The ATSC 3.0-focused public-private partnership announced by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will likely hold its first meetings in mid to late June, said ATSC President Madeleine Noland at a Media Institute Luncheon Tuesday (see 2304170056). NAB expects similar timing, a spokesperson told us. The Future of TV Initiative will consider possible solutions for ATSC 3.0 backward compatibility and what the eventual sunset of ATSC 1.0 will look like, Noland said. “A renewed focus by the FCC is very good news,” Noland said. “We need to chart a path forward together.”
The FCC released a broadband funding map Monday, as mandated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The map allows users to "identify, search, and filter federal funding programs" by ISPs receiving funding, the duration, number of locations for a project and speeds, said an Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 19-195. It includes funding summaries of the FCC's Connect America Fund Phase II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, NTIA's broadband infrastructure program and tribal broadband connectivity program, the Rural Utilities Service's community connect grant program, ReConnect, and telephone loan program, and the Treasury Department's Capital Projects Fund. The map also includes broadband availability data as of June 30.
Dish Network, a leading proponent on 5G in the 12 GHz band, said it met with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington about the draft 12 GHz item set for an FCC commissioner vote May 18 (see 2304270077). “DISH highlighted ways to expand the use of both the 12.2-12.7 and 12.7-13.25 GHz bands to support terrestrial operations, consistent with the goals laid out in the draft item,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-443. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said this week he was disappointed by the thrust of the item (see 2305080055). Tribal Ready, an advocacy group for tribal interests, said final rules should include a set aside to “accelerate” fixed-wireless broadband in Indian country. “The Commission has previously recognized the value of Tribal set asides in promoting deployment as recently as the 2.5 GHz band,” Tribal Ready said: “The 12 GHz band can and should also be an option to help Native Americans close the digital divide.”
The GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews before a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing about what kind of modifications they would like for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust the initial $14.2 billion in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024, perhaps as early as Q1. The Commerce Oversight hearing highlighted partisan fault lines over how much Congress should modify the existing federal broadband funding apparatus.
NTIA released a new online tool and two reports highlighting federal investments in broadband programs Monday. The reports, mandated by the Access Broadband Act, include a description of the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth's work, how many households were served by universal service programs or federal broadband support, and a "framework to guide future estimates of the economic impact of broadband deployment efforts," said a news release. The reports "show how federal agencies across the Biden-Harris Administration are working together to target funding through the Internet for All initiative and close the digital divide,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: “We will provide high-speed internet service to everyone by focusing on access, affordability and equity.” The report's findings included a substantial increase of $11.8 billion in investments from FY 2020 to FY 2021. More funding also went to digital inclusion or adoption efforts compared to infrastructure deployment and mapping. "This Broadband shift in outlays represents a change in priorities to connect underserved communities but also part of the maturation cycle as broadband investments begin to impact communities and economic activity," per the report. The dashboard includes spending data from 13 agencies and funding by program at the state level. It also reports tribal broadband funding for the first time. The dashboard showed tribal entities residing in Oklahoma received a "significant concentration" of funding, about 59.3% of total tribal broadband funding.
The California Public Utilities Commission may consider grants for broadband public housing and tribal local agency technical assistance at its June 8 meeting, the agency said Friday. Draft resolution T-17791 would approve about $951,000 in California Advanced Services Fund support for 14 public housing infrastructure projects. Draft resolution T-17790 would award a technical assistance grant worth about $938,000 to Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District. Comments on each draft resolution are due May 25.
The California Public Utilities Commission may vote June 8 on a Wednesday proposed decision to approve two pilot programs to stack California LifeLine and federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) benefits. Under the draft in docket R.20-02-008, the CPUC would approve a wireline broadband pilot that would use ACP dollars to test if letting California LifeLine provider affiliates offer broadband to participants will increase program participation by ISPs while maintaining program rule compliance. It would also check if LifeLine can ensure participants with stand-alone broadband service can make 911 calls through a separate service plan and if allowing LifeLine subsidies for stand-alone wireline broadband will increase participation, the draft said. Also, the CPUC would approve a wireless broadband pilot that would use ACP funding “to test how much mobile and hotspot data California LifeLine participants would use if they had unlimited data, including a high allotment of high-speed mobile data, a substantial allotment of high-speed hotspot data” and a capable mobile device, said the proposal. Participants in each pilot would get access to up to $57.15 -- or up to $102.15 on tribal lands -- of combined state and federal support for plans. The CPUC proposed testing LifeLine and ACP subsidy stacking after scrapping an earlier proposal (see 2210140068). Meanwhile, state legislators are considering a bill to allow such combinations (see 2304200044).
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo countered Republicans’ renewed assertions that NTIA’s notice of funding opportunity for the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program includes rate regulation requirements and other provisions Congress didn’t mandate via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a Wednesday Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee hearing. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota, meanwhile, is eyeing potential next steps in Commerce Committee Republicans’ push for NTIA to revise or otherwise strip out language from the NOFO they find objectionable (see 2304200064).
NTIA awarded more than $5.8 million in additional Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grants to 12 tribes Tuesday. The new funding will help expand internet access for 164 tribal households, said a news release. The agency said it will release an additional notice of funding opportunity for the program "in the next few months."
Fiber and wireless proponents faced off in comments this week on a California Public Utilities Commission rulemaking to develop state rules for distributing dollars from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (docket R.23-02-016). They disagreed on how high California should set its Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCT), which will be used to determine what areas can get non-fiber broadband service. Commenters also debated how much the CPUC should add to requirements from the BEAD notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and how much the state agency should rely on the FCC’s national map to determine what areas are served.