NCTA backs USTelecom recommendations to reduce proposed letter of credit burdens for participants in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, posted Friday in docket 19-126. NCTA opposes USTelecom's request the FCC provide continued noncompetitively bid Connect America Fund support to price cap carriers. "As the Commission correctly states in the draft order, the support was always intended to be limited in duration," the telco group said. USTelecom didn't comment beyond its request.

The satellite industry is resisting latency requirements in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and wants hybrid networks included in performance metrics. Whether it's making any headway isn't clear, satellite interests told us. An FCC official said the satellite industry has to get agency staffers on board with the hybrid networks idea, and so far they don't seem to be.

Petitioners didn't demonstrate "certain, impending harm" to show standing in Greenlining v. FCC, said a decision (in Pacer) memo by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday. Judges probed standing during oral argument (see 1908270026) and allowed petitioners to make a new attempt at proving independent standing (see 1909060038). The case involved potential consumer harms in the move from plain-old-telephone service to VoIP and addressed an FCC move striking down the functional test standard in service discontinuances (see 1908230003). "We are deeply disappointed with the Court's decision," wrote Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge, one of the joint petitioners. "As the California wildfires demonstrated, the deregulation of our telephone network can have devastating consequences. We will confer with our co-petitioners and consider what other avenues to pursue to ensure that all Americans have affordable, reliable access to critical communications infrastructure." Chairman Ajit Pai is "pleased that the Ninth Circuit has rejected this challenge to the FCC’s efforts to expedite the transition from the networks of yesterday to the networks of tomorrow." Co-petitioner The Utility Reform Network is "very disappointed that the court dismissed the case based on standing," said Telecom Director Regina Costa. Telecom deregulation overall has made service less reliable, she added. She expects TURN to discuss with fellow petitioners next steps, including possible actions in states and Congress. NASUCA is "disappointed with the decision," emailed Executive Director David Springe. USTelecom backed the FCC and didn't comment now. Hearing August argument in Seattle were Margaret McKeown, Jay Bybee and Fernando Gaitan. The order wasn't signed by a single judge to indicate who wrote it.

ISPs, states and others looking for changes to a draft Rural Digital Opportunity Fund order up for a vote Thursday make their last requests to FCC officials this week. Sunshine rules govern industry ex parte on matters before the commission a week before the Jan. 30 meeting. Commissioners and aides said the RDOF item is dominating their time on the agency's top, eighth floor. They said it has been a big focus this week.

Google had the highest lobbying expenditure total for Q4 among tech and telecom companies that reported their spending by Tuesday evening, but it had the largest decrease from the same period in 2018. Google said it spent $2.74 million on lobbying for the quarter, down 44 percent from the previous year. NCTA had the highest spending figure among tech and telecom industry groups at $4.65 million, a 21 percent increase from 2018. Qualcomm reported $1.78 million in expenditures in Q4, down 11 percent from 2018. CBS reported $900,000 in spending for the quarter, which included its December combining with Viacom. That expenditure total was up more than 4 percent from 2018. Viacom said it spent $710,000, 18 percent down. Cox reported $860,000, up 41 percent. USTelecom laid out $750,000, a 29 percent increase. Sprint devoted $680,000, up 18 percent. CenturyLink spent $570,000, down 35 percent. BSA|The Software Alliance's $420,000 was a more than 23 percent increase. The Information Technology Industry Council expended $340,000, 26 percent less. Netflix reported $250,000, a 25 percent increase. Telecommunications Industry Association came in at $70,000, a 22 percent decrease. The Computer & Communications Industry Association was little changed at $50,000.

Seven telecom groups asked for changes to FCC letter of credit requirements in its draft Rural Digital Opportunity Fund order, they wrote Thursday in docket 19-126. USTelecom, NCTA, NTCA, Incompas, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, WTA and the Wireless ISP Association said LOC burdens unite them. They asked for revisions so obligations correspond more closely to risks. "Encouraging robust participation and prudentially managing risks to the fund are both important goals, but should not, and need not, be mutually exclusive," the groups said. The agency declined to comment. USTelecom separately asked the FCC to revise the RDOF item, due for a commissioners' vote Jan. 30 (see 2001150005). Otherwise, current letter of credit requirements "will prevent USTelecom members (and in our view the entire pool of potential bidders) from participating meaningfully in the RDOF auction," USTelecom said in filings posted Thursday in docket 19-126. Under the current draft, letter of credit requirements "scale dramatically and unsustainably," USTelecom said. "Critically, the compounding nature of the requirements would force participants -- ranging from small independent providers to large, publicly-traded companies -- to access more credit than they are capable of accessing." Industry had asked for changes (see 1912190073). USTelecom said the modifications made "are grossly insufficient to match the business reality that potential bidders face." USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter and CEOs including Consolidated Communications' Bob Udell and Windstream' Tony Thomas had meetings Monday with officials including Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, plus Wireline Chief Kris Monteith and other bureau officials. The Wireless ISP Association said the "modest change does not go far enough" and would preclude participation for many small ISPs. WISPA said letters of credit are treated as debt that harm RDOF recipients' ability to borrow.

Municipal broadband supporters see an opening to lift restrictions in Virginia, after Democrats flipped the legislature blue in the November election, they said in interviews this month. In week one of this year's session, Democrats floated three bills to explicitly authorize localities to provide broadband service. They're HB-1052 by Del. Mark Levine, HB-1242 by Del. Steve Heretick and SB-351 by Sen. Louise Lucas. Local advocates said it's a big policy turn from a 2017 bill to tighten such restrictions (see 1702210037).

Broadband interests back a draft order on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund up for a vote at the Jan. 30 FCC meeting (see 2001080049). They told us to expect commissioners to approve the rulemaking this month. Industry continues visiting the agency's eighth floor to ask for changes.

The Commerce Department should establish a bright-line process similar to the export administration regulations’ entity list for identifying supply chain threats, USTelecom said in comments Friday. The Information Technology Industry Council recommended Commerce designate foreign adversaries threatening the supply chain with specific criteria. In response to President Donald Trump’s May executive order, Commerce proposed new procedures for reviewing transactions, including imports, that involve information and communications technology and services seen as potential national security threats (see 1911260044). Commerce's bright-line process should rely on Homeland Security Department “risk assessment and related tools to draw lines between prohibited and permitted transactions,” USTelecom said. The association asked Commerce to coordinate its transaction evaluations with other agencies at “every step.” ITI called for a narrow scope for what transactions will trigger security reviews and a waiver process. It urged avoiding duplicative transaction reviews with export administration regulations, international traffic in arms regulations and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Commerce's proposed rules are “overly-broad and highly subjective,” BSA|The Software Alliance said Friday. The proposed procedures would let Commerce “launch a review of virtually any ‘transaction’ involving almost any form of commercial technology, regardless of whether it has a clear nexus to national security or to a foreign adversary,” BSA wrote, saying it would create much industry uncertainty. The EO directs Commerce to issue regulations barring technology from foreign companies -- like Huawei and ZTE -- from U.S. networks.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai placed action on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund atop his agenda for the new year in announcing the Jan. 30 meeting, he blogged Wednesday. Commissioners will vote on auction rules for bidders on the first phase of a $20.4 billion RDOF program (see 1912190073). Also on the agenda are updated standards for hearing-aid compatibility on smartphones, an item on a program to allow video relay service-qualified sign language interpreters to work from home, and a media modernization item about MVPDs emailing required notices to TV stations rather than using certified mail. Missing from Jan. 30's meeting, the agency indicated, will be a vote on the C band.