Rural telehealth program participants told the FCC about "significant problems" with how the median rural payment rate will work under new rules released last month (see 1908200062), said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-310. USTelecom recommended exemptions from the median rural rate, rather than require providers to always follow a waiver process. The group asked to clarify a rule indirectly prohibiting service providers from using commission- or incentive-based consultants or third parties to help sell to healthcare providers who may decide to participate in the programs. Vice President-Policy and Advocacy Lynn Follansbee and executives from AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier, Alaska Communications and Consolidated met Wednesday with Wireline Bureau staff.

USTelecom urged 2020 presidential hopefuls Thursday to “commit to timely action” including on prioritizing broadband in “any national infrastructure plan” and “support federal legislation that puts an end to the constant regulatory back and forth about net neutrality.” The industry group released its proposal hours before the Democrats' presidential primary debate in Houston. Five of the remaining candidates propose broadband funding, though experts doubt such plans will have an appreciable effect in the general election (see 1909040061). Seventeen of the 21 Democratic hopefuls back restoring in some form the FCC's 2015 net neutrality rules. They should eschew support for restoring the 2015 rules and instead “champion and enact modern, enforceable national legislation to once and for all put consumers in control of their online experience,” USTelecom said. “Broadband companies have committed to honoring net neutrality. It’s time the most powerful social media, advertising, retail and search companies are required by law to do the same.” The group urged candidates to support policies aimed at ensuring U.S. leadership on 5G, anti-robocall and pro-FTC privacy bills and public-private partnerships to stay "one step ahead of cyberattacks.”

House Communications Subcommittee leaders appear to be eyeing ways to combine language from at least five bills on improving the federal government's collection of broadband coverage data, before a planned Wednesday hearing on the subject, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. The lawmakers are aiming to make progress on broadband mapping legislation, an issue that drew bipartisan interest. That's amid slower progress on other House Commerce Committee communications policy priorities to clear spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band for 5G and Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization (see 1908050037 and 1908230049).

NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield and USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter are among witnesses for a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on legislation to improve federal collection of broadband coverage data (see 1909040080), the House Commerce Committee said Monday. Others: NCTA Executive Vice President James Assey, Free Press Policy Manager Dana Floberg, U.S. Cellular Vice President-Federal Affairs and Public Policy Grant Spellmeyer and CostQuest President James Stegeman. The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

House Communications Subcommittee members filed two bills Friday aimed at improving federal agencies' collection of U.S. broadband coverage data, before a planned Wednesday hearing on that issue (see 1909040080). Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, and House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, led filing of a House version of the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (Data) Act (HR-4229), as expected (see 1907230048). The legislation is largely similar to the Senate version (S-1822), though it may not yet include amendments added to that bill during a July Senate Commerce Committee markup (see 1907240061), a communications sector lobbyist told us. HR-4229/S-1822 would require the FCC to collect more “granular” broadband coverage data and create a “user-friendly challenge process." HR-4229 is expected to be the main focus of House Communications' Wednesday hearing, lobbyists told us. Reps. Donald McEachin, D-Va., and Billy Long, R-Mo., led filing of the Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services Act (HR 4227). The bill would explicitly outlaw knowingly providing inaccurate coverage data to the FCC. "Rural communities ... often struggle with having access to fast, reliable broadband," Latta said in a news release. "With this legislation, we’ll be better able to pinpoint areas that are lacking coverage, and help ensure that unserved and underserved communities have better broadband availability." The bills' filing was praised by the Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA and USTelecom.

The FCC should give ISPs a better way to update broadband mapping data in their form 477 filings to the high-cost universal broadband portal (HUBB) once providers have more accurate information on locations served, USTelecom filed, posted Thursday in docket 19-195. It wants the FCC to decide what qualifies as a modification rather than a deletion when geocodes are found to be more than a certain distance from the structure served. Inaccurate geocoding software is outside carriers' control, USTelecom argued, and while members want to update geocoordinates in the HUBB, they also want the FCC to recognize that such geocoding updates don't indicate lack of deployment.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should uphold a 2018 FCC order "to ensure that just and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions apply when communications providers attach to utility poles," said Verizon and USTelecom. Electric utility challengers seek to reverse the "sensible and well-supported presumption that comparable communications providers should pay the same pole attachment rates," the entities filed (in Pacer) Thursday in case 19-70490. Utilities seek to undo the decision "to speed and streamline portions of the process for attaching to utility poles in order to facilitate broadband deployment," they added: It was "reasonable exercise" of authority under Communications Act Section 224. The FCC "faced consistent, intense resistance from" utilities that own many of the poles trying to keep high attachment rates, especially on telcos, the two respondents-intervenors said. Rules exceed authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, say American Electric Power, Duke, Xcel and other utilities (in Pacer). Lawyers on their side didn't comment Friday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let challengers to FCC telecom discontinuance rules "supplement their argument that The Utility Reform Network ('TURN') has standing" in the case, by Sept. 6. "The panel will not consider any supplemental submission regarding the standing of any of the other petitioning organizations," said an order (in Pacer) Wednesday from the three judges who heard oral argument the previous day (see 1908270026). The jurists limited the supplement to 10 pages, in Greenlining Institute v. FCC. TURN was another petitioner in the case, 17-73283. TURN declined to comment, as did the FCC. Public Knowledge is "pleased that the court has provided us with the opportunity to resolve any lingering issues over standing," emailed Senior Vice President Harold Feld, who argued for petitioners in Seattle. USTelecom, which also got time at oral argument, didn't comment.

SEATTLE -- 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges questioned whether groups petitioning to repeal parts of a 2017 declaratory ruling on whether and how to notify customers when carriers retire copper networks had demonstrated sufficient injury to merit standing, during oral argument Tuesday in Greenlining v. FCC (17-73283). The FCC and the DOJ asked the court in November to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction or on its merits. Judge Margaret McKeown said a court of appeals "shouldn't have to hunt and peck" for clear evidence of standing and jurisdiction. "This is a threshold issue in every case."

The estimated cost of a completely open source location data fabric for use in broadband mapping would be twice that of using a mix of proprietary and open source data, CostQuest CEO Jim Stegeman told FCC officials with representatives of USTelecom, ITTA and the Wireless ISP Association, presenting findings of the group's broadband mapping initiative proof of concept from Missouri and Virginia (see 1908200055). Stegeman said a nationwide proprietary data fabric "creates a superior product at a lower estimated cost" of $8.5 million to $11 million, but the public wouldn't be able to download some of the data in its entirety because it's proprietary. An open source data fabric would be double the cost, Stegeman said, because it would require visual verification of more of the location data for the same accuracy. The FCC's primary request was to clarify how a location is defined and how locations would be assigned the categories "residential" and "business," USTelecom said, posted Friday in docket 19-195. Meetings included Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, aides to the other members other than Jessica Rosenworcel, and Chief Kris Montieth and other Wireline Bureau staff. Industry reps included ITTA CEO Genny Morelli.