Net Neutrality Remand, Other Oct. 27 FCC Drafts Released
None of the net neutrality order issues remanded to the FCC by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 1910010013) needs further consideration, concluded the draft order released Tuesday for commissioners' Oct. 27 meeting. Even if supposed harms the 2017 order had on public safety, pole attachment rights for broadband-only providers, and the Lifeline program could be substantiated, they're limited and hugely outweighed by the order's benefits, the agency concludes.
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Also released were drafts delaying a rural 5G fund auction (see 2010060060), expanding requirements for described video and eliminating many unbundled network elements (UNE) requirements for ILECs. The agenda also includes a draft order that would allow AM stations to voluntarily shift to all-digital (see 2010060063).
The net neutrality remand order repeatedly cites the same refrain -- that the 2017 order resulted in regulatory certainty that opened the door to investment incentives and ultimately greater benefit to the public. It points to various dedicated public safety data services that it says were fostered by the regulatory environment, and that public safety services have benefited from overall improvements in broadband speeds and other performance characteristics, and that all was helped along by the order. It says in areas where federal pole attachment rules apply, almost all ISPs pole attachments are still subject to Section 224 of the Communications Act, covering pole attachments. And it says Congress clearly wanted universal service efforts to increase access to advanced services, and that in turn gives it legal authority to provide Lifeline support to eligible telecom carriers providing broadband service over voice networks.
The described video draft requires an additional 10 designated market areas to provide the service starting Jan. 1 (or the effective date of the order, if it is later), rather than the October deadline pushed for by NAB. While broadcasters had cited COVID-19 as a reason to delay the deadline, the draft pointed to the pandemic as a reason to increase the scope of the rules quickly -- the same argument put forth by consumer advocates (see 2007070051). “It is clear that any expansion of described programming in these additional markets will benefit consumers,” the draft order said.
As proposed in the NPRM, the draft expands requirements to 10 more DMAs every year for four years, ending up with described video being required in the top 100 DMAs. In 2023, the agency would consider whether to continue expanding outside the top 100, the draft says. Currently, the service is required in the top 60. The order would also substitute the phrase “audio description” for “video description” in existing FCC rules to bring the agency in line with industry practice, and use updated Nielsen market ratings to determine which DMAs fall under the requirements.
The UNE order would end unbundling requirements, with transition periods, for most loops and subloops and operations support systems, though it would keep the requirements for some. The order would end the unbundling requirements for dark fiber transport from wire centers within half a mile of competitive fiber networks, though there would be an eight-year transition for existing circuits. The draft order throughout cites the USTelecom/Incompas compromises reached on dark fiber and loop issues (see 2009150063). The two didn’t reach agreement on avoided-cost resale, and the order would extend avoided-cost resale forbearance to all ILECs with a three-year transition period.