Liberty Broadband subsidiary GCI Communications agreed to pay $40.24 million to settle allegations it breached the False Claims Act by knowingly inflating its prices and violating FCC competitive bidding rules in connection with its participation in the commission’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program, said DOJ and the FCC in a statement Thursday. Just over $26 million of the settlement amount will be USF restitution payments directly to the FCC under a contemporaneous consent decree with the commission, said the settlement agreement.
The GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews before a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing about what kind of modifications they would like for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust the initial $14.2 billion in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024, perhaps as early as Q1. The Commerce Oversight hearing highlighted partisan fault lines over how much Congress should modify the existing federal broadband funding apparatus.
Top Republican leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees want the FCC's Office of Inspector General to review the commission's management of broadband money it received during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying in a Monday letter to acting IG Sharon Diskin "it's important to understand" the affordable connectivity program's "record to date" as they decide whether to back extending its life. They are seeking answers by June 1. The request came before two congressional hearings later this week on federal broadband spending and may provide further insight into whether there’s a consensus for making legislative changes to existing programs.
Some of the most important decisions to be made at this year's World Radiocommunication Conference will be on future agenda items, industry officials agreed during the second part of an FCBA webinar Thursday (see 2305040086). A bifurcated approach, with separate committees developing industry and government positions, may no longer make sense in a 5G world, they said. WRC starts Nov. 20 in Dubai.
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Earn It Act Thursday for the third year in a row. Co-author Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told members he expects the bill to ultimately “go nowhere” due to Big Tech lobbying efforts.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel again prodded Congress Wednesday to allocate an additional $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, warning Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that the commission plans to begin prorating reimbursements to participants July 15 unless Congress agrees to bridge the gap by that date. House Commerce Committee aides cited the July 15 deadline Thursday as one of the reasons panel leaders are pressing for a deal as soon as possible on a spectrum legislative package that would allocate some future auction proceeds toward rip and replace.
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan on Wednesday urged Congress to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2304210069). Carriers, consumers “and the millions of Americans that roam on these networks must not be negatively impacted by insufficient funding,” Donovan said at the start of the group’s spring show in Pittsburgh.
Former FCC nominee Gigi Sohn told reporters Wednesday she’s ready for her next act in the communications policy space, after her withdrawal from contention for the vacant commission slot almost two months ago (see 2303070082). Sohn confirmed during and after an appearance at a Broadband Communities event in Houston that she will sign on in June as the American Association for Public Broadband’s first executive director. The House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee, meanwhile, plans a May 10 hearing on the government’s administration of $65 billion in broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other federal programs.
A draft order, Further NPRM and NPRM on the broader 12 GHz band includes, as expected (see 2304260072), asking about fixed-wireless use in the lower part. It also asks about possible unlicensed use. The FCC also released a draft order on the 60 GHz band and a robocall order and FNPRM. All are proposed for votes at commissioners' May 18 open meeting. The proposed title of the 12 GHz draft is “Optimizing Spectrum for Services from 6G to Satellite.”
Texas House members showed wide support for creating a state fund for broadband infrastructure this week, voting 137-7 for a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday on its second reading. On Thursday, the Senate received HJR-125 and the House voted 140-8 for companion bill HB-9 on third and final reading. Rural carriers applauded the House for passing the measures, which they said would help fill gaps from the state not fully funding Texas USF. “We will now shift our focus to the Senate where we hope to find similar support,” said Texas Telephone Association (TTA) President Mark Seale.