National Economic Council Director Brian Deese plans to leave that post in mid-February, the White House said Thursday. Deese’s “work was critical to the passage of the most significant economic agenda in generations,” including “the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in generations” via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $65 billion in connectivity money, and the Chips and Science Act (see 2207250061), “which ensures we make more high-end technology here at home so we can outcompete the world,” said President Joe Biden. Deese’s departure announcement came less than a day after former Obama administration NEC Director Jeff Zients took over as White House Chief of Staff. Zients, as NEC director, was involved in guiding then-President Barack Obama’s push for the FCC under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler to adopt net neutrality rules with a legal basis in Communications Act Title II (see 1502200049).

State commissioners may consider draft telecom resolutions on the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and the agency’s spectrum auction authority at NARUC’s Feb. 12-15 meeting. NARUC distributed drafts Tuesday. The RDOF resolution by Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille would address situations where the FCC rejected a bidder’s long-form application, as the agency did with SpaceX and LTD Broadband. The resolution would urge the FCC to make sure any proceeds won by the disqualified bidder for a specific area should remain in that jurisdiction. The draft notes “the underlying need for support … in those jurisdictions identified as eligible for the Auction 904 support will remain notwithstanding any final order of the FCC and the courts rejecting any bidder application.” The FCC should refer the matter to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to recommend procedures and requirements that would apply to RDOF support retained in those places, the draft said. Also, NARUC may consider a draft resolution by Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Tim Schram (R) that would urge Congress to extend the FCC’s auction authority beyond March. Divert some proceeds to state grants for next-generation 911 and the FCC’s “rip and replace” program that requires carriers receiving federal subsidies to remove equipment from Chinese vendors that may pose a security risk. Current 911 funding isn’t enough for NG-911 and some need more funding to start rip-and-replace projects, the draft notes.

A long-frozen lawsuit against the FCC by the League of California Cities could thaw this spring. The FCC doesn’t intend to seek further abeyance of the league’s lawsuit against the commission’s June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling, the parties said in a Friday joint motion. A stay on the case that began March 19, 2021, and was extended multiple times expired Monday (see 2212160026). The FCC sought the extensions before because it lacked a fifth commissioner, which remains the case. The parties suggested a new schedule in which the FCC’s brief would be due March 1. Intervenors supporting the agency would file by March 8, cities’ reply briefs would be due March 31 and petitioner-side intervenors would file by April 7.

Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., asked NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson Friday to “pause the disbursement” of money for its tribal broadband connectivity program (TBCP) until NTIA uses updated FCC broadband maps to “verify that all funds for applications submitted … will not be used to overbuild existing broadband service.” Thune also asked for a pause until NTIA addresses GAO’s call last week for the agency to institute better performance goals and measures for TBCP (see 2301240047) that can better “detect fraud” in the program. Thune and former Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., first raised concerns about TBCP in December (see 2212080051), soon after Thune began a bid for stronger oversight of all federal broadband programs. Davidson indicated in his response earlier this month to that initial query that NTIA was still reviewing the broadband maps the FCC released in November (see 2211100072), but “I am concerned that if NTIA does not use” the updated data “to review all TBCP application currently pending, awarded and disbursed,” the agency “will once again waste billions of taxpayer dollars” by funding overbuilding of existing networks, Thune said in a letter to Davidson we obtained. The GAO’s report, meanwhile, said NTIA hasn't done a fraud risk assessment of the program and the agency hasn’t “designated an entity to oversee fraud risk management.” “This mismanagement of the TBCP by NTIA is deeply concerning” since the agency already disbursed more than $1.7 billion in funding through the program, Thune said. NTIA didn’t comment.

The State Department announced Thursday said Anna Gomez has been named to lead U.S. preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference, which starts Nov. 20 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates. Gomez will also serve as a senior adviser for international information and communications policy at State. Gomez was at one point widely rumored as a candidate for FCC commissioner. She was a lawyer at Wiley and previously served as deputy administrator of the NTIA and deputy chief of the FCC International Bureau. “WRC-23 will be tackling a range of issues aimed at facilitating new and emerging terrestrial and space-based technologies that can connect people everywhere, including spectrum for next generation mobile broadband systems, satellites, maritime and aeronautical services, and scientific applications,” said a news release: “WRC-23 is a significant opportunity to advance the United States’ interests related to telecommunications, innovation, economic growth, and national security.” Gomez’s “extensive experience and her proven track record in government oversight of spectrum management makes her uniquely qualified to serve as the U.S. Representative to WRC-23,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker. “During her tenure at NTIA she has advocated for expanding broadband access for all Americans, and at the FCC she worked extensively on critical international issues,” Baker said: “She has been a champion for consistency across agencies and has the leadership skills we need to ensure America continues to lead in wireless.”

