Many small and mid-sized broadband and voice providers quickly signed up for the Keep Americans Connected pledge extension (see 2005140063). Now, some said in interviews, expenses associated with KAC could start to become serious if it goes beyond its current June 30 span. Some don't expect the FCC pledge to get another extension.
Frontier Communications service quality needs improvement in New York state, said a Public Service Commission staff report released Friday. Staff became concerned in 2018 “due to increased PSC complaints and inquiries from local, county, and State government representatives, including emergency response entities, regarding long repair durations and repeated out-of-service conditions, as well as Internet access and speed issues,” it said. Staff sought data but found accuracy issues that “reflect negatively on company methods and procedures impacting the generation of the data used to calculate its service quality results.” While gathering data for the agency, “Frontier discovered that it had omitted a number of customer trouble reports from the routine monthly service quality data it had reported for years,” staff said. “Although the company did resubmit three years of corrected data, the full extent and history of this problem has not yet been developed.” Frontier continues “to work cooperatively with the Commission to address their questions on Frontier’s reporting methods and procedures," said Kenneth Mason, senior vice president-federal regulatory affairs, in an emailed statement.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., led an expected letter (see 2005130038) Friday with 31 other senators urging the FCC to “immediately stay and reconsider” its approval of Ligado’s L-band plan. Inhofe and other Armed Services members blasted the FCC during a hearing earlier this month for backing Ligado (see 2005060065). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is contemplating a separate hearing (see 2005080043). The order “does not adequately protect adjacent band operations,” including for GPS and satellite communications “from harmful interference that would impact countless commercial and military activities,” the lawmakers wrote Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners. “The hurried nature of the circulation and consideration” of the order “was not conducive to addressing the many technical concerns raised by affected stakeholders.” The FCC’s “accelerated timeline” for approving the order, which came two business days after it was formally announced, “was not adequate,” the senators said. “We are concerned that the FCC has discounted testing and assessments conducted” by other federal agencies in opposition to Ligado’s plan and that the commission “did not provide a technical forum to resolve the significant disconnects between this testing and Ligado’s privately funded testing.” The order’s “process for remediation and mitigation of interference to GPS users” remains “unclear and wholly inadequate to a technology of this importance to the American way of life,” the lawmakers said. Other signers include Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. Five other Senate Commerce members also signed: Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. " Any allegation that the [FCC] moved too quickly in making a decision on this matter is preposterous," a spokesperson emailed. "There were multiple rounds of public comment on the Ligado application, which has been pending for many years. Federal agencies were provided with the Commission's draft decision back in October 2019." The FCC "imposed stringent conditions on Ligado to ensure that its operations would not interfere with GPS, including dramatically lower power limits and a substantial guard band between the spectrum where it can operate and the spectrum allocated to GPS," the spokesperson said. "The bottom line remains that the FCC made a unanimous, bipartisan decision based on sound engineering principles, and we stand by that decision."
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is circulating an NPRM to “take the next statutorily required step to implement” the 2012 spectrum law's mandate for public safety to move off the 470-512 MHz T band by 2021. Pai on Friday also repeated his call for Congress to repeal the rule. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., again urged Congress to undo the T-band mandate. The House was expected Friday night to have voted on the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (Heroes) Act (HR-6800), which includes language from the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451) to undo the statute (see 2005130059).
Senate Commerce Committee members signaled interest in including further emergency broadband funding in the next COVID-19 package. Some senators urged their colleagues to think beyond the crisis. The Wednesday hearing featured few references to House Democrats' Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (Heroes) Act (HR-6800), which contains substantial broadband funding. The bill also includes language to make broadcasters and other local outlets eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program. Both issues drew increasing support since the March enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (see 2004300058). The House is expected to vote on HR-6800 as soon as Friday.
Some telecom companies taking part in the FCC Keep Americans Connected pledge are warning of mounting KAC costs -- hundreds of millions of dollars so far -- from not disconnecting subscribers for unpaid bills during the pandemic. Analysts said in interviews this month they don't expect expenses to be material -- for now. Chairman Ajit Pai asked telecom providers to extend their pledges through June (see 2004300044).
The pandemic is making the case for next-generation 911 while complicating some deployments, state emergency number officials and others told us this month. “Our migration schedule is completely destroyed,” said Colorado State 911 Program Manager Daryl Branson. COVID-19 hot spot New York City plans to roll out text-to-911 next month and is still targeting 2024 to complete a NG-911 project proposed three years ago.
California LifeLine providers urged expanding the state low-income program to better support families needing broadband. “Average consumer mobile data usage nationwide is far higher than the current service offerings in California,” so LifeLine "should support more robust broadband data offerings, including potentially family plans with additional subsidized lines,” the National Lifeline Association commented in docket R.20-02-008 on a California Public Utilities Commission scoping memo (see 2004140013). Also filed Monday, Sprint said the CPUC should consider funding family plans and expanding voice and data support to other members of eligible households. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lifeline providers have seen “that other household members have an ever-growing need for individual access” to voice and data, Sprint said. AT&T and Charter Communications warned the CPUC to make participation in LifeLine broadband programs voluntary. Synchronize with the federal Lifeline broadband program to maximize consumer benefits and simplify provider participation, said AT&T. As in the federal program, California LifeLine customers should be required to choose between voice and broadband support so as not to overburden the fund, it said. Rather than specify a low-income broadband service tier, the CPUC should consider coupons that could be used on any internet plan, proposed Charter. The cable operator opposed "on jurisdictional grounds the use of any program that would purport to regulate pricing and terms and conditions for broadband services.” Cox Communications warned the CPUC to address legal and policy issues first. Don't impose minimum service standards for wireless broadband, cautioned TracFone.
Recent T-Mobile spats with the California Public Utilities Commission might portend litigation over state wireless authority, said law experts in interviews last week. A potential federal case on whether California is preempted under Section 332 of the Communications Act would likely affect other states' roles in big transactions and other issues, they said.
The FCC’s planned move to new headquarters at Sentinel Square III near Union Station in Washington has been delayed for an unknown period by COVID-19, and employees said in interviews they're more concerned about when and how they will be required to return to work than what building they will be doing it in. “Employees want to make sure that if and when they are called upon to return to the existing office either to resume duties on site or to pack up their workspaces, that health and safety precautions are taken,” said National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon in a statement to us.