The California Public Utilities Commission set next steps for foster youth and broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) programs through two 4-0 votes at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. The vote on extending the CPUC’s current foster youth pilot program beyond July came after multiple delays as the agency and stakeholders considered how to ensure a seamless transition. And even with the first volume of California’s BEAD plan done, much work remains to achieve maximum broadband across the state, California commissioners said.
WTA urged the FCC to consider "alternatives not involving waivers or amnesties" that will incentivize Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase (RDOF) I auction recipients who can't or won't build networks to relinquish their awards ahead of NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2404240050). The group said in a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that the FCC "must strictly enforce its auction rules, terms, and conditions." A waiver would "not only encourage future reverse auction participants to expect relief from unsuccessful bidding tactics" but also "open the door to increased judicial scrutiny," WTA said in an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 19-126. The FCC should "condition an RDOF awardee's acceptance of the reduced default penalty" of 10% of a carrier's "total relevant RDOF support" on the awardee's "enforceable commitment not to seek BEAD grants for any of its relinquished RDOF service areas."
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
A Minnesota lawmaker and a labor group pushed back Monday against the telecom industry's opposition to advancing a proposal on broadband workforce safety. The state's Senate planned to weigh the measure as part of a labor omnibus (HF-5242), but senators hadn’t voted by our deadline. The Minnesota Cable Association (MCA), Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) and the Wireless ISP Association (WISPA) warned Gov. Tim Walz (D) that the proposal would discourage carriers from seeking federal broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and other high-speed internet grants.
Controversy over a broadband bill spilled out into the open at a Louisiana Senate hearing Wednesday. The Senate Commerce Committee deferred the bill for a week as it attempts to resolve cable industry opposition to part of HB-700. That provision would require that Louisiana broadband grant winners collect data for the state broadband office about locations of new broadband infrastructure and “existing water, sewer, or gas infrastructure in the path of excavation funded through” the Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) program. Lashing out against cable for what he claimed was a “hit piece” against his son, sponsor Rep. Daryl Deshotel (R) nearly spiked his bill. Committee members convinced him not to do so.
California next month could approve challenge process rules for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. The California Public Utilities Commission said it may vote at its May 9 meeting on a proposed decision, released Friday in docket R.23-02-016, to revise and adopt volume one of the state’s initial proposal for BEAD. The CPUC proposed opening its challenge process “no later than 60 calendar days” after issuing a final decision and “no sooner” than seven days after publishing eligible locations, the draft said. A 30-day challenge process would be followed by a 14-day evidentiary review period. After that, the CPUC would notify ISPs about challenges and give them 30 days to rebut. Then CPUC staff would get 30 days to make a final determination to the commission. Staff would publish final eligible locations not later than 60 days after the NTIA approves those final determinations. The agency attached a cured version of volume one. Comments on the proposed decision are due April 25. Meanwhile, Washington state's BEAD challenge process is delayed due to a glitch with the challenge portal, the state's Commerce Department said Monday. It was scheduled to open Monday. "Part of the registration process requires the challenge portal to send a confirmation email to someone registering to participate," the department said. "Due to a technical problem with the system, some individuals had trouble receiving these messages." The department said it will announce a new opening date when it resolves the problem.
The 5G Fund order that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated last week (see 2403200071) is expected to have several gaps that will need addressing with a Further NPRM on a tribal reserve but also through auction public notices, industry officials said. One question that needs answering is how to define open radio access networks, slated to get up to 10% of the $9 billion to be awarded.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday circulated for a commissioner vote an order that would launch a 5G Fund Phase I multi-round reverse auction, making $9 billion available to target 14 million homes and businesses lacking mobile 5G coverage. The fund includes up to $900 million in “incentives” for incorporating open radio access network technologies in fund-supported networks, said a news release. The fund will rely on the FCC’s updated broadband coverage map. The order “would take a number of steps to improve the program, including: modifying the definition of areas eligible for the auction and ensuring that areas in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that meet the criteria would be included in the 5G Fund auction; increasing the budget for Phase I of the 5G Fund auction and the Tribal reserve budget -- a set-aside portion of the fund to support connecting Tribal communities; and requiring 5G Fund support recipients to implement cybersecurity and supply chain risk management plans as a condition of receiving support,” the FCC said. Commissioners unanimously approved a Further NPRM in November (see 2309210035). Commissioners initially approved a proposed $9 billion fund in 2020, over partial dissents by Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2010230056). “For the first time in our history … this agency has comprehensive data about where service is and is not all across the country,” Rosenworcel said: “This will be the foundation of our plan to expand the 5G service in rural America to where it is needed most -- where people live, work and travel.” CTIA raised concerns in a filing posted Wednesday, before the order was announced. The FCC should schedule a 5G Fund auction only after final funding decisions are made in the broadband access, equity and deployment program, CTIA said in a meeting with staff from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics. “While BEAD will not directly fund mobile broadband deployment, it is likely to result in the deployment of fiber broadband backhaul facilities and fixed wireless services that will facilitate the expansion of unsubsidized 5G coverage in rural areas,” said a filing in docket 20-32. Even if the FCC adopts rules in the near term on issues raised in an FNPRM, “the Commission should wait to schedule the ... auction until the impact of BEAD deployments on 5G availability becomes clearer,” CTIA said.
Many small and mid-sized internet service providers (ISP) have doubts that they will participate widely if at all in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. At ACA Connects' annual summit Wednesday in Washington, President Grant Spellmeyer said members are concerned "about where BEAD is headed" on project requirements and conditions. "Places like Pennsylvania have got some troubling provisions that are slowing members down," he said. "I think you're going to see wildly disparate results across the 50 states." One ISP that operates in multiple states told us it's leaning away from participating in the states with particularly onerous conditions.
Lack of trained tradespeople and onerous permitting procedures could represent major challenges to broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program implementation, speakers said Tuesday at Incompas’ annual policy summit in Washington. The looming end of the affordable connectivity program (ACP) (see 2403040077) is a big wrench in the works of planned BEAD projects, said Evan Feinman, who leads NTIA's BEAD program. He said internet service providers are recalculating project costs, and many planned projects will go into the red as they receive less help covering their operating expenses.