The FCC extended Lifeline recertification deadlines for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe asked for an extension to "develop and implement an accurate and reliable recertification procedure" appropriate for Pine Ridge. It said annual recertifications of low-income eligibility are complicated by harsh weather, language barriers and distances subscribers must travel. "The unique, simultaneous combination of these circumstances resulted in a sudden and dramatic decrease in successful recertifications" at Pine Ridge starting in September, said a Wireline Bureau order in docket 11-42 in Wednesday's Daily Digest. It granted a temporary waiver giving Lifeline subscribers on the reservation 210 days (instead of 60) to respond to recertification efforts if their eligibility can't be verified through a database. Separately, Joe RedCloud, a former Oglala tribal utilities commission chairman, disputed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's contention in a Feb. 7 letter to Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, that many tribal groups support the commission's recent tribal Lifeline (TLL) changes (see 1802210015). "Tribes in general do NOT support the exclusion of wireless resellers from the TLL program and the Tribes referenced" by Pai and an FCC order "are not representative of Tribal interests," said a letter RedCloud emailed Tuesday to an O'Halleran aide. RedCloud said the tribes Pai cited are a small number of 562 federally recognized U.S. tribes, and he raised questions about the cited tribes' support. "In fact, many Tribes have complained about the lack of Tribal consultation." The FCC didn't comment. New York City officials urged the FCC "to reverse course on recent proposed actions to weaken the essential Lifeline low-income consumers' discount program." The FCC proposals, including to cap the program budget and restrict support to individuals, "will cause irreparable harm to the very consumers this program is intended to protect," said a letter from over two dozen city council members Tuesday.

The FCC extended Lifeline recertification deadlines for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe asked for an extension to "develop and implement an accurate and reliable recertification procedure" appropriate for Pine Ridge. It said annual recertifications of low-income eligibility are complicated by harsh weather, language barriers and distances subscribers must travel. "The unique, simultaneous combination of these circumstances resulted in a sudden and dramatic decrease in successful recertifications" at Pine Ridge starting in September, said a Wireline Bureau order in docket 11-42 in Wednesday's Daily Digest. It granted a temporary waiver giving Lifeline subscribers on the reservation 210 days (instead of 60) to respond to recertification efforts if their eligibility can't be verified through a database. Separately, Joe RedCloud, a former Oglala tribal utilities commission chairman, disputed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's contention in a Feb. 7 letter to Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, that many tribal groups support the commission's recent tribal Lifeline (TLL) changes (see 1802210015). "Tribes in general do NOT support the exclusion of wireless resellers from the TLL program and the Tribes referenced" by Pai and an FCC order "are not representative of Tribal interests," said a letter RedCloud emailed Tuesday to an O'Halleran aide. RedCloud said the tribes Pai cited are a small number of 562 federally recognized U.S. tribes, and he raised questions about the cited tribes' support. "In fact, many Tribes have complained about the lack of Tribal consultation." The FCC didn't comment. New York City officials urged the FCC "to reverse course on recent proposed actions to weaken the essential Lifeline low-income consumers' discount program." The FCC proposals, including to cap the program budget and restrict support to individuals, "will cause irreparable harm to the very consumers this program is intended to protect," said a letter from over two dozen city council members Tuesday.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told Senate Commerce Committee members he backs efforts to add dedicated broadband funding to a final infrastructure bill, amid ongoing debate about whether Congress can agree on a funding mechanism. Committee members spent significant time during a Wednesday hearing with Perdue and other cabinet secretaries on President Donald Trump's infrastructure legislative proposal debating funding, as lawmakers have done repeatedly. Trump's plan, released last month, proposes $50 billion in federal funding for rural infrastructure projects allocated via state block grants that could be spent for broadband. Democrats strongly pushed for direct broadband funding (see 1802120001, 1802140052, 1802140064 and 1803010050).

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told Senate Commerce Committee members he backs efforts to add dedicated broadband funding to a final infrastructure bill, amid ongoing debate about whether Congress can agree on a funding mechanism. Committee members spent significant time during a Wednesday hearing with Perdue and other cabinet secretaries on President Donald Trump's infrastructure legislative proposal debating funding, as lawmakers have done repeatedly. Trump's plan, released last month, proposes $50 billion in federal funding for rural infrastructure projects allocated via state block grants that could be spent for broadband. Democrats strongly pushed for direct broadband funding (see 1802120001, 1802140052, 1802140064 and 1803010050).

