Staff at state commissions pushed forward USF update efforts. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is seeking comment and plans a meeting soon on draft legislation to update Oklahoma USF (OUSF) into a broadband-focused subsidy, the OCC emailed stakeholders Monday. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) posted a staff proposal Friday to use Alaska USF (AUSF) to close the digital divide in places where voice remains the primary form of telecom access. The Oregon Public Utility Commission plans to post a state USF proposal within a week, it said Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are negotiating to begin conference on the China package this work period, a Senate aide told us Monday (see 2203010077). The work period is scheduled to end April 8.
Alerting companies, consumer groups and industry trade groups broadly support the FCC’s proposed rule changes to make emergency alert messages more accessible but are concerned about the timeline for implementation, possible alerting delays, and how the changes might affect alerts that use the legacy EAS system rather than the internet-based common alerting protocol, said comments posted by Friday’s deadline in docket 15-94. “The deaf and hard of hearing community faces significant problems receiving complete and timely communications warning of emergencies,” said a joint filing from user groups including the Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the National Association of the Deaf.
Telecom-focused lawmakers told us they want more information before committing to pursue more money for additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to repay U.S. carriers for removing from their networks equipment made by Huawei, ZTE and other companies deemed a national security risk. Eight major communications groups wrote the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees earlier this month to press for additional “rip and replace” funding (see 2203030074).
NTIA can refuse infrastructure funding to states that insist on enforcing municipal broadband limits, and it’s not a question of preemption, said NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner in an interview last week. She responded to the Free State Foundation's claims NTIA lacks authority to override some states' restrictions. NTIA should seek to empower localities, but denying funding to certain states could be bad politics for the Biden administration, said Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director-Community Broadband Networks Christopher Mitchell.
Russia's exclusion from ITU Standardization Sector working group chair or vice chair positions is widely seen as a sign of international outrage over Ukraine being felt within the U.N. body. Industry experts said Russia can still make member-state contributions but will be left out of leadership and setting the agenda for years to come.
The FCC’s forthcoming broadband consumer labels should be “simple, consistent, and easy for consumers to use,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Friday during the agency’s first virtual public hearing on the labels (see 2203100059). Current disclosures “are not consistent from carrier to carrier, so it’s really hard to compare service and prices,” Rosenworcel said, and there’s “no time to waste” given Congress’ one-year deadline to adopt new labels.
Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, supports cyber incident reporting legislation the House passed Wednesday in its omnibus package, he told us Thursday.
Three states’ privacy bills appeared to fail in one week as legislators struggled to find agreement before their sessions ended. Washington state legislation looked dead Thursday; it hadn’t received votes as legislators neared adjournment. Florida and Wisconsin bills also stalled, and an Indiana bill could also run out of time soon. Recent privacy bill defeats show “it's tough to get a bill passed on a big-ticket item like this,” said Husch Blackwell privacy attorney David Stauss in a Thursday interview.
Industry, state officials and advocacy groups disagreed how the FCC should proceed in adopting new broadband consumer labels, in comments posted Thursday in docket 22-2 (see 2201280038). Industry disagreed whether certain information should be required or optional, while state officials and advocacy groups called for strong enforcement and regular publishing of the labels online and on consumer bills. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required the FCC to adopt labels and hold public hearings on the issue (see 2201270030).