With panels on some of the major telecom concerns, NARUC’s upcoming winter committee meetings will offer some robust discussion, commissioners told us in interviews Thursday. The telecom committee panels Feb. 14-17 coincide with some active proceedings at the FCC, as well, NARUC members said, with topics including Lifeline, carrier of last resort (COLR) and enabling competition in a broadband world, the agenda shows. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is expected to speak at a general session about the commission pre-empting state laws on municipal broadband, net neutrality and inmate calling.
Implementing the Amateur Radio Parity Act (S-1685) would cost less than $500,000, the Congressional Budget Office said in an estimate of the Senate bill released Tuesday. "The bill contains a private-sector mandate as defined in UMRA [Unfunded Mandates Reform Act] because it would prohibit the application of private land-use restrictions that are inconsistent with the requirements in the bill," CBO said. "The mandate would apply to private entities such as homeowners associations by limiting their ability to apply land-use restrictions on amateur radio communications. Homeowner association rules, mobile home park agreements, condo association bylaws, and deed covenants could be affected by the bill’s prohibition." But "aggregate cost of the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation)," CBO predicted. The Senate Commerce Committee cleared the bill in November, and the House Communications Subcommittee will take up a companion bill for markup Thursday.
A year-long collaboration between CBP and ICE Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement resulted in seizures of some 450,000 fake professional sports items, said ICE in a press release (here). The effort, called Operation Team Player, is "an ongoing effort developed by the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) to crackdown on the illegal importation of counterfeit sports apparel and merchandise,", said ICE. During the week before the Super Bowl, the operation worked with local law enforcement to identify flea markets, retailers and street vendors selling counterfeits, it said. There's been 41 criminal arrests and 35 convictions so far, the agency said. CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske also described some of the agency's other efforts surrounding the Super Bowl. "Our officers use several large scale non-intrusive inspection technology systems to examine commercial items destined to Super Bowl events," he said (here). "This equipment is used daily as part of our operations at land ports, seaports and airports nationwide to keep illegal items out of the country."
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., wants more action on increasing broadband access, singling out the release of a GAO report she and other lawmakers had requested on high-speed broadband access on tribal lands. “Native Americans are among the most economically distressed groups in America, with many living in poverty,” Eshoo said. “The opportunity a broadband connection brings to individuals -- whether it is access to health care, education or commerce -- holds even more potential for vulnerable and underserved populations. As the GAO report concludes, we can be doing more, and we should be doing more.” GAO interviewed 21 tribes in compiling the 46-page report. “GAO recommends that FCC (1) develop joint training and outreach with USDA [the Department of Agriculture]; (2) develop performance goals and measures for tribal areas for improving broadband availability to households; (3) develop performance goals and measures for improving broadband availability to tribal schools and libraries; and (4) improve the reliability of FCC data related to institutions that receive E-rate funding by defining ‘tribal’ on the program application,” GAO said. “FCC agreed with the recommendations.”
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., wants more action on increasing broadband access, singling out the release of a GAO report she and other lawmakers had requested on high-speed broadband access on tribal lands. “Native Americans are among the most economically distressed groups in America, with many living in poverty,” Eshoo said. “The opportunity a broadband connection brings to individuals -- whether it is access to health care, education or commerce -- holds even more potential for vulnerable and underserved populations. As the GAO report concludes, we can be doing more, and we should be doing more.” GAO interviewed 21 tribes in compiling the 46-page report. “GAO recommends that FCC (1) develop joint training and outreach with USDA [the Department of Agriculture]; (2) develop performance goals and measures for tribal areas for improving broadband availability to households; (3) develop performance goals and measures for improving broadband availability to tribal schools and libraries; and (4) improve the reliability of FCC data related to institutions that receive E-rate funding by defining ‘tribal’ on the program application,” GAO said. “FCC agreed with the recommendations.”
The telecom committee at NARUC's annual winter committee meetings, beginning Feb. 13 in Washington, will consider four draft resolutions -- none of which is expected to be controversial, state commissioners told us in interviews Thursday. One of the resolutions focuses on Lifeline overhaul and keeping the states involved in the process so as to reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Another would support preserving the fundamental features of legacy services during the IP transition. A third resolution backs streamlined access to rights of way on federal lands to accelerate broadband deployment. The last is on FCC process overhaul. The resolutions shouldn't cause much fuss, South Dakota Public Service Commissioner Chris Nelson, chair of the telecom committee, told us Thursday. "Nobody has contacted me in opposition to any of these and nobody has indicated to me that they expect them to be controversial."
The telecom committee at NARUC's annual winter committee meetings, beginning Feb. 13 in Washington, will consider four draft resolutions -- none of which is expected to be controversial, state commissioners told us in interviews Thursday. One of the resolutions focuses on Lifeline overhaul and keeping the states involved in the process so as to reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Another would support preserving the fundamental features of legacy services during the IP transition. A third resolution backs streamlined access to rights of way on federal lands to accelerate broadband deployment. The last is on FCC process overhaul. The resolutions shouldn't cause much fuss, South Dakota Public Service Commissioner Chris Nelson, chair of the telecom committee, told us Thursday. "Nobody has contacted me in opposition to any of these and nobody has indicated to me that they expect them to be controversial."
The FCC will start accepting applications for the operation of mobile repeaters on six VHF frequencies March 15, the Wireless and Public Safety bureaus said Wednesday. The frequencies are: 173.2375, 173.2625, 173.2875, 173.3125, 173.3375 and 173.3625. The Land Mobile Communications Council filed a consensus protocol on use of the spectrum in September, a public notice said. The PN ”serves as the Bureaus’ approval of the protocol as well as announcing that we will begin accepting applications on March 15,” the bureaus said. “Coordinators must include their analysis with the application so staff can understand which method the coordinators are using to coordinate the application.” The FCC approved an order allowing public safety to use the frequencies for vehicle repeater systems in August (see 1508100055).
From regulatory reform to incentives to help justify the total cost of ownership of a network, rural broadband advocates came to the launch of the House's bipartisan Rural Broadband Caucus Wednesday with a litany of suggestions. "As much as we want to advance rural broadband, if you don't have a government program [to] support the deployment and maintenance, people aren't going to deploy it," said Sarah Tyree, CoBank vice president-government affairs. The caucus' focus was expected (see 1602020057).
From regulatory reform to incentives to help justify the total cost of ownership of a network, rural broadband advocates came to the launch of the House's bipartisan Rural Broadband Caucus Wednesday with a litany of suggestions. "As much as we want to advance rural broadband, if you don't have a government program [to] support the deployment and maintenance, people aren't going to deploy it," said Sarah Tyree, CoBank vice president-government affairs. The caucus' focus was expected (see 1602020057).