Broadening the USF contribution base won't harm broadband adoption, a report commissioned by NTCA said Thursday. The Berkley Research Group paper suggested a 1% USF contribution surcharge for broadband could reduce consumer broadband demand by 0.08%. Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Don Young, R-Alaska, led filing Tuesday of the Universal Broadband Act to codify that broadband is within USF's scope (see 2005050064). “Long-term viability of the Universal Service Fund is essential,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. She said the program "could be at risk if we keep ‘kicking the can down the road’ on addressing the shaky foundation of an ever-escalating and volatile contributions mechanism." Bloomfield told us earlier this spring that as new USF programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund are added, policymakers must address revenue that supports subsidies. "There's only so many coins you can find under the couch cushion," she said of existing contribution methodology that relies on long-distance voice revenue.
Monica Hogan
Monica Hogan, Associate Editor, covers Federal Communications Commission-related wireline telephone and broadband policy at Communications Daily. Before joining Warren Communications News in 2019, she followed telecommunications market transitions: from standard to high-definition television, car phones to smartphones, dial-up ISPs to broadband, and big-dish to direct-broadcast satellite. At Communications Daily, she has also covered the emergence of digital health and precision agriculture. You can follow Hogan on Twitter: @MonicaHoganCD.
The FCC should tackle asymmetrical broadband in policy on the digital divide, Detroit Digital Inclusion Director Joshua Edmonds told Commissioner Geoffrey Starks during a webinar Thursday. Setting the standard at 25/3 Mbps prioritizes providers, Edmonds said: "Let's prioritize the consumer." Starks said 60% of Detroit schoolchildren lack access to broadband. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., said some single mothers can't afford broadband even with two jobs. Addressing the homework gap is an issue that binds urban, suburban and rural lawmakers, said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. With insufficient federal support, Detroit "had to take on the role of fundraiser" through public/private partnerships, Edmonds said. He said the city is a microcosm of digital inequity found nationally, and if it can be solved with additional help from state and federal government, "it's a replicable model." Put broadband at the top of any infrastructure stimulus plan, said Angela Siefer, National Digital Inclusion Alliance executive director.
Federal and state response to the COVID-19 pandemic sped adoption of telehealth technologies, said panelists at a Brookings Institution webinar. Quick support from Congress, the FCC and Department of Health & Human Services allowed patients to access clinical care via broadband, smartphones and telephone during social distancing, speakers said. The FCC announced it granted $11.9 million, totaling $24.9 million to date. This fifth round in the $200 million program includes grants to 26 healthcare providers, five in Texas, five in California, and three in Pennsylvania.
The FCC North American Numbering Council got status updates at an online meeting Tuesday from several working groups preparing reports for July. Officials said the next meeting will be moved up a day to July 14. Brent Struthers, director of the Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority, said 58 phone providers applied for STI-GA certificates to authenticate caller IDs as part of secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) and secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) rules. Twenty-three were approved, 12 are in the final testing stage, and most others are gathering additional documentation. Three STI-GA applicants were rejected and can try again once they meet requirements, Struthers responded to our question. The interoperable video calling WG plans a funding and governance model for a 10-digit numbering database to allow easier interoperability among video relay services for the deaf and hard of hearing and other video conferencing services (see 1906210017). IVC WG co-chair David Bahar, director-Telecommunications Access of Maryland, cited security benefits to developing a new database rather than reconfiguring an existing one for this use. The WG plans a report to NANC by June 28, which will be used to inform a NANC report to the FCC Wireline Bureau a month later.
Administrators at historically black colleges and universities asked for a continuing federal funding program to support campus IT infrastructure and students' access to home broadband as COVID-19 uncertainty continues. They spoke Monday during an FCC webinar hosted by Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2004300012). "COVID-19 does not see race, but it has complicated inequities," including in the digital divide, Starks said. "We cannot afford to lose momentum in educating our communities."
