The FCC made changes to its final order on the affordable connectivity program and NPRM on its outreach grant program released Friday, with Commissioner Brendan Carr partially dissenting and Commissioner Nathan Simington concurring in part (see 2201070060). Carr dissented because the order didn't include safeguards against potential fraud in identity verification. "I worry that by not requiring this information, we are turning a blind eye to fraud already happening while leaving the door open for even more benefits going to ineligible households," Carr said. Simington concurred to "draw attention" to ACP recipients not being required to provide "any portion of their social security number" and to his concern that it's "impossible to prevent a consumer from endlessly enrolling in high-cost plans for which such customer has no intention of paying their share of the bill." Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel thanked Carr and Simington for "their ideas to improve accountability measures," saying she looks forward to "working with federal, state, and local partners to identify ways to ensure that those who are eligible have opportunities to enroll with the broadband provider of their choosing." The order "repeatedly affirms our decision to spend that money in ways that advance our digital equity goals," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Providers seeking reimbursement for a connected device must include details about the device's market value instead of the proposed applicable wholesale cost. The order clarified that "tablets with cellular calling capabilities" aren't eligible for reimbursement. The program will continue to follow a market value-based approach for reimbursement of connected devices with additional accountability requirements. Universal Service Administrative Co. is required to do quarterly "program integrity reviews." USAC will make data public on household enrollment similar to the tracker used for the national verifier. About 265,000 households are enrolled in ACP, the order said. Few changes were made to the NPRM. It included a question about how to administer a pilot focused on outreach to households in federal public housing assistance programs and other agencies. It asks how the enhanced, up to $75 monthly benefit should be administered to households in high-cost areas.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated an order and declaratory ruling on broadband access in multi-tenant environments, said a news release (see 2111220047). “With more than one-third of the U.S. population [living] in apartments, mobile home parks, condominiums, and public housing, it’s time to crack down on practices that lock out broadband competition and consumer choice,” Rosenworcel said. The item would prohibit providers from "entering into graduated revenue sharing agreements or exclusive revenue-sharing agreements with a building owner," require that providers disclose "in plain language" to tenants any existing exclusive marketing arrangements with building owners, and "end a practice that circumvents the FCC’s cable inside wiring rules by clarifying that existing commission rules prohibit sale-and-leaseback arrangements that effectively block access to alternative providers." The FCC sought comment in September. The record "revealed a pattern of new practices that inhibit competition ... and limit opportunities for competitive providers to offer service for apartment, condo and office building unit tenants," Friday's news release said, noting such practices could affect consumer access to the affordable connectivity program. The proposal is "welcome news," said Consumer Reports Senior Policy Council Jonathan Schwantes in a statement, adding it's "time to finally put an end to practices and close loopholes that stifle broadband competition and consumer choice." There are "significant barriers to [MTE] competition," said a Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy letter posted Friday in docket 17-142. SBA recommended conducting an economic analysis examining the impact of prohibiting exclusivity agreements on competition and broadband deployment. Providers should be required to "be more transparent about any agreements."
The biggest news this week on the C band is that, despite the “noise,” Verizon and AT&T were able to turn on the band in key markets, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Thursday. “The last 72 hours probably had more press stories about spectrum than any 72-hour period in history,” including a question at President Joe Biden’s news conference (see 2201190064), he said. “The dispute will leave a problematic residue in terms of spectrum policy but the important thing for investors is that AT&T and Verizon were able to begin 5G transmissions, the constraints on the service will not affect their ability to attract subscribers, and the battle did not cause a delay that would have materially worsened their competitive position relative to T-Mobile,” Levin said. Verizon and AT&T had to agree to new conditions to “placate” the FAA because they need to play catch up with T-Mobile, Mark Giles, lead industry analyst at Ookla, blogged Thursday. “It was critical for both telcos that the delay to their C-band launch was only temporary,” he said: With the C band, “the margin of difference” with T-Mobile “will be substantially reduced, and then it will largely come down to how many 5G cell sites each operator deploys, and when they can turn on additional spectrum resources -- the race is on.” The FAA said Thursday it has cleared 78% of the U.S. commercial fleet to do low-visibility landings at airports near C-band deployments, including some regional jets. That’s up from 62% Wednesday. “The FAA is working diligently to determine which altimeters are reliable and accurate where 5G is deployed,” the agency said: “We anticipate some altimeters will be too susceptible to 5G interference. To preserve safety, aircraft with those altimeters will be prohibited from performing low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed because the altimeter could provide inaccurate information.”
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., confirmed to us Monday he’s asking for a panel hearing on ethics concerns about Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition given the shuttered sports rebroadcaster’s $32 million lawsuit settlement, as expected (see 2201130071). “My initial review of the confidential settlement raises several troubling questions about” Sohn’s “nomination,” Wicker said in a statement. “The possibility of the nominee’s future financial liability to a number of companies regulated by the FCC, and the timing of this settlement in relation to her nomination, demands a full discussion by the committee to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the ability for this nominee to act without any cloud of ethical doubt. The committee needs to hold a new hearing on this matter to provide the nominee an opportunity to fully address these concerns.” A committee GOP spokesperson confirmed Wicker obtained a copy of the confidential version of the settlement from involved broadcasters. Senate Commerce Democrats are highly unlikely to agree to hold the hearing, but amplified attention on Sohn’s Locast connections could be problematic because the majority has been eyeing a panel vote on the nominee Jan. 26 (see 2201070058). The White House and Senate Commerce didn’t comment Tuesday.
The FCC deactivated the disaster information reporting system Monday after activating it Sunday for counties in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia due to a winter storm. In the final DIRS report Monday, no primary safety answering points were reported down, 0.7% of cellsites in the affected area were reported down, and one radio station was reported out of service.
Total demand for USF programs topped $9 billion in 2021, reported the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service on Friday. About $5 billion in high-cost support was claimed in 2020, with FCC staff estimating a similar amount claimed in 2021. Demand for low-income programs in 2021 was more than $1 billion. More than 7 million consumers participated in Lifeline in 2020, with 7,000 tribal subscribers participating in Link Up. More than $1 billion of the $2.4 billion committed to E-rate in 2021 was disbursed. Total rural healthcare funding disbursed was $49 million as of June 30. The USF Q4 2021 contribution factor was 29.1%, down from 31.8% in Q3.
The Judicial Conference "has serious concerns" with the Open Courts Act (HR-5844) and wants "meaningful two-way dialogue" with the House Judiciary Committee about revisions to the bill before the committee acts on it, Judicial Conference Secretary Roslynn Mauskopf said in a letter dated Tuesday and released Thursday to House Subcommittee on Courts Chairman Hank Johnson, D-Ill. Johnson sponsored the bill. The legislation "may unduly constrain" the courts systems' ongoing update of Public Access to Court Electronic Records (Pacer) and the case management and electronic case files systems (CM/ECF), said Mauskopf, U.S. District judge in Brooklyn. She said that disagreements over aspects of the bill include judiciary opposition to increased filing fees and that while the judiciary isn't a fan of eliminating all Pacer fees, "we are not opposed ... in principle, so long as the alternative funding for PACER and CM/ECF is fair to litigants, effective, reliable, and administratively workable."
Network and information security is a Biden administration priority, said Ruth Berry, White House National Security Council digital technology policy director. The need to secure the entire network "could not be higher" due to risks from untrustworthy equipment vendors such as Huawei and the lack of competition and diversity in the telecom supply chain, she said at a Wednesday European Telecommunications Network Operators Association/USTelecom webinar. Europe sees progress on network cybersecurity issues, and many opportunities for common rules, from the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC), said Thibaut Kleiner, director-policy, strategy and outreach, European Commission communications networks, content and technology directorate. Another international concern is that online platforms and apps are generating increasing network costs, noted ETNO Director General Lise Fuhr. Kleiner said the COVID-19 pandemic was a "stress test" for European networks, and it showed that the regulatory framework hasn't harmed quality or reliability. It's fair to ask who should pay for network upgrades such as 5G, he said, but the EU hasn't reached the point where it needs to intervene in the relationship between telcos and platforms. The emergence of the "splinternet" is very worrying, said Kleiner: The EU continues to support ICANN and its internet governance and infrastructure, and hopes to publish Europe's vision for the internet sector's future at month's end. USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter welcomed the U.S. government push to establish an alliance for the future of the internet, which will address data privacy, data security, cybersecurity, competition policy and other issues. The original optimistic vision of the internet "is now in flux" as shown by misinformation, internet shutdowns and use of the network by autocrats, Berry said. The alliance is expected to launch in coming weeks, she noted: It will let governments recommit to original internet principles of openness, security and more, and will enable a global conversation on how to push back against challenges. The U.S. agrees with the EU that the global community should continue to manage the internet's fundamental infrastructure, without undermining the multistakeholder approach, she said. Another "burning issue" is the semiconductor supply chain, Kleiner noted: The EU Chips Act (see 2201100033) will align with a U.S. initiative.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated an NPRM that would update commission rules on telecom carriers' data breach notification requirements, said a news release Wednesday. The proposal would "better align the commission’s rules with recent developments in federal and state data breach laws covering other sectors." The NPRM proposes to eliminate the seven business day waiting period for consumer notifications of a breach, require notification of inadvertent breaches, and require that carriers notify the FCC, FBI and Secret Service of all reportable breaches. It proposes making similar revisions to the telecom relay service data breach reporting rule and would seek comment on whether the FCC should require specific categories of information to be included in consumer breach notices. "Customers deserve to be protected against the increase in frequency, sophistication, and scale of these data leaks, and the consequences that can last years after an exposure of personal information," Rosenworcel said. The NPRM wasn't released.
NTIA Administrator-to-be Alan Davidson is likely to take office Thursday, a Biden administration official and communications sector lobbyists told us. Davidson tweeted Tuesday he's "grateful" the Senate confirmed him (see 2201110066). "Now on to the work of connecting America and building a better Internet," he said. Davidson will be the agency's first permanent head in more than two years. NTIA didn't comment Wednesday. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., hailed Davidson's confirmation. "I look forward to working with [Davidson] to implement" distribution of $48 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act under NTIA control "to close the digital divide" and "to efficiently manage the federal government’s spectrum resources," Doyle tweeted. Also congratulating Davidson were Connected Nation, the Fiber Broadband Association, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, Lumen, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and Satellite Industry Association.