The Rural Utilities Service should coordinate with the FCC on disbursing $600 million for broadband deployment under the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, blogged FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly Wednesday. The Department of Agriculture agency is to administer the pilot program of grants and loans. "The new program could be instrumental to filling coverage gaps in rural America not yet addressed by private companies and the FCC’s USF programs -- but only if it is implemented in a thoughtful and coordinated manner," he wrote. He lauded statutory language intended to target the funding to areas without 10/1 Mbps service and prevent overbuilding. "It is imperative that RUS coordinate with the FCC to ensure the implementation of regulations prevent any overbuilding of USF funding recipients," he said. "By working in a complementary fashion, these programs can help providers extend and sustain broadband into the most rural parts of the nation. For instance, the FCC has lacked the funding and resources to complete its Remote Areas Fund (RAF) proceeding, which was intended to bring service to the hardest to reach portions of the United States. If the RUS pilot program can reach into these RAF or RAF-like areas, then the country will be much closer to achieving the objectives of universal service." He said it's also important for the FCC to understand how the RUS money is being spent and for both agencies to work with the NTIA "on data on current and future broadband funding commitments so that the broadband map developed pursuant to this legislation provides the most accurate information possible regarding any remaining unserved areas."

The Rural Utilities Service should coordinate with the FCC on disbursing $600 million for broadband deployment under the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, blogged FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly Wednesday. The Department of Agriculture agency is to administer the pilot program of grants and loans. "The new program could be instrumental to filling coverage gaps in rural America not yet addressed by private companies and the FCC’s USF programs -- but only if it is implemented in a thoughtful and coordinated manner," he wrote. He lauded statutory language intended to target the funding to areas without 10/1 Mbps service and prevent overbuilding. "It is imperative that RUS coordinate with the FCC to ensure the implementation of regulations prevent any overbuilding of USF funding recipients," he said. "By working in a complementary fashion, these programs can help providers extend and sustain broadband into the most rural parts of the nation. For instance, the FCC has lacked the funding and resources to complete its Remote Areas Fund (RAF) proceeding, which was intended to bring service to the hardest to reach portions of the United States. If the RUS pilot program can reach into these RAF or RAF-like areas, then the country will be much closer to achieving the objectives of universal service." He said it's also important for the FCC to understand how the RUS money is being spent and for both agencies to work with the NTIA "on data on current and future broadband funding commitments so that the broadband map developed pursuant to this legislation provides the most accurate information possible regarding any remaining unserved areas."

A court upheld FCC orders requiring ILECs provide some unsubsidized voice service during a USF transition to broadband-oriented high-cost support, dealing a loss to telco interests. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday cited deference to regulators in denying incumbent telco challenges that argued the FCC improperly granted them only partial forbearance from the voice duties before new USF mechanisms are in place (see 1607120073). The panel questioned AT&T's attorney more extensively than the government's at oral argument (see 1710260054).

An Idaho USF task force should ask the Legislature to revamp universal service “in light of the fundamental underlying shift in telecommunications technology,” Idaho Public Utilities Commission staff recommended in a Wednesday report that followed a Jan. 17 PUC workshop on the future of USF (see 1801170030). The commission lacks authority to change state USF without statutory changes, staff said. Landline use declined as wireless and VoIP usage increased, PUC staff said. “As the IUSF-assessed telecommunications services decline, so too does the balance of the Fund, making it increasingly difficult for the Fund to remain solvent and fulfill its underlying statutory intent.” Staff said “parties agree the IUSF is unsustainable without major changes to the statute and funding methodology.” VoIP and wireless providers “must contribute to the Fund if the Fund's purpose is to be maintained,” it said. “If the technologies and purpose underlying the Fund have changed so much that the notion of universal service should also change, Staff would support an update to the universal service statutory regime.”

FCC staff denied Alaska Communications Services' request to temporarily waive a Connect America Fund Phase I duty to pinpoint subsidized broadband deployment with geocodes for 2,379 locations (latitude and longitude coordinates to the sixth decimal place). "ACS had until July 1, 2016 to provide the required information, but it failed to do so and filed this waiver petition on March 14, 2017 -- more than nine months" later, said a Wireline Bureau order in Thursday's Daily Digest. "ACS has not shown good cause for relief from its obligation to report location data that is critical to ensuring accountability of high-cost support." Citing logistical challenges and costs due to extreme conditions and remote locations, the telecom provider requested extension until Oct. 31, 2018, so field technicians doing maintenance could collect geocodes on a rolling basis, rather than make special trips (see 1703150048). The order said Universal Services Administrative Co. cited options to "use 'web-based maps and imagery' to pinpoint locations or employ 'an address geocoder program to convert addresses into [latitude and longitude] coordinates.'" ACS must now "file the required geocoded location information within six weeks." The company didn't comment.

