improve rural broadband deployments appears aimed in part at looking at what lawmakers can do in the next Congress given the limited legislative work time left this year, communications sector officials and lobbyists said in interviews. House Communications aimed to revisit the broadband proposals after recent FCC and congressional efforts (see 1807130065). A House Commerce Committee GOP staff memo notes language from several bills House Communications reviewed in January made it into the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act FCC reauthorization and spectrum legislative package (HR-4986), which President Donald Trump signed into law as part of the $1.3 trillion FY 2018 omnibus spending bill (HR-1625). House Commerce also cleared other broadband legislation recently (see 1803230038 and 1807120063).