The FCC will do more to help survivors of domestic violence get access to communications services during the agency's Feb. 16 meeting (see 2301250061). Commissioners will consider a draft NPRM on implementing the Safe Connections Act. The draft item would seek comment on the law's requirement that mobile providers separate a survivor's phone line from an abuser within two business days after receiving the request, said a fact sheet. The item would seek comment on whether there are "operational and technical limitations" that covered providers may face to complete such a request. It also proposes to require that consumer-facing call logs and text message records omit calls or texts made to hotlines listed in a central database created by the commission and updated monthly. If adopted, the item will seek comment on ways to streamline enrollment in Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program for survivors facing financial hardship. "We believe that these measures will aid survivors who lack meaningful support and communications options when establishing independence from an abuser," the draft item said. Comments would be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 60 days for replies. The agency will also seek comment on ways to encourage tribal participation in E-rate, said a draft NPRM also set for the February agenda. The draft item asks for feedback on creating a separate or extended filing window for tribal libraries, simplifying E-rate cost allocation rules, and increasing the maximum discount rate level and funding floor for tribal schools and libraries. It also seeks comment on allowing tribal college libraries to be eligible for E-rate funds, defining “Tribal” in E-rate and adding a tribal representative to the Universal Service Administrative Corp. The draft also asks whether “similar reforms may be needed to encourage greater participation by non-Tribal applicants, particularly if they face barriers that impede equitable access” to E-rate. The draft NPRM would also direct the Office of Native Affairs and Policy and the Wireline Bureau to “conduct government-to-government consultation as appropriate with Tribal Nations” on the issues raised in the NPRM. Comments would be due 45 days after FR publication, replies 75 days after.

GAO recommends several improvements to performance metrics, outreach efforts and fraud prevention efforts for the FCC's affordable connectivity program. GAO said Wednesday that ACP goals and measures "lack specificity and clearly defined targets, raising questions about how effective these goals and measures will be at helping FCC gauge the program's achievements and identify improvements." It said translations of ACP outreach materials varied in quality. GAO said the commission did a fraud risk assessment, but it hasn't developed an anti-fraud strategy to address identified risks or a process to do such risk assessments regularly. The GAO's nine recommendations include revising the language translation process through incorporating revision and quality assurance steps and the Office of the Managing Director developing and implementing a process for regular fraud risk assessments. The FCC didn't comment.

The FCC will consider an item to help domestic violence survivors get access to "safe and affordable connectivity" during the commissioners' Feb. 16 open meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a Wednesday note (see 2208190056). Rosenworcel will meet with My Sister's Place, a shelter in Washington, D.C., next week to "help to ensure these ongoing efforts are informed by the experiences of domestic violence survivors and the organizations that serve them," she said. Rosenworcel said commissioners will consider proposed rules under the Safe Connections Act, including rules to "help survivors separate service lines from accounts that include their abusers, protect the privacy of calls made by survivors to domestic abuse hotlines, and support survivors who suffer from financial hardship access our Lifeline and affordable connectivity programs" (see 2212070055). Also on the agenda is an item seeking comment on ways to improve a pilot program aimed at increasing tribal library enrollment in the E-rate program (see 2210200046). "Libraries are a vital source of internet access across Indian country," Rosenworcel said. Commissioners will also consider an adjudicatory matter from the Media Bureau.

The FCC’s World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee will meet in person April 11 at FCC headquarters starting at 11 a.m. EDT, the FCC said Wednesday. The group has been meeting virtually since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next WRC starts Nov. 20 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates.

NTIA needs better performance goals and measures for its tribal broadband connectivity and broadband infrastructure programs or it will struggle to track progress, GAO said Tuesday. It said management of them has been generally in line with recommended practices for grant awarding, though slow, and goals and measures for the programs don't include all primary functions, nor are they fully quantifiable. NTIA also needs to improve its fraud risk management, GAO said. Several Commerce offices have roles in fraud risk management, but none was designated as lead and NTIA didn't do a fraud risk assessment, the report said. Among GAO's 15 recommendations are designating a dedicated entity to lead fraud risk management activities for the programs, and defining broadband affordability and reliability so the programs' performance goals are quantifiable and measurable. NTIA didn't comment.