Alaska Gov. Michael Dunleavy sought clarification of an FCC rule on rural telehealth, among petitions for reconsiderations posted in docket 17-310 Wednesday. Dunleavy said the new mechanisms for determining cost recovery rates "don't sufficiently acknowledge the logistical and economic challenges to delivering service throughout rural Alaska, nor does it recognize the dramatic differences between our regions and communities." Rule changes would lead to systemic underfunding of telecom needed to deliver healthcare services to hard-to-reach communities, the Republican said. Alaska Communications asked to promptly address all outstanding matters from the telehealth rulemaking. It said the FCC is better positioned than the Universal Service Administrative Co. to timely resolve questions about rural rate determinations. USTelecom has concerns about how the FCC will implement a new median rural rate framework, citing material errors or omissions, and "Alaska requires a different approach to setting a rural rate that is unique." The median rate calculation risks "defunding telehealth services for the neediest rural Alaskans," it said. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition said USAC may have overstated nonrural telehealth expenditures, and the FCC should reconsider major policy changes based on such data. It also warned against deprioritizing funding for nonrural telehealth consortium participants. The North Carolina Telehealth Network Association and Southern Ohio Health Network asked the FCC to modify the definition of rural for the purposes of the program's eligibility.

WarnerMedia promotes Andrew Reinsdorf to senior vice president-government relations ... USTelecom advances Lorna Johnson to chief financial officer ... Society of Professional Journalists announces John Shertzer, ex-Indianapolis Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, is executive director, SPJ and SPJ Foundation ... Enterprise Wireless Alliance hires consultant John Wehmann to facilitate administration of 900 MHz incumbent transition services.

USTelecom and members want the FCC-proposed Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to "invest today in terrestrial broadband to provide a future of rural connectivity," wired and wireless, they said in meetings with the Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau Thursday and posted Friday in docket 19-126. They request "clearly defined roles and responsibilities" as USF high-cost programs transition to RDOF (see 1909230013). The telecom industry wants the FCC to use lessons learned from the Connect America Fund phase II auction "to ensure reasonable accountability while ensuring the program is not bogged down with unnecessary requirements," saying RDOF should reduce the risk of inaccurate location data. AT&T, Consolidated, CenturyLink, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream also sent representatives.

A drop-down menu option in the USF E-rate funding application labeled ISP service "has caused consistent confusion for applicants," as some without a tech background didn't realize they wouldn't receive support for network transport costs, the EducationSuperHighway commented in FCC docket 13-184, posted Friday. ESH recommends eliminating that option from form 470 and replacing it with one that reads internet service (with or without transport). CenturyLink said even applicants' consultants have difficulty navigating the E-rate program. It recommends applicants specify whether they seek internet access or WAN connectivity, and suggests removing a requirement to specify circuit quantity for circuit-based services. "USTelecom members support any and all efforts to ensure that processes facilitate ease of compliance with the rules and are intuitive and easy to understand," the association said. It wants a new drop-down option so schools and libraries can include location addresses directly on the 470 so bidding providers save time. The State E-rate Coordinators' Alliance wants drop-down menu terms and phrases to match those used by E-rate, such as in its eligible services list, and asks that the form eliminate any excess boxes that could inadvertently lead to funding denials if they're not checked because instructions are unclear. Replies are due Nov. 15.

The FCC released drafts of rules Tuesday to modernize unbundling and resale requirements for LECs, update suspension and debarment rules for telecom relay services programs, and modify cost recovery rules for IP-captioned telephone service (IP CTS), a form of TRS. Commissioners tentatively will vote at their Nov. 19 meeting (see 1910280054). Deregulating what incumbents must provide rival telecoms would include transition periods.

Stakeholders are debating how Lifeline is regulated after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded to the FCC rules on its authority to make broadband eligible for the program. That ruling came in partly upholding the agency's 2018 net neutrality order reclassifying broadband as a Title I information service (see 1910010018). The 2-1 court decision points up uncertainty with Lifeline, stakeholders agreed in interviews this month.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order Monday for the Nov. 19 commissioners’ meeting that would bar providers from using USF support to buy from suppliers deemed a threat to national security. Pai mentioned Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE (see 1910280021). FCC officials said the order singles out those two. Pai proposes to seek comment on rules requiring eligible telecom carriers remove from their networks existing equipment from the suppliers and on how to provide financial assistance to carriers to help them transition to a trusted supplier.

Changes in Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' office: Acting Legal Adviser-Wireline and Public Safety Randy Clarke leaving FCC, effective Friday, and not disclosing plans; FCC Attorney-Adviser Gavin Logan detailed to Starks’ office from Wireline Bureau during paternity leave of Michael Scurato; during that time, Logan working on media issues, which Scurato has been doing; FCC Senior Research Librarian Gloria Thomas retires, Chairman Ajit Pai announced at Friday's meeting ... Dan Margolis, ex-FCC, now Verizon compliance counsel.

Democratic FCC members joined the majority Friday, begrudgingly approving Charter Communications’ effective competition petition based on the existence of vMVPD AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now). Both they and the Republican majority said the Cable Act clearly justifies grant of Charter’s petition. Democrats concurred in their votes, citing the near-certitude customers in parts of Massachusetts and Hawaii will face big jumps in the cost of basic cable.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., predicted Thursday that other Democrats will participate in the working group he and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., formed to write a bipartisan net neutrality measure (see 1903120078) after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's Mozilla v. FCC ruling. The Oct. 1 decision largely upheld FCC rescission of 2015 net neutrality rules but said the federal agency can’t yet pre-empt states (see 1910010018). Wicker, Sinema and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai were among recipients of USTelecom's first “Broadband Heroes” awards, though Sinema didn't appear at Thursday's event. Wicker said the ruling is generally “good news” and will help improve chances for bipartisan consensus on net neutrality legislation. Lawmakers haven't shifted their views on rescinded rules since the ruling, which many see as a sign that movement toward a legislative deal's unlikely before the 2020 presidential election (see 1910010044). Wicker noted the importance of USTelecom member companies because they “will play a critical role in the deployment of 5G.” Pai emphasized the importance of career staff in shaping commission work, saying he's “simply pushing paper” in a Washington office.