The FCC should seek public comment on testing and measurement methods before undertaking studies of fixed broadband services, USTelecom and the Telecommunications Industry Association said. Getting comments before choosing a contractor would help the commission “identify and remedy any concerns about the vendor’s testing methodology in advance,” they said. To get the most meaningful broadband data, the vendor may identify “the portion of the broadband network that each provider is responsible for and isolating testing to just that portion in a way that reasonably approximates the consumer experience,” the groups said.

The emergence of cloud computing and ubiquitous mobile devices has complicated the federal statute covering law-enforcement access to electronic communications, written when e-mail was a new technology, a coalition of Internet companies, privacy groups and think tanks said Tuesday. They are pushing for revision of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act at a time when the Obama administration is defending a government right of access without warrants to information about cellphone locations (CD Feb 16 p11). Those pressing for change have allies in the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. But they don’t expect legislation to move this year.

A wide-ranging partnership formed last week to get broadband to low-income households needs adequate private and government funds to succeed, participating groups told us. One Economy submitted an application for funds from NTIA on March 15 and estimates more than $78.6 million is necessary to fund the project. It has requested more than $52.1 million from NTIA, and currently has about $26.5 million in private matched funds from members of the coalition, said Ken Eisner, managing director of One Economy’s business development arm. If the stimulus application is granted, the funds will be used solely for training, credits toward computer purchases and project administration. “They're going to have to get the funding necessary to support the digital literacy training and computer subsidies,” NCTA Executive Vice President James Assey said. ISPs, telecom associations, technology companies and non-profits formed the Digital Adoption Coalition intended to bring broadband service, digital literacy training and equipment to 250,000 multi-family properties built by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. NCTA, AT&T, and USTelecom are among the 22 participants. The project sounds like a lot of money and a lot of homes, “but it’s not a big number,” said Gregory Rosston, deputy director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. The number of homes targeted is suitable for an experiment, he said. Different discounts can be applied in different homes “to find out which one is the most cost-effective in increasing penetration and getting people to keep it and pay for it.” To support the initiative, Microsoft will offer an instant rebate minimum of $175 on a selection of laptops and desktops operating under Windows 7 OS, said Mario Rebello, Microsoft director of U.S. citizenship.

The National Broadband Plan offers recommendations for increasing broadband adoption without increasing the Universal Service Fund and without new legislation, an FCC official said during a webinar. “We didn’t want to throw everything back into the lap of Congress,” said Wireline Deputy Bureau Chief Carol Mattey. Congress is providing insight and holding oversight hearings, “but we started off with basic design principles for reform that we can take care of ourselves,” she said. Goals of the plan include leading the world in mobile innovation, providing 1 Gbps access to anchor institutions in every community and supplying first responders a nationwide wireless broadband network, said Jon Banks, USTelecom senior vice president of law and policy. The commission also recommends establishing competition policies and creating incentives for universal availability and adoption. “Telecom companies tend to pay the highest rate for pole attachments,” he said. “The FCC is looking to drive down the cost of that part of broadband infrastructure.” As part of a USF and intercarrier compensation overhaul, the FCC plans to transform the high-cost program into the Connect America Fund in a three phase process over the next 10 years, Mattey said (CD March 8 p1). The overhaul will involve dispensing with per-minute intercarrier-compensation charges, said Rebekah Goodheart, an FCC policy adviser.

The National Broadband Plan sets the stage for increased broadband adoption, but hasn’t quelled the debate over Universal Service Fund, spectrum use and Title II reclassification, telecom officials said on panels Tuesday. The spectrum portion of the plan “really does push the ball forward to try to get more flexible use for spectrum,” said Gregory Rosston, deputy director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Spectrum is the “mother’s milk” of wireless, said Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke. The recommendations get the ball moving “in the development of additional spectrum resources for wireless. That’s a big positive for investment and innovation,” he said the event, held at the National Press Club.

Verizon and USTelecom backed bipartisan cybersecurity legislation planned for markup Tuesday by the Senate Commerce Committee (CD March 19 p12) . The bill (S-773) is sponsored by committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. “Americans face increasingly sophisticated cyber-threats aimed at our families, businesses and government,” Verizon Senior Vice President Peter Davidson said Friday. “The legislation drafted by Senators Rockefeller and Snowe puts the nation on a much stronger footing to confront these threats.” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said Thursday the bill “takes positive and strategic steps to address these problems."

Major phone and cable associations urged House and Senate leaders to extend the bonus depreciation policy which expired at the end of last year. The investment incentive, which allows companies to expense 50 percent of capital equipment in the tax year it’s purchased and placed into service, should be extended at least until year end, said USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA, TIA and nine other industry associations in a letter last week. The industry groups worry that allowing the incentive to die “will result in reduced future investment at the wrong time -- just as our economy slowly recovers and while unemployment rates remain high,” they said.

The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates asked the FCC to approve a request by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission that incumbent carriers be required to offer competitive local exchange carriers access to dark fiber and line sharing. The carriers that have led the opposition, including AT&T, Verizon and Fairpoint, kept it up in reply comments. The Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance said Maine’s request would work against the extension of high-speed access sought by the National Broadband Plan. At issue in the proceeding is whether Section 271(c)(2)(B) of the Telecom Act requires incumbent carriers to provide access to elements including dark fiber loops, dark fiber transport and dark fiber entrance facilities.

Former FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, now with Frontier Communications, joins USTelecom board …

Proposals to overhaul the Universal Service Fund mechanism including eliminating funding for voice-only networks will involve 10 years of transforming the high-cost fund into the Connect America Fund, the FCC said Friday. That’s intended to extend broadband service and provide ongoing support in certain areas without increasing the overall USF $8 billion cap, the agency officials told reporters. The proposed change is an attempt to transition from supporting voice telephone services to using funds to deliver broadband networks, said Omnibus Broadband Initiative Executive Director Blair Levin.