Rural ISPs that recently offered free fiber broadband connections to families with schoolchildren hope to eventually make money from them, an NTCA webinar was told Friday. Golden Belt Telephone and Golden West Telecommunications worked with school districts to provide broadband to unserved households when schools closed due to COVID-19. Golden Belt General Manager Beau Rebel said he hasn't calculated the cost of the recent installations: "Some things are bigger than the bottom line." Golden West General Manager Denny Law said he will examine customer retention efforts later, "once we get to our new normal" because "free is not a long-term option." The company will see whether USF support will play a role. Providers and consumers would benefit from changes to Lifeline, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. She said she wants to use the current crisis as a "national imperative" to address remote learning and the homework gap. She said FCC has authority to do under an existing E-rate law, but it needs a boost in funding. Many NTCA members signed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's Keep Americans Connected pledge (see 2004300044), but as the number of unemployed grows, "they're seeing their uncollectables growing," said association CEO Shirley Bloomfield. "That's not sustainable."
Stakeholders disagreed how the FCC should update rules on informing state and local governments about disruptions to communications networks, in comments posted through Friday in docket 15-80 (see 2004270046). Communications Workers of America District 7 supports the proposal for access to the network outage reporting system and disaster information reporting system. The need-to-know list should include county and municipal offices of emergency services, said The Utility Reform Network. USTelecom disagrees. "Access by local governments would exponentially increase the number of individuals with access to sensitive information, thus intensifying the potential risks of breaches or inadvertent disclosures," the group said. "As local governments do not directly regulate the reporting entities, there is no compelling reason to allow cities access ... absent special circumstances." CTIA wants safeguards to confidential NORS and DIRS data and "adequate tools" to aid investigations after data breaches. If confidential data can't be protected from public view, Verizon said, "there is a risk that service providers will provide only a bare minimum of responsive information in their outage reports and be far more guarded in their discussions with Commission staff."
The FCC should loosen letter of credit requirements for providers seeking USF support to rebuild and harden networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, stakeholders said in comments posted through Thursday in docket 18-143 (see 2004080036). "The PR-USVI Fund Coalition’s emergency request for waiver is appropriate and necessary in light of the current circumstances in Puerto Rico," WorldNet said. Puerto Rico Public Service Regulatory Board associate member Alexandra Fernandez-Navarro supported revisiting the LOC requirements so "all providers can have a reasonable opportunity of accessing the Uniendo a PR and the Connect USVI Fund while assuring that most resources go towards building resilient, quality networks." The Wireless ISP Association said, unlike other high-cost USF broadband support programs, PR-USVI Fund applicants must provide the commitment LOCs before the FCC selects winning applicants. WISPA added the COVID-19 pandemic makes "it extremely difficult for Stage 2 support applicants" to file LOCs "when the applications are likely to be due." Oriental Bank said no banks in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands meet the rating requirements of the PR-USVI Fund, and mainland banks are unwilling to be such creditors. But Virgin Islands Telephone (doing business as Viya) opposed the waiver, seeking accountability. Puerto Rico Telephone wants the FCC to "proceed with caution" as it considers which criteria to waive because "entities with no prior experience participating in the Commission’s High-Cost program are eligible to participate in the Stage 2 competitive process."
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants telecom providers to extend their Keep Americans Connected pledges by an additional month and a half to June 30 (see 2004300037), the agency said Thursday. Several phone, cable and wireless providers announced extensions earlier this week (see 2004270050). March 13, Pai asked providers not to terminate service for 60 days for residential or small-business customers due to inability to pay because of disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, waive late fees for residential or small-business customers due to COVID-related economic circumstances and open their Wi-Fi hot spots to any American who needs them (see 2003130066).
Stakeholders wanting to weigh in on whether the FCC COVID-19 telehealth fund program should be expanded to include for-profit healthcare facilities should file comments, Commissioner Brendan Carr said during a Connected Health Initiative webinar Wednesday. “It's a live issue,” he said of docket 20-89 (see 2004270044). “You should let us know if we've made the right cut.” During a pandemic nonprofits and for-profits treating COVID-19 look more similar than different, said Carr. The program's rules were borrowed from the Rural Health Care program, which limits healthcare provider eligibility. Carr said he's eager to raise visibility for the program to drive more applications. When we asked how soon he expects the program to spend through its $200 million in funding, he said, “the sooner the better.” He's pleased with the pace the Wireline Bureau adopted and the "cadence," about twice a week, with which it's awarding funds. He's not micromanaging the bureau's work, he said, and awards go out quickly because commissioners don't vote. They will vote on participants in the $100 million Connected Care pilot, he added. The FCC announced earlier Wednesday 13 new awardees were granted $4.2 million. They include rural and urban healthcare providers in Colorado, Georgia, New York, Washington, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota.