The FCC, reauthorizing the Intergovernmental Committee for two years, is seeking nominations by Feb. 26 for members, said a commission public notice. It said 15 representatives from local, state and tribal governments advise the agency on telecom issues for which their governments share responsibility with the commission. The new two-year term starts after the current term ends Dec. 2, said Tuesday’s notice on what previously was called the Local and State Government Advisory Committee (http://fcc.us/1aO1gtS).

State broadband conferences will focus on adoption trends rather than catering to service providers, said conference leaders in Michigan, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming on Tuesday. Three of the four conferences are sponsored in part by NTIA’s State Broadband Initiative that funds programs for mapping and adoption purposes. Community broadband, technology action plans, healthcare technology and data centers are to be discussed at the conferences.

State broadband conferences will focus on adoption trends rather than catering to service providers, said conference leaders in Michigan, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming on Tuesday. Three of the four conferences are sponsored in part by NTIA’s State Broadband Initiative that funds programs for mapping and adoption purposes. Community broadband, technology action plans, healthcare technology and data centers are to be discussed at the conferences.

Organizations hoping to apply for a low-power FM station license when the filing window opens have found resources outside the FCC to aid them in the weeks the agency has been shut down, they said. Applicants said they aren’t able to access the website for the window, which, until the government shutdown occurred, was set to open Tuesday. Some organizations are ready to file a complete, accurate application as soon as the FCC re-opens, while others said blocked access has prevented them from obtaining information necessary for preparing their applications. The shutdown had canceled the agency’s LPFM webinar earlier this month, and the lack of the commission’s online tools was causing applicants problems (CD Oct 4 p2).

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed two bills Thursday designed to bring broadband connectivity to 98 percent of the state by 2015 through the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), after extensive revisions in August. Senate Bill 740 expands eligibility requirements to wireless ISPs and local governments and adds $90 million in funds from telecom ratepayer intrastate surcharges in 2015-2020. Assembly Bill 1299 authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission to use up to $5 million from the CASF to connect public housing units to broadband and support adoption programs.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed two bills Thursday designed to bring broadband connectivity to 98 percent of the state by 2015 through the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), after extensive revisions in August. Senate Bill 740 expands eligibility requirements to wireless ISPs and local governments and adds $90 million in funds from telecom ratepayer intrastate surcharges in 2015-2020. Assembly Bill 1299 authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission to use up to $5 million from the CASF to connect public housing units to broadband and support adoption programs.

The window for filing short-form applications to participate in Auction 902, the reverse auction that will award up to $50 million in one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, will stay open until 6 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, said a notice from the FCC Wireless and Wireline bureaus published in the Federal Register Thursday. “All other dates and deadlines for Auction 902 remain as previously announced,” the notice said (http://1.usa.gov/1f3iBEs).

The FCC beat the shutdown of the federal government at midnight Monday by releasing an agenda for the Oct. 22 meeting and a handful of orders. The agency is now mostly shuttered, and will stay so as long as Congress fights over the closure, which by some accounts could extend deep into October. The FCC website is all but down, with only a few documents available related to auctions and the shutdown itself.

If companies can’t forecast what impact their investment plans for next year will have on their high-cost loop support revenue, Sacred Wind and other rural providers serving tribal lands “face significant uncertainty and risk with continuing to build out networks to serve unserved and underserved remote areas,” the telco told an aide to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Friday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/16wc4ca). Even though some of the FCC’s “short-term fixes” of the quantile regression analysis (QRA) have helped Sacred Wind continue to provide services in additional remote areas, “the long-term impact of the unpredictability of QRA is still a significant concern for Sacred Wind and the industry,” it said.

The FCC’s tribal engagement rules raise Administrative Procedure Act, First Amendment, and Paperwork Reduction Act concerns, officials from USTelecom, CTIA and NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association told agency officials Wednesday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/15ViyaV). The groups repeated their 2012 request that the commission clarify its “further guidance” rules on tribal engagement are “intended to provide a best practices guide.” They also said there’s a need for written guidance clarifying that Form 481 reports need not address compliance with the rules.