The FCC granted 12 of 14 waiver petitions in the Connect America Fund Phase II auction of subsidies for fixed broadband and voice services, though some didn't qualify to bid. Meanwhile, Comcast and MediaCom told us they didn't apply to bid in the auction starting July 24. The Wireline and Wireless bureaus granted 10 of 11 applicant waiver petitions asking regulators to accept late-filed Form 477 submissions as evidence of their voice and/or broadband service experience but denied Net Vision Communications' request because it didn't file a 477 for a relevant period, said an order in docket 17-182 and Tuesday's Daily Digest. The bureaus noted the waivers didn't necessarily mean applicants were qualified to bid, as applications were judged in totality; a public notice Monday announced 220 applications were accepted and 57 denied (see 1806250051). Waiver grantees qualified to bid were Workable Programs and Systems, Hankins Information Technology, Red Spectrum Communications, 360 Communications, Pueblo of Laguna Utility Authority and Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries. Not qualified were Redzone Wireless, Emerald Cable, Good Connections and Skyrunner. The bureaus denied Sonus Technologies' request to waive a requirement that applicants with fewer than two years of experience submit three years of audited financial statements. In another order, the bureaus granted waivers to Horizon Telcom and Hawaiian Telcom to amend applications to reflect pending ownership changes, conditioned on deal consummation. The FCC May 29 approved transfers from Horizon Telecom and two subsidiaries to Horizon Acquisition Parent; June 19, it approved transfers of control from Hawaiian Telcom to Cincinnati Bell. Both applicants were qualified to bid.

Lifeline providers and tribal groups asked the FCC to stay 2017 tribal Lifeline changes, pending judicial review of their legal challenges to an order released Dec. 1 (see 1711160021 and 1712010042). The commission order "unlawfully (1) limits the types of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) eligible to receive enhanced Tribal Lifeline support and (2) narrows the geographic scope of Tribal lands in which individuals are eligible for the Tribal Lifeline benefit," said Assist Wireless, Boomerang Wireless, Easy Wireless, the National Lifeline Association, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority in a petition Friday in docket 17-287. They said the order is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the Wireline Bureau issues a public notice announcing approval of information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act. A stay's "limited relief is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to ETCs and consumers, including Tribal communities," they said in their FCC request. "Petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims before the D.C. Circuit; they will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay; and the balance of harms and public interests weigh in favor of a stay." The FCC declined comment Monday. Meanwhile, TracFone Wireless pushed its proposals for an NPRM released with the order, including for a “conduct-based standard” to "root out waste, fraud, and abuse" in Lifeline. "Rather than excluding Lifeline resellers from the program ... the Commission should instead focus on the actual conduct of Lifeline carriers and target those that have performed poorly under the various audit and evaluation mechanisms intended to safeguard the Lifeline program," said a filing posted Friday on a meeting with Wireline Bureau officials. TracFone is "pleased that the soft launch of the National Verifier had finally commenced" last week (see 1806180054), but "remains concerned about the lack of any application programming interface (API) for the National Verifier that would enable carriers and its social services and health care partners to assist consumers with navigating" eligibility and verification processes.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is going to Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington state this week on a new road trip to "highlight" how broadband expansion can close the digital divide and create opportunity, said an advisory Monday. He "will visit Tribal lands, a telehealth facility, an emergency communications center, a mining company, a potato farm, local Internet service providers, as well as meet with elected officials, local broadcasters, business leaders, and first responders."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is going to Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington state this week on a new road trip to "highlight" how broadband expansion can close the digital divide and create opportunity, said an advisory Monday. He "will visit Tribal lands, a telehealth facility, an emergency communications center, a mining company, a potato farm, local Internet service providers, as well as meet with elected officials, local broadcasters, business leaders, and first responders."

The upcoming Tribal Mobility Fund Phase II auction should be weighted to provide money for the most remote and difficult to serve tribal lands, Smith Bagley Inc. told the FCC. SBI reported on meetings between Chairman Kevin Frawley and FCC staff. The carrier “presented demographic data from the U.S. Census and the Commission’s Connect2Health initiative demonstrating that the Tribal lands where SBI serves, as well as a number of others in the Lower 48, remain at a severe disadvantage compared to many other Tribal lands, and the rest of the nation.” It "would be a significant setback for the Commission’s ongoing efforts to promote telephone and broadband penetration on Tribal lands if the Tribal Mobility Fund II auction disbursed all of its funds to areas with better demographics and lower costs to serve, to the exclusion of the nation’s most challenging Tribal lands,” the carrier said, posted Friday in docket 10-90.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended the agency's Lifeline USF actions and proposals to lawmakers who voiced concern about their ramifications for the low-income subsidy program. "I am committed to bridging the digital divide, and, like you, I believe the Lifeline program can help do just that," he wrote, responding to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and four colleagues in an exchange posted Friday in docket 18-5. He said a November order "seeks to focus Lifeline support where it is most needed and incentivize investment in networks that enable 21st century connectivity for all America" (see 1711160021). But he's also "committed to ensuring that the Commission fulfills its obligation to be a responsible steward" of USF by strengthening Lifeline's "efficacy and integrity by reducing the waste, fraud and abuse that has run rampant in this program for the better part of a decade." An accompanying NPRM "sought comment" on various "measures to improve" program administration, "from re-empowering state commissions to police Lifeline carriers to partnering with states to stand up the National Verifier, from improving program audits to adopting a self-enforcing budget." He sent the same response to Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., (here), and similar responses to Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Robert Casey, R-Pa., (here) and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., (here). "I agree with you that the National Verifier will be one important tool in eliminating this waste, fraud, and abuse. But it is not the only one, nor will it solve all the problems with the program. It simply isn't prudent to sit idly by when hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake," he told the last three. Pai also defended, in a response to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., (here) the FCC's Lifeline tribal changes, which he said will spur broadband investment while preserving basic support for low-income Native Americans.

PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania may reverse pre-empt the FCC for pole attachment authority, an option for states not taken for nearly a decade. Public Utility Commissioners voted 5-0 for a motion by Commissioner Norman Kennard to open a rulemaking that surprised some. Earlier Thursday, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Above Ground Level (AGL) Summit in Philadelphia the FCC may learn from state small-cells bills as the federal agency weighs action to lower state and local barriers to 5G deployment.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission is still determining “the best path forward” on revamping elements of the Lifeline USF program. His responded to letters from House Democrats that raised concerns that his preferred plan would mean major cuts to the program’s subsidization of phone and internet services to low-income people. The revamp NPRM adopted in November seeks comment on creating a self-enforcing budget cap, setting a maximum subscriber discount level and ending both federal designation of Lifeline broadband providers and pre-emption of states' role in designating some eligible telecom carriers (see 1711160021). House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., led one letter in January. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and 67 other House members sent a separate letter in March (see 1803210061). Senate Aging Committee Chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Bob Casey, D-Pa., more recently also raised concerns (see 1805180043). “I am deeply committed to ensuring that the Commission fulfills its obligation to be a responsible steward of” USF, Pai said, posted Monday. “It is critical to strengthen the Lifeline program's efficacy and integrity by reducing the waste, fraud, and abuse that has run rampant in this program for the better part of a decade.” The national verifier of consumer eligibility for the program the FCC is implementing “will be one important tool in eliminating this waste, fraud, and abuse,” but “it simply isn't prudent to sit idly by when hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake,” Pai said. “That's why the Commission last year sought comment on a wide variety of measures to improve the administration of the Lifeline program.” Pai disputed suggestions that an accompanying November order will cut off Lifeline support to tribal members. He said the changes were designed to "incentivize providers" to deploy broadband networks on tribal lands. "All eligible Americans who apply will continue to receive support, but that enhanced support will now be tailored to better target those in need," he responded to Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and 31 colleagues. "Similarly false are suggestions that the Commission did not consult with Tribes before adopting the 2017 Lifeline Reform Order," he added, citing comments from, and consultations with, various tribal parties: "As Chairman, I have participated in three official Tribal consultations, made numerous visits to Tribal communities, and met with Tribal representatives, including the Navajo Nation."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission is still determining “the best path forward” on revamping elements of the Lifeline USF program. His responded to letters from House Democrats that raised concerns that his preferred plan would mean major cuts to the program’s subsidization of phone and internet services to low-income people. The revamp NPRM adopted in November seeks comment on creating a self-enforcing budget cap, setting a maximum subscriber discount level and ending both federal designation of Lifeline broadband providers and pre-emption of states' role in designating some eligible telecom carriers (see 1711160021). House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., led one letter in January. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and 67 other House members sent a separate letter in March (see 1803210061). Senate Aging Committee Chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Bob Casey, D-Pa., more recently also raised concerns (see 1805180043). “I am deeply committed to ensuring that the Commission fulfills its obligation to be a responsible steward of” USF, Pai said, posted Monday. “It is critical to strengthen the Lifeline program's efficacy and integrity by reducing the waste, fraud, and abuse that has run rampant in this program for the better part of a decade.” The national verifier of consumer eligibility for the program the FCC is implementing “will be one important tool in eliminating this waste, fraud, and abuse,” but “it simply isn't prudent to sit idly by when hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake,” Pai said. “That's why the Commission last year sought comment on a wide variety of measures to improve the administration of the Lifeline program.” Pai disputed suggestions that an accompanying November order will cut off Lifeline support to tribal members. He said the changes were designed to "incentivize providers" to deploy broadband networks on tribal lands. "All eligible Americans who apply will continue to receive support, but that enhanced support will now be tailored to better target those in need," he responded to Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and 31 colleagues. "Similarly false are suggestions that the Commission did not consult with Tribes before adopting the 2017 Lifeline Reform Order," he added, citing comments from, and consultations with, various tribal parties: "As Chairman, I have participated in three official Tribal consultations, made numerous visits to Tribal communities, and met with Tribal representatives, including the Navajo Nation."

The Department of Homeland Security updated its Northern Border Strategy (NBS) for the first time since it was issued in 2012 (see 12060723), DHS said in a news release. DHS said the "strategy establishes a clear vision and concrete actions that will improve DHS’s efforts to safeguard our northern border against terrorist and criminal threats, facilitate the safe and efficient flow of lawful cross-border trade and travel, and strengthen cross-border critical infrastructure protection and community resilience."