NARUC’s board approved a batch of policy resolutions at the conclusion of the group’s meeting in Los Angeles. A Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation resolution supports proposals on USF revamp by the state members of the Federal/State Joint Board. The resolution emphasized the critical role assigned to states by Congress, including in part through the mechanism of the Joint Board. If an industry-supported “settlement” proposal is filed in the USF/ICC rulemaking notice and subsequently released by the FCC for public comment, that agency is urged to jointly offer the state members’ plan for comment simultaneously and include a request to contrast the two plans, the board said. A Lifeline/Link-Up resolution urges the commission and states to work within the existing USF program budget to improve broadband adoption in urban and rural areas and for native nations communities on tribal lands through coordinated Lifeline and Link-up Broadband Service Pilot Program projects, among other issues. The FCC should say the pilot program participants are not required to change local phone service providers, purchase bundled broadband and voice services or otherwise be penalized in order to obtain Lifeline and Link-Up broadband services and enabling access devices, the resolution said. It urged the FCC and states jointly create at least one pilot program in each of the five NARUC-affiliated regulatory conference regions that will include digital literacy and outreach components and that will defray a meaningful amount of the program participants’ average cost for the installation and activation and monthly charges for broadband and acquisition of devices enabling access. A call termination resolution encourages the FCC to reaffirm “that no carriers, including interexchange carriers, may block, choke, reduce or restrict traffic in any way” and recommends the FCC and states take all appropriate actions to protect consumers by immediately addressing call terminating problems.

A draft spectrum bill similar to S-911 is circulating in the House courtesy of Commerce Committee Democrats. By proposing reallocation of the 700 MHz D-block to public safety, the bill stands in opposition to a Republican draft bill (CD July 14 p2) released Wednesday. With a legislative hearing scheduled for Friday morning, Democrats have told staff to continue talks with Republicans.

The economic downturn and rising costs make it hard for some tribal radio licensees to build stations before construction permits expire, some tribal broadcasters said. When the FCC opened a filing window for new noncommercial FM stations in October 2007, it provided an opportunity for the number of stations on tribal lands to increase, they said. Construction permits were granted in 2008, requiring recipients to start up their radio stations this year. Some recipients requested extensions from the Media Bureau.

On July 7, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security unveiled a cross-component Maritime Operations Coordination (MOC) plan to enhance DHS' coordination capabilities with other federal agencies and to provide a layered security presence to deter and respond to threats against the U.S. and its interests.

Washington State is moving ahead with the expansion of its Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) middle-mile network, said NoaNet, a non-profit organization representing a consortium of some 60 private, governmental, tribal and non-profit participants. The broadband infrastructure will create a network reaching more than 170 communities and 2,000 schools, hospitals, emergency responders, libraries, colleges and universities, it said.

Washington State is moving ahead with the expansion of its Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) middle-mile network, said NoaNet, a non-profit organization representing a consortium of some 60 private, governmental, tribal and non-profit participants. The broadband infrastructure will create a network reaching more than 170 communities and 2,000 schools, hospitals, emergency responders, libraries, colleges and universities, it said.

The White House has issued a report, "2011 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities." The principal findings include, among other things, that the estimated annual benefits of major Federal regulations reviewed by OMB from October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2010 are in the aggregate between $132 billion and $655 billion, while the estimated annual costs are in the aggregate between $44 billion and $62 billion; and some rules are estimated to produce far higher net benefits than others.

The FCC designated Standing Rock Telecom, a tribally owned wireless carrier, as an eligible telecom carrier (ETC), effective immediately. As a result, Standing Rock will be eligible to receive federal Universal Service Fund money to bring wireless service to the sparsely populated Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation, which straddles the border of South and North Dakota. Additionally, the FCC held that redefinition of a rural telephone company service area is unnecessary when the ETC is designated throughout the rural service areas within the FCC’s jurisdictional authority (i.e. those rural telephone company service areas within Reservation boundaries). Therefore, unlike in the earlier Wireline Bureau ETC Designation Order, no state commission consent is needed before Standing Rock’s ETC designation takes effect, the FCC said.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, introduced online poker legislation that proposes to create an interstate licensing program for websites and allow states to opt out of the program. Barton presented the measure Friday with Republican Reps. John Campbell, Calif., and Pete King, N.Y., and Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley, Nev., Steve Cohen, Tenn., and Linda Sanchez, Calif. The bill, HR-2366, is rooted in consumer protection, Barton said. “Although it’s legal to play for money, it’s illegal to process the transactions that allow players to collect their earnings,” he said. “We want to have an iron-clad system to make sure that those who play for money are playing in an honest, fair system where they can reap the benefits of their winnings."

The U.S. has made “significant progress” on getting fast Internet service to rural areas, but “the broadband deployment and adoption gaps” remain “significant,” the FCC said in an update on rural broadband released Wednesday. Nearly 19 million rural Americans lack access to fixed broadband of at least 3 Mbps downstream and 768 kbps up, the commission said in its update to the 2009 rural broadband report. That population accounts for nearly three-quarters of the nation’s broadband “gap,” the report said. “Close to three out of ten rural Americans -- 28.2 percent -- lack access to fixed broadband at 3 Mbps/768 kbps or faster, a percentage that is more than nine times as large as the 3.0 percent that lack access in non-rural areas."