Stakeholders favor the FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy encouraging broadband deployment. Smith Bagley Inc. sought to enhance ONAP's role to encourage engagement between eligible telecom carriers and tribal governments, among comments posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. SBI said some tribal governments "have limited economic resources and lack the internal expertise in telecommunications necessary to conduct an assessment and provide feedback in a Tribal engagement process." MuralNet said ONAP must have a budget large enough "to hire sufficient staff to perform Tribal consultation activities, organize workshops, and attend meetings with Tribal leaders in their communities across Indian Country and at conferences." MuralNet supported a recommendation the tribal engagement requirement include Alaska native villages and Alaska tribal health organizations. ETCs need flexibility to meet the agency's tribal engagement obligations, said the Alaska Telecom Association. Clarify what constitutes good documentation and record-keeping on tribal engagement, urged the Montana Telecommunications Association. It wants to avoid appeals or penalties when "a provider believes it has complied with the guidance only to find out after the fact that the provider's documentation does not meet the [Universal Service Administrative Co.'s] interpretation of the guidelines." The Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority said lack of tribal government comments last month (see 1912060008) shows engagement isn't uniformly effective. OSTUA wants changes including that all carriers serving tribal lands, not just ETCs, engage with tribes. The FCC said Commissioner Brendan Carr plans to visit with Mescalero Apache Telecom and Mescalero Apache Reservation leaders in New Mexico this week.

Stakeholders favor the FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy encouraging broadband deployment. Smith Bagley Inc. sought to enhance ONAP's role to encourage engagement between eligible telecom carriers and tribal governments, among comments posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. SBI said some tribal governments "have limited economic resources and lack the internal expertise in telecommunications necessary to conduct an assessment and provide feedback in a Tribal engagement process." MuralNet said ONAP must have a budget large enough "to hire sufficient staff to perform Tribal consultation activities, organize workshops, and attend meetings with Tribal leaders in their communities across Indian Country and at conferences." MuralNet supported a recommendation the tribal engagement requirement include Alaska native villages and Alaska tribal health organizations. ETCs need flexibility to meet the agency's tribal engagement obligations, said the Alaska Telecom Association. Clarify what constitutes good documentation and record-keeping on tribal engagement, urged the Montana Telecommunications Association. It wants to avoid appeals or penalties when "a provider believes it has complied with the guidance only to find out after the fact that the provider's documentation does not meet the [Universal Service Administrative Co.'s] interpretation of the guidelines." The Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority said lack of tribal government comments last month (see 1912060008) shows engagement isn't uniformly effective. OSTUA wants changes including that all carriers serving tribal lands, not just ETCs, engage with tribes. The FCC said Commissioner Brendan Carr plans to visit with Mescalero Apache Telecom and Mescalero Apache Reservation leaders in New Mexico this week.

Idaho tower company Teton Communications agreed to a $20,000 settlement with the FCC Enforcement Bureau for failing to complete environmental and historic preservation reviews before beginning construction on a new tower in 2018, said an order and consent decree Monday. The FCC learned of the violation from a tribal historic preservation office, and Teton admitted the violations after receiving an agency letter of inquiry. Teton “failed to obtain a concurrence of no adverse effect from the State Historic Preservation Office, and failed to resolve concerns raised by the Tribal Historic Preservation Office prior to breaking ground on the wireless facility,” the order and consent decree said. Teton must implement a compliance process and submit compliance reports for three years.

The FCC Wireless Bureau and the Office of Native Affairs and Policy are "ready to provide assistance" to potential applicants in the 2.5 GHz rural tribal priority window as they apply for unassigned frequencies on eligible rural tribal lands, said a public notice Monday on docket 18-120. The window is Feb. 4-Aug. 3 (see 1910180068). The staff will provide individualized guidance via RuralTribalWindow@fcc.gov or by phone. Information is at www.fcc.gov/RuralTribalWindow. The FCC has a mapping tool at www.fcc.gov/25-ghz-rural-tribal-maps. Applications and associated shapefiles will be placed on PN for review and comment after the filing window.