Lifeline USF providers endorsed a request that program providers be reimbursed during a subscriber non-usage grace period. The National Lifeline Association recently petitioned the FCC to rule that Lifeline eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) be "permitted to seek reimbursement for all Lifeline eligible subscribers served as of the first day of the month ... including those subscribers that are in an applicable 15-day cure period following 30 days of non-usage." Universal Service Administrative Co. had reversed guidance that let Lifeline ETCs be reimbursed during the cure (grace) period, providers said in comments posted Monday and Tuesday in docket 11-42. "FCC rules require ETCs to provide Lifeline customers with service during the cure period (Section 54.405(e)(3)), and mandate provision of Lifeline support to eligible Lifeline subscribers served on the first day of the month (Section 54.407(a))," Sprint said. "The reasonable and logical import of these rules is that Lifeline support is due for Lifeline customers who are in the cure period as of the first of the month." It said providers incur "significant" costs for accounts during the cure period, and said if USAC's reversal is upheld, it should be applied only prospectively. Q Link Wireless and Smith Bagley filed supportive comments (here and here). Smith Bagley discussed with FCC staffers an upcoming transition to a national verifier of Lifeline eligibility and "ways to mitigate potential impacts on Tribal areas," said another filing. Tribal representatives affiliated with the National Congress of American Indians also voiced support for Lifeline on tribal lands, in discussions with Chairman Ajit Pai, other commissioners and staffers in conjunction with NCAI's meeting Feb. 15 (see 1803130057). Chickasaw Nation Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel "expressed concern about changes to the geographic scope of the enhanced Tribal subsidy," filed Barbara Esbin, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau deputy chief. "Teresa Hopkins, Navajo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, expressed concern about the loss of one-on-one relationships between providers and Lifeline recipients in the move to the National Eligibility Verifier, which have proven particularly important to those serving and living on Tribal lands, where many rely on mobile wireless and Smartphones as their only source of communications services." It said tribal leaders urged the FCC to act on a February 2017 draft order to exempt carriers primarily serving tribal lands from operating-expense limitations (see 1802020058), and supported a tribal broadband factor proposed by a recently circulated draft NPRM and order (see 1801160040).

Lifeline USF providers endorsed a request that program providers be reimbursed during a subscriber non-usage grace period. The National Lifeline Association recently petitioned the FCC to rule that Lifeline eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) be "permitted to seek reimbursement for all Lifeline eligible subscribers served as of the first day of the month ... including those subscribers that are in an applicable 15-day cure period following 30 days of non-usage." Universal Service Administrative Co. had reversed guidance that let Lifeline ETCs be reimbursed during the cure (grace) period, providers said in comments posted Monday and Tuesday in docket 11-42. "FCC rules require ETCs to provide Lifeline customers with service during the cure period (Section 54.405(e)(3)), and mandate provision of Lifeline support to eligible Lifeline subscribers served on the first day of the month (Section 54.407(a))," Sprint said. "The reasonable and logical import of these rules is that Lifeline support is due for Lifeline customers who are in the cure period as of the first of the month." It said providers incur "significant" costs for accounts during the cure period, and said if USAC's reversal is upheld, it should be applied only prospectively. Q Link Wireless and Smith Bagley filed supportive comments (here and here). Smith Bagley discussed with FCC staffers an upcoming transition to a national verifier of Lifeline eligibility and "ways to mitigate potential impacts on Tribal areas," said another filing. Tribal representatives affiliated with the National Congress of American Indians also voiced support for Lifeline on tribal lands, in discussions with Chairman Ajit Pai, other commissioners and staffers in conjunction with NCAI's meeting Feb. 15 (see 1803130057). Chickasaw Nation Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel "expressed concern about changes to the geographic scope of the enhanced Tribal subsidy," filed Barbara Esbin, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau deputy chief. "Teresa Hopkins, Navajo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, expressed concern about the loss of one-on-one relationships between providers and Lifeline recipients in the move to the National Eligibility Verifier, which have proven particularly important to those serving and living on Tribal lands, where many rely on mobile wireless and Smartphones as their only source of communications services." It said tribal leaders urged the FCC to act on a February 2017 draft order to exempt carriers primarily serving tribal lands from operating-expense limitations (see 1802020058), and supported a tribal broadband factor proposed by a recently circulated draft NPRM and order (see 1801160040).

American Indian groups criticized proposed changes to wireless infrastructure rules teed up for next week’s commissioners’ meetings but so far haven't been making their concerns known through lobbying at the FCC. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and some other groups representing tribal interests didn’t comment Tuesday, and representatives have said in filings that the regulator appears to be putting the interests of industry ahead of native groups.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., jointly urged the FCC Friday to “act expeditiously” to revise operating expense limitation rules for carriers serving tribal lands. Tribal carriers encounter “considerable operating expenses” because of geographical and other barriers, including increases in “the cost of installing infrastructure, limited financial resources” that deter providers from investing in improved service, and a “shortage of technically trained Native Nation members to plan and implement improvements,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Pai. Revising the operating expense limitation rules “will allow carriers serving Tribal lands to be adequately compensated for necessary expenses, enabling these carriers to continue deployment in unserved areas.” Pai "agrees that the operating expense limitation rules should be revised to adequately compensate carriers serving Tribal lands, and that's why he has cast his vote in favor of an order that would do just that," emailed an FCC spokesman.

A pair of Senate Commerce Committee hearings this week on President Donald Trump’s infrastructure legislative proposal will likely delve into thorny questions about how a final bill would fund broadband projects, and there will be interest in plans to streamline regulations viewed as impeding deployments (see 1803120049), communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. A Communications Subcommittee hearing Tuesday is to concentrate on broadband aspects of the Trump proposal. A full Commerce hearing that will include Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is expected to touch on broadband and other infrastructure (see 1803060056).

A pair of Senate Commerce Committee hearings this week on President Donald Trump’s infrastructure legislative proposal will likely delve into thorny questions about how a final bill would fund broadband projects, and there will be interest in plans to streamline regulations viewed as impeding deployments (see 1803120049), communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. A Communications Subcommittee hearing Tuesday is to concentrate on broadband aspects of the Trump proposal. A full Commerce hearing that will include Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is expected to touch on broadband and other infrastructure (see 1803060056).