Frontier Communications and its Navajo Communications can't negotiate rights-of-way agreements that the Bureau of Indian Affairs told them they need to deploy fiber on Navajo land, the companies petitioned the FCC in docket 10-90, posted Friday. Frontier asks for a waiver of obligations to meet 80 percent broadband deployment obligations for 2019 in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah under the USF Connect American Fund II program. The Navajo Nation didn't comment.
Fitbit filed one request from the 15 percent Section 301 List 4A tariffs for its core fitness trackers and smartwatches, saying it deserves credit for shifting production away from China at the U.S. Trade Representative’s public docket. Fitbit “began to adjust its operations" almost immediately after the Trump administration proposed tariffs on smartwatches and fitness trackers sourced from China, the company said. It "anticipates being able to make substantial additional changes to its supply chain in the foreseeable future," it said. Fitbit will shift production to "outside China" starting in January for “effectively all of its trackers and smartwatches” to escape tariff exposure, it said last month (see 1910090053).
Parties to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will meet in early November to plan final discussions for the deal’s ratification, Japan said in an Oct. 31 press release, according to an unofficial translation. The parties “agreed to make every effort to find an acceptable landing point for all countries on the remaining issues,” the press release said. Japan also said it plans to sign a “business partnership” with Thailand that will include a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Japanese and Thai companies.
More should be done to promote broadband competition, reported Jonathan Sallet, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society senior fellow, on broadband for the 2020s. He said Wednesday states should repeal laws that restrict localities from broadband deployment or Congress should pre-empt them. Federal funding designed to avoid overbuilding ISP networks confuse well-being of competitors with consumers, he said: Those most likely having limited broadband competition are rural, or with median household incomes below $60,000. Sallet cited the National Digital Inclusion Alliance showing pockets of high-poverty neighborhoods in Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo, Dallas and Dayton where incumbent telecoms hadn't deployed fiber. Proposed Lifeline changes to eliminate mobile resellers would effectively end Lifeline broadband access for millions, the report said. Sallet instead recommends schools and libraries be allowed to provide Lifeline, too. Such competition could increase once the national verifier is fully implemented, Sallet suggested. "An even more efficient mechanism would make Lifeline enrollment automatic when people are enrolled in a qualifying federal program." The 150-page footnoted document acknowledged a persistent problem of areas unserved by broadband, saying the executive branch should establish an Office of Broadband Coordination for Tribal Lands.
Stakeholders are debating how Lifeline is regulated after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded to the FCC rules on its authority to make broadband eligible for the program. That ruling came in partly upholding the agency's 2018 net neutrality order reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title I information service. The 2-1 court decision points up uncertainty with Lifeline, stakeholders agreed in interviews this month. Lifeline provider TruConnect believes Oct. 1's Mozilla v. FCC ruling eliminated FCC authority to establish and enforce broadband minimum service standards under the 2016 Lifeline order, said counsel Judson Hill in filings to docket 11-42 on meetings with FCC officials. Hill, a former GOP Georgia legislator, also spoke with us. USTelecom Senior Vice President Patrick Halley said the FCC doesn't lack authority to regulate broadband in Lifeline, but the court found it didn't sufficiently address the matter (see 1910100059). Because it wasn't vacated, "the FCC will be in no rush to do this," predicted Harold Feld, Public Knowledge senior vice president. So resolving the issue may take time, Feld said. An FCC spokesperson Tuesday said the court hadn't yet issued its mandate on the remand. Chairman Ajit Pai acknowledged industry's awaiting an answer on a petition to delay increasing broadband minimum service standards, and agency staff's is aware of the Dec. 1 deadline for the threshold to increase, answering our question Friday after the commissioners' meeting. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel noted the remand was partly because "the agency disregarded how reclassification impacts" Lifeline users. "The FCC is guilty of more than indifference" as it "cut access to Lifeline on tribal lands," she said in a statement. "Thankfully, the court sent this effort back to the agency, too. But in the meantime, the FCC still has open a proposal to cut as much as 70% of the remaining Lifeline program" through a 2017 NPRM and an item circulated in August. "Instead of using our policymaking power to threaten their access to communications, the agency should throw out this proposal and start over." PK's Feld suggested the agency seek comment. Technology Policy Institute Research Fellow Sarah Oh is interested to see comments if the FCC issues another NPRM on the remanded Lifeline broadband matter. "They'll need very good reasons for changing Lifeline," Oh told us. She predicted the agency will issue a broader Lifeline order next year.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 30 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
More should be done to promote broadband competition, reported Jonathan Sallet, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society senior fellow, on broadband for the 2020s. He said Wednesday states should repeal laws that restrict localities from broadband deployment or Congress should pre-empt them. Federal funding designed to avoid overbuilding ISP networks confuse well-being of competitors with consumers, he said: Those most likely having limited broadband competition are rural, or with median household incomes below $60,000. Sallet cited the National Digital Inclusion Alliance showing pockets of high-poverty neighborhoods in Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo, Dallas and Dayton where incumbent telecoms hadn't deployed fiber. Proposed Lifeline changes to eliminate mobile resellers would effectively end Lifeline broadband access for millions, the report said. Sallet instead recommends schools and libraries be allowed to provide Lifeline, too. Such competition could increase once the national verifier is fully implemented, Sallet suggested. "An even more efficient mechanism would make Lifeline enrollment automatic when people are enrolled in a qualifying federal program." The 150-page footnoted document acknowledged a persistent problem of areas unserved by broadband, saying the executive branch should establish an Office of Broadband Coordination for Tribal Lands.
The FCC got pushback against CTIA and Wireless Infrastructure Association proposals seeking more changes to wireless infrastructure rules designed to accelerate siting of towers and other gear. Big and small cities and their lobbying groups weighed in, along with industry allies of what CTIA and WIA seek. Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee state and local government members at September's BDAC meeting asked for an ad hoc committee on collocation issues (see 1909190024). But Chairman Ajit Pai took no action. Filings were posted mostly Wednesday in docket 19-250.
Quadra Partners adds as partner Roger Sherman, ex-Waneta Strategies, and engineer Chris Helzer, ex-Nextel ... Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-Chair Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., hires Flynn Rico-Johnson, ex-FirstNet, as tech and telecom policy aide ... Kelley Drye advances Privacy and Information Security Chair Dana Rosenfeld to managing partner, effective Jan. 1, succeeding Lew Rose, retiring.
Stakeholders are debating how Lifeline is regulated after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded to the FCC rules on its authority to make broadband eligible for the program. That ruling came in partly upholding the agency's 2018 net neutrality order reclassifying broadband as a Title I information service (see 1910010018). The 2-1 court decision points up uncertainty with Lifeline, stakeholders agreed in interviews this month.