CTIA and groups representing small carriers sought reconsideration of the FCC’s October 5G Fund order, approved over partial dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks (see 2010270034). Recon petitions were posted Tuesday in docket 20-32. CTIA asked the FCC to revise the noncompliance penalty to limit potential recovery of prior funding to the support an eligible telecom carrier failed to spend in compliance with fund requirements. “The Order imposes an unreasonable and unprecedented penalty … on mobile wireless ETCs that do not meet the newly-adopted deployment requirements, or that voluntarily relinquish future support -- even if the ETC’s actual spending complied” with the order's minimum 5G spending requirements, CTIA said: The penalties are “unreasonable and inconsistent with permissible spending rules." The Rural Wireless Association and NTCA jointly asked the FCC to rethink whether funds should be available for areas served by unsubsidized 4G networks. “That an unsubsidized 4G LTE network may be deployed in a particular area provides no guarantee or even reasonable assurance that 5G service meeting the required performance metrics will be deployed there, nor is there any basis for concluding that the deployment of 5G service to such an area is likely to occur,” the groups said: “History consistently instructs that rural areas are almost never served with the latest generation of service unless and until a small rural carrier based in that area begins to provide such service.” Smith Bagley asked the FCC to rethink a decision not to mandate special-case treatment for remote tribal lands. “The Commission denied special case treatment … without considering the substantial evidence placed into the record over many years demonstrating dire demographic and economic conditions” there, the carrier said: “The Commission has no factual basis for its view that conditions in Alaska are so unique that special treatment such as an ‘Alaska Plan’ is not warranted elsewhere.”

The combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133) that Congress passed Monday got further praise from lawmakers and other observers Monday and Tuesday for its broadband funding and other telecom and tech policy provisions (see 2012210055). HR-133’s approval got a far more mixed reception from within the copyright community because it includes text from the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (Case) Act (HR-2426/S-1273) and Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. Both chambers passed HR-133 by overwhelming margins, sending the measure to President Donald Trump.

The combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133) that Congress passed Monday got further praise from lawmakers and other observers Monday and Tuesday for its broadband funding and other telecom and tech policy provisions (see 2012210055). HR-133’s approval got a far more mixed reception from within the copyright community because it includes text from the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (Case) Act (HR-2426/S-1273) and Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. Both chambers passed HR-133 by overwhelming margins, sending the measure to President Donald Trump.

Both houses of Congress were expected to vote Monday night on the combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133), after Hill leaders reached a deal on the measure, which includes $6.82 billion for broadband and a raft of other tech and telecom policy provisions. HR-133 also includes increases in annual funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other agencies compared with FY 2020. The Senate was, meanwhile, set to hold a revote on invoking cloture on FCC inspector general nominee Chase Johnson after failing a first try Saturday.

Both houses of Congress were expected to vote Monday night on the combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133), after Hill leaders reached a deal on the measure, which includes $6.82 billion for broadband and a raft of other tech and telecom policy provisions. HR-133 also includes increases in annual funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other agencies compared with FY 2020. The Senate was, meanwhile, set to hold a revote on invoking cloture on FCC inspector general nominee Chase Johnson after failing a first try Saturday.

The FCC dismissed various petitions seeking reconsideration of its order on the 2.5 GHz band, which was approved last year over partial dissents by Democrats (see 1907100054) and is expected to lead to an auction next year. The National Congress of American Indians sought reconsideration of the decision to focus the tribal priority window on rural tribal land. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition and others asked the agency to reinstate the eligibility restrictions it eliminated and allow additional educational use of the band, and the Hawai’i Broadband Initiative filed a recon petition it asked to withdraw. “We affirm the framework the Commission adopted to make available the 2.5 GHz band quickly by eliminating outdated legacy regulations that inhibited full use of the band and establishing flexible-use rules that will allow commercial providers to use this large swath of prime mid-band spectrum to provide 5G and other advanced services to American consumers,” said Thursday's order. Only Commissioner Geoffrey Starks released a statement: The educational broadband service (EBS) model “has not been perfect” but “should have been improved rather than undercut,” he said. “Given our nation’s need for mid-band spectrum and the importance of this spectrum to future wireless broadband service, particularly in tribal communities and rural America, I concur so we can make this spectrum available as soon as possible.” The tribal priority window closed in September with more than 400 applications (see 2009030012). John Windhausen, SHLB Coalition executive director, called the order disappointing Friday: “For many schools, access to EBS spectrum would have been their golden ticket to quickly deploy networks that reach their students without home internet access.” He said the coalition “provided many examples of successful wireless deployments by schools working with private sector companies, and we provided detailed economic evidence that awarding schools EBS licenses would promote economic growth and help address the homework gap.”

Oral argument is scheduled for Feb. 9 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (in Pacer) on what constitutes interconnected VoIP and whether the FCC can block state, local and tribal governments in Alabama from charging higher 911 calling fees for VoIP than traditional telecom services (see 1910250063).

Best Buy reaffirmed support for the “We Are Still In” statement, joining 1,300 organizations backing climate action, it said Thursday. The statement addresses measures that the incoming Biden administration can take, including and beyond reentering the Paris Agreement, said the retailer, emphasizing the need for “just and equitable solutions for climate while providing economic recovery.” Signatories include cities, universities, businesses, tribal nations and cultural institutions across all 50 states. “This is a critical time for climate action and we feel that cross-sector partnership is key to solving the climate crisis,” said Tim Dunn, Best Buy’s head of environmental sustainability. It first signed onto a joint climate statement last year. Other tech companies signing the pledge include Amazon, Apple, Dell, Facebook, Google and HP.

Oral argument is scheduled for Feb. 9 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (in Pacer) on what constitutes interconnected VoIP and whether the FCC can block state, local and tribal governments in Alabama from charging higher 911 calling fees for VoIP than traditional telecom services (see 1910250063).

The 2019 revised rules for the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band (see 1907100054) was partisan and controversial, so until a new FCC is in place the agency should table a draft order denying a reconsideration petition by the School, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition and other educational groups, the SHLB and others said in a docket 18-120 letter to be posted. They said implementation of the EBS order should be put on hold. The groups pointed to lawmakers' "pencils-down" calls for the FCC (see 2011100061) and then-Commissioner Ajit Pai's similar call in 2016 (see 1611150052). Though commissioners agreed on some aspects of the 2.5 GHz order, such as the tribal priority window, the 3-2 vote showed they "were plainly divided on the future of the 2.5 GHz band," the groups said. They said Congress "is still actively considering this issue" via legislation to extend the rural tribal priority window for 180 days. The commission didn't comment. According to its items on circulation list, a recon order regarding the 2.5 GHz band has been on circulation since Oct. 16.