The Tanana Chiefs Conference of Fairbanks, Alaska, urged the FCC Tuesday to take “expedited action" to review a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision denying its request to file three FCC Form 466 USF Rural Health Care Program funding applications outside the FY 2016 filing window. TCC cited President Donald Trump’s Monday executive order, which made permanent for rural communities an expansion of Medicare recipients’ eligibility to receive 135 types of services via telehealth (see 2008040068). The White House “tasked” the FCC “to work with other government agencies to ‘develop and implement a strategy to improve rural health by improving the physical and communications healthcare infrastructure available to rural Americans,’” TCC counsel Ronald Quirk said in a filing in docket 02-60. “Granting TCC’s Waiver Request comports with” the EO since “failure to grant … would result in the communities served by TCC suffering serious hardships if funding for the subject health clinics is denied.”

Network Communications International Corp. and Securus won't get USF contribution forbearance, FCC members ordered 5-0 Friday. That's "given the critical role" the fund "plays in bringing connectivity to rural and low income Americans, schools, libraries, and health care providers, and the statutory directive to collect equitable and non-discriminatory contributions from all providers of interstate telecommunications services." Both companies’ petitions were denied in an order saying inmate calling service providers must participate. "To exempt ICS providers from contributing to the Fund would undermine the broad funding base for universal service, would not be competitively neutral, and would not be in the public interest," said the order. “We’re basically taxing the people who should be benefiting from the USF,” said NCIC President Bill Pope in an interview. He was referring to those who are incarcerated and said he hasn’t decided whether he will try to challenge the FCC decision. A lawyer who has represented Securus didn't comment. NCIC wasn't expected to succeed in its request (see 2007170049).

CTIA hires Avonne Bell, from Kelley Drye, as director-connected life, new title for job previously done by Jackie McCarthy, who went to New England Cable & Television Association (see this section, Jan. 27) ... San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (D) announces Jordan Sun joins Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation as city's chief innovation officer; he recently returned from deployment to Afghanistan as chief operating officer, Special Operations Joint Task Force, Afghanistan Technology Team with Army.

CTA taps David Rhew, Microsoft global chief medical officer, and Alexander Garza, SSM Health chief medical officer, to co-chair new Public Health Tech Initiative, tasked with creating recommendations on use of technology for addressing and resolving future public health crises ... CTIA hires Avonne Bell, from Kelley Drye, as director-connected life, new title for job previously done by Jackie McCarthy, who went to New England Cable & Television Association (see this section, Jan. 27) ... San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo (D) announces Jordan Sun joins Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation as city's chief innovation officer; he recently returned from deployment to Afghanistan as chief operating officer, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan Technology Team with Army.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other lawmakers expressed interest Thursday in pursuing legislation and other solutions to address what they see as a dysfunctional relationship between the FCC and other federal agencies on spectrum management. Thune later told us Capitol Hill is unlikely to address the issue this Congress given the dwindling legislative calendar. FCC approval of Ligado’s L-band plan wasn’t directly mentioned despite earlier expectations (see 2007220066).

Federal policymakers must help spur rural connectivity to support precision agriculture and ensure food security, John Deere Director-Advanced Technology, Intelligent Solutions Group Daniel Leibfried told a virtual meeting of the FCC precision agriculture task force Wednesday. Leibfried, who chairs the task force's connectivity demand working group, said if it were profitable to deliver connectivity to rural agricultural lands, ISPs would have done so.

The FCC will start the priority access license (PAL) auction Thursday. Among the 271 qualified bidders are AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile; and the biggest MVPDs including Comcast, Charter and Cox, Dish Network. Also qualified are electric utilities, wireless ISPs and enterprise customers including various universities and John Deere.

The FCC approved a broadband mapping order and Further NPRM, as expected (see 2007140060), with changes to the draft circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai. He warned the FCC doesn't have the money to start mapping. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel partially dissented. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks concurred. Commissioners agreed to change the maximum buffers for wireline networks and will seek comment on rather than require infrastructure reporting by wireless providers. The maps are considered necessary to offering money through the 5G Fund (see 2006260057).

The FCC didn't budge on an implementation deadline that telecom interests said couldn't be met. The commission's 988 suicide prevention hotline order approved unanimously Thursday tried to mitigate some problems they face, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said. No change to the two-year deadline was expected (see 2007150058) Telecoms argued universal implementation by that deadline is impossible (see 2006230022). Some commissioners disagreed.

Broaden the USF contribution base by including one-way VoIP services among contributors, the phone industry asked the FCC in comments posted through Tuesday in docket 06-122. "Given the rising contribution factor and the shrinking base of assessable services, the Commission should consider comprehensive USF reform that sets USF contributions on a sustainable path," USTelecom said. "While it is unlikely to make a noticeable difference to the contribution factor at this time, one way to begin addressing this issue in an incremental way is to broaden the base by including one-way VoIP services." Zoom wanted the FCC to ensure new obligations "are consistent with its long-standing commitment to fostering a regulatory environment that will invite investment in information services, including those that incorporate voice." Inaction on more comprehensive changes to USF contribution methodology threatens "the stability of USF funding and its mission to provide universal service nationwide," said the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee. Incompas urged comprehensive changes to contribution methodology, seeing the one-way VoIP matter as a distraction.