FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and new FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr both were on the road Tuesday. Pai was at a tribal consultation at the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort in Flagstaff, Arizona, Tuesday afternoon. The event was closed to the public and the FCC didn’t have an immediate readout on what was said. Wireless carrier officials told us Tuesday that cutting the cost of siting small cells and other wireless facilities on tribal lands remains a challenging area for industry. “Look forward to going west to discuss closing the digital divide with Navajo Nation,” Pai tweeted early in the day. Carr was in North Carolina at the start of a trip focusing on job creation and other economic issues. Carr “will be learning more about the important role that tech and telecom policies can play in creating jobs, spurring investment, and growing the economy for the benefit of all Americans,” a spokesman said. “Great to be in the Tar Heel state today,” Carr tweeted. “Will tour a fiber manufacturing plant & visit a broadband deployment site.” Carr later tweeted: "Visited a Charter call center today in Charlotte. ... Great to hear about the new jobs being added here."

NARUC asked the FCC to expand its Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to include more state and local officials. Of 30 BDAC members, 21 represent the broadband industry while only two represent state governments, two represent local governments and one represents tribal government, said an association letter Monday in docket 17-83. It said one NARUC and six local government representatives are among the 58 BDAC working group members. "It is self-evident, that any recommendations will necessarily reflect the composition of the committee. A simple review of the current roster suggests the committee is heavily weighted in favor of those seeking attachments to poles. The concept for this committee was a good one, but the usefulness of any recommendations is likely to be undermined by this imbalance," said the filing. It also said BDAC had only two members from power companies, which are also regulated by state regulators. NARUC noted it passed a resolution in July urging the FCC to add state and local government members to BDAC and its working group "to an amount that equitably balances" the broadband industry membership (see 1707200014). An FCC spokesman said: “BDAC members were chosen from a diverse set of stakeholders, with the goal of forging consensus on how to eliminate unnecessary barriers to deployment of high-speed Internet. We sought representation from state, local, and Tribal government, rural and urban Internet service providers, independent network builders, pole and conduit owners, trade associations, and non-profit organizations. We believe the makeup of the BDAC reflects the diversity we sought. Our broader goal is one everyone can agree on: accelerating access to robust, affordable, high-speed Internet for all Americans.” He also noted BDAC's vice chair is a state official: Kelleigh Cole, director, Utah Broadband Outreach Center, Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. BDAC members said Friday initial recommendations are targeted for Nov. 9 (see 1708180043).

NARUC asked the FCC to expand its Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to include more state and local officials. Of 30 BDAC members, 21 represent the broadband industry while only two represent state governments, two represent local governments and one represents tribal government, said an association letter Monday in docket 17-83. It said one NARUC and six local government representatives are among the 58 BDAC working group members. "It is self-evident, that any recommendations will necessarily reflect the composition of the committee. A simple review of the current roster suggests the committee is heavily weighted in favor of those seeking attachments to poles. The concept for this committee was a good one, but the usefulness of any recommendations is likely to be undermined by this imbalance," said the filing. It also said BDAC had only two members from power companies, which are also regulated by state regulators. NARUC noted it passed a resolution in July urging the FCC to add state and local government members to BDAC and its working group "to an amount that equitably balances" the broadband industry membership (see 1707200014). An FCC spokesman said: “BDAC members were chosen from a diverse set of stakeholders, with the goal of forging consensus on how to eliminate unnecessary barriers to deployment of high-speed Internet. We sought representation from state, local, and Tribal government, rural and urban Internet service providers, independent network builders, pole and conduit owners, trade associations, and non-profit organizations. We believe the makeup of the BDAC reflects the diversity we sought. Our broader goal is one everyone can agree on: accelerating access to robust, affordable, high-speed Internet for all Americans.” He also noted BDAC's vice chair is a state official: Kelleigh Cole, director, Utah Broadband Outreach Center, Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. BDAC members said Friday initial recommendations are targeted for Nov. 9 (see 1708180043).

Rivada Networks remains the biggest challenger to AT&T and FirstNet on lobbying states to opt out and build their own networks, industry officials said. It’s not the only rival. Southern Linc has been pursuing a contract with first responders in Alabama and Georgia after being unable to work out a deal with AT&T, the company confirmed. C Spire is going after the contract for Mississippi and possibly other states, industry officials said.

The FCC should act expeditiously on rules designed to speed up wireless siting, Competitive Carriers Association officials said in a meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “The record depicts an undisputed immediate need for updated and streamlined rules,” said a filing in docket 17-79. CCA raised concerns about fees charged by tribes for historical review of projects and site monitoring. “Tribal fees are rising, and are typically assessed before any Historic Property is suspected or found,” CCA said. “Tribal Nations have not explained these rising fees, and allowing unlimited siting fees stands contrary to the Commission’s ultimate goal: ubiquitous broadband deployment.”

The FCC should act expeditiously on rules designed to speed up wireless siting, Competitive Carriers Association officials said in a meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “The record depicts an undisputed immediate need for updated and streamlined rules,” said a filing in docket 17-79. CCA raised concerns about fees charged by tribes for historical review of projects and site monitoring. “Tribal fees are rising, and are typically assessed before any Historic Property is suspected or found,” CCA said. “Tribal Nations have not explained these rising fees, and allowing unlimited siting fees stands contrary to the Commission’s ultimate goal: ubiquitous broadband deployment.”

States that opt in to FirstNet will be able to make the national broadband network available to public safety agencies as much as three years faster than expected, board member Kevin McGinnis told the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Thursday. Meanwhile, FirstNet said a seventh state, West Virginia, opted to join. The network “sped everything up” and that “becomes quite a challenge for FirstNet staff to manage,” McGinnis said.

A draft FCC item on advanced telecom capability deployment is a notice of inquiry, a spokesman told us Friday. Chairman Ajit Pai in January withdrew a draft report on broadband-like ATC deployment under Telecom Act Section 706 (see 1701300058), which previous Chairman Tom Wheeler had circulated to conclude an inquiry begun in 2016. "It sounds like this is a reset, and they're basically going to skip a report," said an informed source.

A draft FCC item on advanced telecom capability deployment is a notice of inquiry, a spokesman told us Friday. Chairman Ajit Pai in January withdrew a draft report on broadband-like ATC deployment under Telecom Act Section 706 (see 1701300058), which previous Chairman Tom Wheeler had circulated to conclude an inquiry begun in 2016. "It sounds like this is a reset, and they're basically going to skip a report," said an informed source.

Work of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee remains a top focus of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, senior Pai adviser Nick Degani told the group Thursday as it held its second public meeting. BDAC's work “is central to the mission of the commission” and is being closely watched on the eighth floor of the FCC, Degani said. But BDAC members complained repeatedly that the group has been given an unrealistically quick timeline.