Native American tribes are seeking more cooperation from the FCC and other federal agencies to expand broadband access. With the new Biden administration, tribal leaders and advocacy groups said in recent interviews that they're optimistic for better intergovernmental coordination.
The C-band auction and compensating satellite operators for leaving the spectrum are things the FCC could come to regret as a negative template for future spectrum auctions, said Philip Murphy, legislative director to House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. The auction starts Dec. 8.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved special temporary authority Friday for the Navajo Nation to use unassigned spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band for wireless broadband service as part of the agency’s COVID-19 response. The nation is in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The grant expires in 60 days.
Harris Wiltshire announces Rashmi Doshi, ex-FCC (see this section, Jan. 31), is technology policy adviser ... DOD acting Deputy Chief Information Officer-Command, Control, Communications and Computers and Information Infrastructure Capabilities Fred Moorefield lists permanent position; Pentagon didn't comment ... Charles River Associations advances Matthew List to vice president-antitrust and competition economics.
The FCC gave Frontier Communications waiver of rules requiring Connect America Fund phase II recipients to deploy broadband to 80 percent of locations in a winning bid by Dec. 31, 2019, in an order in docket 10-90 and in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The Wireline Bureau found "good cause to waive its interim milestone deadline" and support reductions for missing it. The telco missed deadlines due to a dispute with the Navajo Nation over right-of-way agreements in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. "We expect Frontier will continue to work diligently to reach a resolution on this issue with both [the Bureau of Indian Affairs] and the Navajo Nation and anticipate that the locations in question here will be served" in 2020, staff said.
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.
ISPs and state telecom authorities asked the FCC to delay the first-round auction for its $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund until it gets better broadband mapping data. In replies posted through Tuesday in docket 19-126, the California Public Utilities Commission, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and Navajo Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, among others, supported delay.
Google hires Scott Deutchman, ex-Neustar, as senior policy adviser-telecom, spectrum, export controls, privacy and intellectual property ... At new joint venture between Public Safety Network and P3 North America, Allerio PSN founders TJ Kennedy and Jason Karp, both ex-FirstNet, CEO and general counsel, respectively; also names to board Kennedy, Karp and P3 executives Samit Ghosh and Marc Althoff.
The FCC should equitably address discrepancies between the number of rural locations a broadband provider is funded to serve after alternative Connect America cost model (A-CAM) auctions and the number of actual locations the provider encounters during a network build-out phase, industry said in comments to FCC posted through Monday in docket 10-90, rather than impose penalties to providers when pre-bidding estimates turn out to be wrong (see 1907110003). The agency's Wireline Bureau "should study the impact of actual location discrepancies before deciding what measures are appropriate for A-CAM support recipients that experience location shortfalls," ITTA said.
FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Associate Chief Bruce Romano joins Wiley Rein as consulting counsel ... Disney and Pixar Animation Studios President Ed Catmull retires, effective year-end, when Pixar President Jim Morris and Disney Animation Studios President Andrew Millstein report to Disney Studios President Alan Bergman; Catmull won't be replaced ... New York Public Radio names Depelsha McGruder, ex-Viacom, chief operating officer.