Electric utilities pushed "creative and common sense" FCC pole-attachment solutions for communications providers that recognize the safety and reliability of their power infrastructure. "Utility poles have already become crowded, and will become more so with hundreds of thousands of new 5G wireless and other attachments expected to be installed," said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-84 by members of the Coalition of Concerned Utilities on meetings with Chairman Ajit Pai and an aide to Commission Mignon Clyburn. They repeated support for "One-Touch, Make-Ready" changes, "identified attachment management tools" to help address process delays and "proposed economic and other incentives to encourage utility pole owners to problem solve" issues. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said broadband service providers were trying to blame pole-attachment rates for rural broadband deployment difficulties even though deployment is largely driven by population density. Electric co-ops "offered major service providers the federal cable rate or even free pole attachments in exchange for coverage of their entire cooperative service territory," said a NRECA filing on a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "The offers were not accepted, indicating that pole attachment rates are not the impediment to deployment some major providers claim." Noting a draft order on the Nov. 16 tentative agenda (see 1710270040), Comcast and Charter Communications urged the FCC to reaffirm "longstanding precedent holding that overlashers need not 'obtain additional approval from or consent of the utility for overlashing other than the approval obtained for the host attachment,' and 'are not required to give prior notice to utilities before overlashing,'" said a filing on commission meetings. (Overlashing defined.)

Expect lively debate about Lifeline at the NARUC annual meeting Nov. 11-15 in Baltimore, said Telecom Committee members and staff in interviews. In separate NARUC telecom draft resolutions, Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades and District of Columbia PSC Chairman Betty Ann Kane disagreed whether Lifeline should support reseller services (see 1710310051). The conflict is likely to be the “hot item” at the NARUC meeting and already is spurring discussion and lobbying, said NARUC Telecommunications Staff Subcommittee Chair Lynn Notarianni, from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. A less contentious draft resolution aims to show a united front by states in favor of requiring direct dialing of 911 in hotels and other enterprises, said Colorado PUC Commissioner Wendy Moser.

States with dwindling intrastate USF revenue aren't waiting for the FCC to decide how to revamp federal contribution. The Nebraska Public Service Commission this week became the second state regulator to adopt connections-based contribution to replace a revenue-based model. A representative for small rural companies applauded and said it’s time for the FCC to act. The Utah PSC previously adopted a connections mechanism that will take effect Jan. 1 (see 1710240042). The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission may soon hold stakeholder discussions about moving to connections.

Puerto Rico ISP Open Mobile says hurricane-disrupted service could be fully restored to its 250,000 customers across the island by year's end, as long as electricity is similarly restored. "Nothing could prepare us for what happened," said OM Advertising Manager Ricardo Hernandez. He called Hurricane Irma, which preceded Maria, "like a dress rehearsal" that had OM working on restoring towers.

Two NARUC draft telecom resolutions disagree on whether Lifeline should support reseller services. Tuesday, NARUC revealed three draft telecom resolutions on Lifeline and E-911 for its annual meeting Nov. 12-15 in Baltimore. One by Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades would urge the FCC to keep providing Lifeline funds to non-facilities-based carriers “because they have been crucial in ensuring that low-income households are connected to telecommunication services.” The FCC sought comment on discontinuing that support in a draft NPRM released as part of a Lifeline package that’s scheduled for vote at commissioners’ Nov. 16 meeting (see 1710270013). The Rhoades draft said such an action would “disconnect millions of low-income households.” Another draft by District of Columbia Public Service Commission Chairman Betty Ann Kane takes the other side. Not requiring federal Lifeline participants to use their own facilities “removes any incentive for companies to invest in and to build voice-only or voice and broadband-capable facilities and, thereby, subverts the Act’s principle of promoting access to advanced telecommunications services as set forth in section 254(b),” it said. The Kane resolution also would support several other FCC tentative decisions from the Lifeline proposal, including to (1) eliminate the stand-alone Lifeline Broadband Provider designation, (2) reverse the agency’s pre-emption of State regulatory authority to designate eligible telecommunications carriers and (3) require that Lifeline broadband service providers must also provide voice services. A third draft resolution, by Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner Wendy Moser, would support federal and state actions to require enterprise communications systems (ECS) “manufacturers, installers, and operators to design and configure ECS to allow direct dialing of 9-1-1, route 9-1-1 calls to the proper PSAP [public service answering point] regardless of the particular location of the extension used to call 9-1-1, provide the PSAP with location information accurate enough for first responders to locate the caller, and to support on-site notification.” Federal requirements shouldn’t preclude state from adding nonconflicting requirements, the draft said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology's looking for input on the Technological Advisory Council’s hunt for technical regulations in need of modification (see 1708310035) got suggestions on new filing requirements for internal reorganizations and reforming rules on marketing and operation of RF devices before authorization. Monday was the deadline for docket 17-215 comments.

NTIA urged the FCC to account for federal government telecom needs in streamlining the processes for copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The Commerce Department agency supports proposals in an FCC April NPRM for streamlining the process and suggested ways to "accommodate the needs" of federal agency communications customers. "The technology transition will require federal agencies -- on a possibly very short timetable -- to purchase new IP-compatible customer premises equipment (CPE) or to install new equipment to ensure that agencies’ existing CPE and systems can interoperate with IP-based services," said NTIA comments posted Monday in docket 17-84. "While the Commission should aggressively reduce or eliminate unjustified regulatory barriers to network evolution, it must also take steps to assure that before a service is discontinued or a facility is retired (1) federal customers are aware of the prospective change and its potential service implications for them, (2) carriers have acquainted themselves with their federal customers’ situation and needs, and (3) carriers have taken reasonable steps to ensure that federal users will continue to be served adequately after discontinuance." The FCC Thursday put a draft item on the tentative agenda for a Nov. 16 vote (see 1710270040).

NARUC blasted the FCC for rejecting what the agency termed the “blunderbuss approach” of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission applying state regulations to Charter Communications’ fixed interconnected VoIP service (see 1710270053). In an amicus brief Friday at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the FCC said allowing Minnesota to regulate VoIP would disrupt the market, stifle competition and hurt consumers. The federal agency again declined to say if it's a telecom or information service. But its statement could have big impact in the case and on the broader question of whether states can regulate such services, observers said.

The Democrat leading the race to be New Jersey governor by a wide margin supports ISP privacy rules. The position, which seems to counter President Donald Trump’s repeal of FCC broadband privacy rules, raised ISP eyebrows and Free Press praise. Meanwhile, gubernatorial candidates in Virginia laid out detailed plans to expand broadband, with the Democrat urging better data and the Republican seeking deregulation to spur private sector deployment. A state cable association said both Virginia candidates need to study, and a municipal advocate said he’s not excited by either’s broadband platform.

The FCC plans Nov. 16 votes on media ownership and ATSC 3.0, as expected, (see 1710250049), and wireless and wireline infrastructure and cable items, Chairman Ajit Pai blogged, although drafts of the items have not yet been issued. Commissioners also will vote, as expected (see 1710100063), on the next phase of the FCC's spectrum frontiers initiative, setting aside high-frequency spectrum for 5G. The order would make available another 1,700 MHz of high-frequency spectrum “for flexible terrestrial wireless use while providing 4 gigahertz for core satellite use,” Pai said. The FCC approved the first order under ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler in July 2016 (see 1607140052).