FCC Republicans Dissent on Section 706 Report and All-In Pricing Order

Commissioners approved other items on unanimous votes, including a supplemental coverage from space (SCS) framework and a Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) code for emergency alerts.

Carr criticized the Section 706 report's findings, noting "real progress" in the speed of broadband deployment. "If there were ever a stretch of time where the pace, the cadence and the speed of broadband builds would result in the FCC agreeing on a unanimous basis that broadband is at a minimum being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion as Section 706 states, today would be that day," he said: "But it isn't." The report "lays bare for everyone to see" that the Section 706 inquiry was "about Title II" and relies on "bad data," Carr said (see 2403120037).

Despite welcoming the report's inclusion of latency, Simington was "disappointed" it sets "an unnecessary long-term speed target" of 1,000/500 Mbps. "We need to be able to articulate use cases for such high speeds that justify deployment of such service," Simington said. An "even more glaring" issue is the report's exclusion of satellite-based internet service, he said.

"The law requires that we assess how reasonable and timely the deployment of broadband is in this country," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “We do something in this report that is simple. We are honest." With the goal of connecting "everyone, everywhere to high-speed broadband," the "last fully vetted and validated annual data before this agency show conclusively that we are not there yet," Rosenworcel said.

The FCC has "made great progress since issuing our last Section 706 report," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “There remains much work to be done to close the digital divide,” he said. Starks supported the report’s conclusion that advanced telecommunications capability "is not being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” Starks and Commissioner Anna Gomez each noted the report supports the need for additional funding to continue the affordable connectivity program.

The report received a mixed reaction from industry groups. Incompas welcomed the adopted broadband speeds, but there is "still much work to be done to improve competitive fixed options," said President Angie Kronenberg. This was a "missed opportunity for the FCC to acknowledge the substantial and undeniable progress that has been made in deploying broadband," an NCTA spokesperson said. "The FCC’s action today, not surprisingly, is significantly flawed because the agency’s notice telegraphed that it might reach its conclusion regardless of what the data may show," emailed Free State Foundation President Randolph May. It "ignored reams of its own coverage data and new data from the National Broadband Map to reach a negative finding regarding the 'reasonableness and timeliness' of broadband deployment," May said: The FCC "doesn’t get to rewrite statutes to mean what it would like for them to say, rather than what they say."

Pricing Mandate

Carr and Simington also dissented on the all-in pricing order.

“The advertised price for a service should be the price you pay when your bill arrives,” Rosenworcel said. “It shouldn’t include a bunch of unexpected junk fees that are separate from the top-line price you were told when you signed up.” A clearer price will make it easier for customers to compare service offerings, Gomez said. “Knowledge is empowering,” she said.

The rules require cable and satellite companies “state the total cost of video programming service clearly and prominently, including broadcast retransmission consent, regional sports programming, and other programming-related fees, as a prominent single line item” on bills and promotions, an FCC news release said.

Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer said the final order was changed from the draft version to extend the implementation deadline for smaller operators and to clarify some requirements for promotions.

Carr and Simington said the agency’s authority to require all-in pricing on cable bills is clear, but gets much more nebulous for satellite billing and for cable and satellite promotional materials. Both pointed to the 2019 Television Viewer Protection Act, which concerned MVPD price transparency but in which Congress rejected extending FCC authority to cover promotional materials.

“This item is yet another example of the new normal at the FCC,” said Carr in his written remarks with the order. “After three years of restraint, the Commission is now unlawfully arrogating authority over every aspect of a communications provider’s business. At this point, only the courts can put an end to this raw assertion of power.”

Preventing MVPDs from breaking out the price of retransmission consent in their bills undermines transparency, said NTCA Executive Vice President Mike Romano in an emailed statement. “Transparency should mean providing customers a clearer understanding of the factors that most affect their rates, empowering them to make more informed purchasing decisions in a more transparent video marketplace.”

The FCC’s “heavy-handed requirements are more likely to confuse people than increase transparency and will create implementation challenges for providers,” said ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer in an emailed release. Retransmission consent revisions are “the only way to bring true transparency to the system and make cable bills more affordable,” Spellmeyer said.

SCS Framework

FCC officials said the SCS item has a few “changes to the margins” but no major revisions to the draft (see 2403080059). Officials said the FCC was the first regulator in the world to address the issue.

“We have developed a framework that allows a satellite operator to partner with a terrestrial mobile carrier to get access to their terrestrial spectrum,” Rosenworcel said. The satellite system can then “provide service directly to the subscribers of the wireless carrier in areas where the carrier lacks coverage,” she said. “There is no need to wait for new spectrum or a new generation of devices.”

The FCC takes a “hybrid approach” to authorizing SCS, Starks said. The agency “creates an enduring, rules-based framework for less complicated SCS deployments” but doesn’t limit SCS “to proposals that fit its mold,” he said. The framework was tweaked to “pull along all SCS players on firm footing,” he said. SCS is truly “a dynamic space,” he said.

The FCC is “on the cusp of unlocking entirely new technology that can significantly benefit consumers, innovation and conductivity,” Carr said. The framework addresses hybrid networks to “connect everyone everywhere,” Gomez said. “They will provide lifesaving connections in emergencies” and connect the most hard-to-reach areas, she said.

The commission “takes the first step in establishing clear and transparent processes to support these services,” said an FCC release. “Connecting consumers to essential wireless services where traditional mobile services are not available can be lifesaving in remote locations and can open up innovative opportunities for consumers and businesses.”

MEP

The new MEP code would be used similarly to an Amber alert, but for missing people older than 17 with special needs and circumstances or those who are endangered, abducted or kidnapped (see 2403080049).

The code would be used for all missing and endangered adults, but the FCC acted partially in response to a rise in the number of missing and murdered indigenous people, Rosenworcel said. “The cruel reality is that we continue to have a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people, and it is especially acute for women and girls in tribal communities.”

The National Congress of American Indians approved a resolution in November calling for FCC action on a missing persons alert code. Broadcast organization Native Public Media pushed for that resolution, and NPM’s CEO Loris Taylor addressed the FCC at Thursday’s meeting. A missing and endangered code could have made a difference and allowed for a swifter reaction in the case of Taylor’s uncle, who went missing in Arizona in 2013, Taylor said. “Thousands of families have suffered similar trauma across Indian country and nationwide,” she said. Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Alejandro Roark said Thursday that the final order was little changed from the draft version.