An Idaho USF task force should ask the Legislature to revamp universal service “in light of the fundamental underlying shift in telecommunications technology,” Idaho Public Utilities Commission staff recommended in a Wednesday report that followed a Jan. 17 PUC workshop on the future of USF (see 1801170030). The commission lacks authority to change state USF without statutory changes, staff said. Landline use declined as wireless and VoIP usage increased, PUC staff said. “As the IUSF-assessed telecommunications services decline, so too does the balance of the Fund, making it increasingly difficult for the Fund to remain solvent and fulfill its underlying statutory intent.” Staff said “parties agree the IUSF is unsustainable without major changes to the statute and funding methodology.” VoIP and wireless providers “must contribute to the Fund if the Fund's purpose is to be maintained,” it said. “If the technologies and purpose underlying the Fund have changed so much that the notion of universal service should also change, Staff would support an update to the universal service statutory regime.”

FCC staff denied Alaska Communications Services' request to temporarily waive a Connect America Fund Phase I duty to pinpoint subsidized broadband deployment with geocodes for 2,379 locations (latitude and longitude coordinates to the sixth decimal place). "ACS had until July 1, 2016 to provide the required information, but it failed to do so and filed this waiver petition on March 14, 2017 -- more than nine months" later, said a Wireline Bureau order in Thursday's Daily Digest. "ACS has not shown good cause for relief from its obligation to report location data that is critical to ensuring accountability of high-cost support." Citing logistical challenges and costs due to extreme conditions and remote locations, the telecom provider requested extension until Oct. 31, 2018, so field technicians doing maintenance could collect geocodes on a rolling basis, rather than make special trips (see 1703150048). The order said Universal Services Administrative Co. cited options to "use 'web-based maps and imagery' to pinpoint locations or employ 'an address geocoder program to convert addresses into [latitude and longitude] coordinates.'" ACS must now "file the required geocoded location information within six weeks." The company didn't comment.

The FCC hopes this month to begin transferring USF assets from a commercial bank to the U.S. Treasury, said Deena Shetler, acting deputy managing director, at an FCBA event Tuesday. She said the shift won't fundamentally change the subsidy program, which will still be subject to FCC rules and Universal Service Administrative Co. management. USF recipients will be essentially unaffected, other than receiving payments from the Treasury instead of Bank of America, she said. Industry contributors to the fund will have to shift to a government payment portal, but are expected to have better online account access, said Fred Theobald, USAC director-financial operations. Some continue to have concerns.

An FCC rural call completion order and Further NPRM draft seek new ways to solve problems with long-distance calls to rural areas, which often aren't connected or are dropped. The draft item in docket 13-39 would shift from "covered provider" data reporting and related requirements to relying on monitoring of "intermediate carrier" performance, and seek to implement a new rural calling law. Another draft NPRM in docket 17-144 would offer business data service (BDS) "incentive regulation" to rural telcos receiving model-based Connect America Fund USF subsidy report. Both items were put on the April 17 commissioners' meeting tentative agenda announced Monday and released Tuesday (see 1803260028 and 1803270052).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai suggested Pennsylvania provide a match of Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction of subsidies for fixed broadband and voice services beginning July 24. "If your state did this, such funds would increase the incentive for providers to invest in Pennsylvania and bring new service to those without -- likely increasing the quality of service as well as the federal funding for rural parts of the state," he said, in an exchange posted Friday in docket 18-5 with Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., and other members of the state's congressional delegation. The lawmakers asked the FCC Jan. 25 to reverse a then-pending denial of a Pennsylvania petition for CAF II funding help. "Because the petition before the Commission did not explain why such matching efforts were insufficient to accomplish the Commonwealth's goals given our interest in maximizing the effectiveness of our universal service dollars for all Americans, the Commission denied the request in January," Pai wrote March 14. He noted the FCC also is looking at a subsequent "Remote Areas Fund" auction for areas still without high-speed broadband, giving Pennsylvania another opportunity.