ACA Connects backed USTelecom's request for a 60-day extension of the April 15 deadline for affordable connectivity program providers to comply with the non-usage tracking rule, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and staff, said an ex parte letter posted Wednesday in docket 21-450 (see 2203230041). The group said its members face similar challenges in meeting the deadline. ACA Connects also asked the FCC to allow fixed broadband providers to follow the agency's 2011 enforcement guidance on reporting actual speeds and latency in the forthcoming consumer broadband labels.

ISPs sought minor modifications of the FCC’s 2016 broadband consumer labels as the agency works to create new labels required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In reply comments posted Friday in docket 22-2 (see 2203100059), disagreement continued on what details should be included in the labels. Others raised issues with calls to require privacy disclosures in the eventual labels, suggesting links that include more detailed information instead.

Industry disagreed whether the FCC should pause some of its high-cost Universal Service Fund programs amid the recent $65 billion federal broadband support from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, in reply comments posted Friday in docket 21-476 (see 2202180046). Others debated whether to expand the fund's contribution base or turn to direct congressional appropriations. The FCC sought comments on USF's future as part of its report to Congress due by Aug. 12.

Industry and advocates asked the FCC for some flexibility in its affordable connectivity program outreach grants and to prioritize nonprofit organizations, in comments posted Thursday in docket 21-450. The FCC also sought comments on its proposed pilot program to boost enrollment among households in public housing communities and on how to determine eligibility for an up to $75 monthly benefit for households living in high-cost areas.

Few changes are likely to be made to the FCC’s draft Further NPRM on pole replacement disputes and notice of inquiry on digital discrimination in broadband access, aides told us. The items are expected to be unanimously approved during Wednesday’s commissioners' meeting.

Industry, state officials and advocacy groups disagreed how the FCC should proceed in adopting new broadband consumer labels, in comments posted Thursday in docket 22-2 (see 2201280038). Industry disagreed whether certain information should be required or optional, while state officials and advocacy groups called for strong enforcement and regular publishing of the labels online and on consumer bills. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required the FCC to adopt labels and hold public hearings on the issue (see 2201270030).

Cable ISPs dissuading consumers from using their own equipment such as modems, often by not troubleshooting subscribers' service disruptions when those modems are used, results in a de facto requirement that consumers rent equipment they would prefer to own, Consumer Reports (CR) said in docket 21-501 Tuesday. Reply comments were due Monday on Television Viewer Protection Act implementation. The cable industry said results of TVPA implementation were mixed (see 2202040055). CR said the FCC should investigate such modem rental tactics. It said the law's requirement that providers inform customers of the total price with all fees included "is a step towards greater transparency," and helps people understand the service's true cost rather than advertised rates, which often don't include taxes, surcharges and fees. Nexstar disputed ACA Connects claims that it and the National Cable TV Cooperative didn't reach terms on a retransmission consent agreement because the broadcaster wanted to limit the size of NCTC members participating in any agreement. ACA didn't comment.

A draft FCC Further NPRM to seek comment on resolving pole attachment and replacement disputes would expedite the broadband deployment to come through programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, industry experts told us. Commissioners will consider the draft during the agency's March 16 meeting, which would seek comment on several concerns raised in a 2020 NCTA petition and costs associated with pole replacements or attachments (see 2007170023).

ACA Connects, the Competitive Carriers Association and six other communications groups urged the House and Senate Appropriations committees Thursday to give the FCC additional funding for its program to reimburse U.S. carriers for removing Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. Congress allocated $1.9 billion to the program via the FY 2021 Appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus law (see 2012210055), but carriers’ reimbursement requests totaled almost $5.6 billion by early February, the groups wrote House and Senate Appropriations leaders. “Barring further resources, the FCC will be forced to implement prorating available funding using the prioritization process directed by Congress,” the groups said. “Due to the significant amount of shortfall from current appropriations, prorating funding without additional resources threatens to significantly limit” the FCC program’s ability “to complete its mission. Service providers, which have already expended or committed significant resources under the assurance that reimbursements would be available, could be left unable to complete the removal and replacement of covered equipment and services, or be forced to shutter their business entirely, threatening the availability and security of advanced communications across the country, particularly in rural America.” Delays “in providing additional resources could have a chilling effect on accomplishing the goals directed by Congress to secure our nation’s communications networks,” the groups said.

A draft FCC notice of inquiry seeking comment on how to combat digital discrimination could shed light on the issue's severity, given the limited information currently available, public interest organizations told us. Commissioners will consider the item during its March 16 meeting (see 2202220069). Some advocates disagree how the FCC should define the term and say ISPs may push back on claims they may be engaging in digital discrimination.