The FCC Wireless Bureau detailed a workshop Jan. 14 (see 1912020057) on how tribal interests can seek access to 2.5 GHz educational broadband service spectrum. “FCC staff will provide information to attendees on 2.5 GHz spectrum, the mapping tool developed by the Commission, and the Rural Tribal Priority window dates and application filing process,” the bureau said Wednesday, releasing an agenda. The tribal window opens Feb. 3 and closes Aug. 3. The workshop starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing new regulations that would allow importation of prescription drugs from Canada. Under the proposal, FDA would approve “Section 804 Importation Programs” (SIPs) sponsored by a state, tribal or territorial governmental entity. The registered wholesaler or pharmacy identified by the SIP as the importer could then import the specified drug from an FDA-registered, Health Canada-licensed wholesaler that buys the drug directly from its manufacturer. The proposed rule is set for publication in the Dec. 23 Federal Register, and comments are due March 9.

The Native Nations Communications Task Force highlighted obstacles to broadband deployment on tribal lands and made recommendations in a report the FCC posted Friday on dockets including 19-126. It recommended loosening or removing single-use funding restrictions so federally subsidized infrastructure can be extended where coverage is limited. Designate tribes eligible telecom carrier status to allow them better sovereignty over tribal lands, it said: "At the very least, the ETC designation process should include consultation with tribal nations regarding any plans to serve tribal lands." The task force wants buildout requirements modified to favor serving native tribes earlier. It said tribes should be able to self-identify areas they want to serve rather than committing to government-defined areas such as census blocks.

The Native Nations Communications Task Force highlighted obstacles to broadband deployment on tribal lands and made recommendations in a report the FCC posted Friday on dockets including 19-126. It recommended loosening or removing single-use funding restrictions so federally subsidized infrastructure can be extended where coverage is limited. Designate tribes eligible telecom carrier status to allow them better sovereignty over tribal lands, it said: "At the very least, the ETC designation process should include consultation with tribal nations regarding any plans to serve tribal lands." The task force wants buildout requirements modified to favor serving native tribes earlier. It said tribes should be able to self-identify areas they want to serve rather than committing to government-defined areas such as census blocks.

Part of the problem with Mobility Fund Phase II broadband coverage maps lies with the FCC, the Practising Law Institute was told Tuesday. Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Alexi Maltas said what the agency seeks isn't going to generate reliable data, and incorporating parameters like load factor could improve the model's accuracy. He noted the proposed 5G Fund will require a new mapping process. For the maps to be more accurate, a better understanding of what carriers are filing is needed, said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's aide Erin McGrath. Phoenix Center President Larry Spiwak said fixing it is difficult since some carriers don't want to provide all information for competitive reasons. The FCC should do more to address the digital divide in tribal areas and communities of color, said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Getting fixed broadband to underserved areas is “absolutely imperative,” he said. The Democrat slammed the FCC GOP majority for not addressing problems with data collection on broadband deployment. “I've been very frustrated,” he said. If companies providing data to the FCC misrepresent their information, “that should be taken up in an enforcement capacity,” said Starks, formerly of the Enforcement Bureau. Spending billions of dollars on rural broadband deployment based on flawed data is a bad idea, Starks said. “What I am going to be choked with rage on is if in 10 years we wake up with $20 billion spent, and we still don't fundamentally understand how to get broadband to these communities.”

Hill lawmakers' communications policy aspirations for a continuing resolution to fund the federal government past Dec. 20 took simultaneous steps forward and back Tuesday and Wednesday. Congressional leaders finalized an expected deal to attach language from two House-side Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization bills into the funding extension measure (see 1912090051). A contentious Senate Commerce Committee markup of the 5G Spectrum Act (S-2881) and other factors, meanwhile, raised doubts about the prospects of using the CR to weigh in on a planned FCC auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band (see 1912100001).