Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., pressed the FCC Thursday for a detailed accounting of its distribution of money to four broadband programs enacted via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and COVID-19 aid measures. Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., meanwhile, led refiling of the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (Fair) Contributions Act.
New Competitive Carriers Association President Tim Donovan met with officials from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology, including on the “recent lapse” of the FCC’s auction authority and the need of CCA members for certainty on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program “before the July 15 deadline for participants to submit their first reimbursement requests.” The future of the affordable connectivity program is “front of mind for many of CCA’s carrier members,” CCA said in a filing posted Wednesday in 18-89 and other dockets. CCA continues to work with the commission and Congress to develop a “strong” spectrum pipeline and “3.1-3.45 GHz offers a chance for valuable mid-band spectrum,” the filing said. CCA also discussed the C band, citizens broadband radio service band and 12 GHz.
The FCC awarded more than $7 million in grants through the affordable connectivity program's Your Home, Your Internet and ACP Navigator pilot programs Wednesday (see 2303100034). "I’m very happy to see that the Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program will be making a difference in 23 communities in the United States," said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The commission awarded about $5 million through the Your Home pilot and $2.5 million through the ACP Navigator pilot. Also Wednesday, commissioners adopted an order directing the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to issue another notice of funding opportunity of up to $10 million for the national competitive outreach grant and the tribal competitive outreach grant programs.
The administrative law judge process at the FCC is “completely broken” and “something you would find in a banana republic,” not the U.S., former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said during a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy webinar Wednesday. O’Rielly noted review by an ALJ was recently “activated” as part of the review of the Standard/Tegna deal (see 2303100082.)
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., pressed the FCC in a letter we obtained ahead of its planned sending Thursday morning for a detailed accounting of its distribution of money to four broadband programs enacted via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and COVID-19 aid measures. Thune in December began his own review of all federal broadband programs’ oversight of funding disbursals. Cruz has joined Thune in raising concerns about some of these programs since taking over as lead Commerce Republican in January.
The National Urban League had separate meetings with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks about digital equity efforts and raised concerns about barriers to accessing and adopting broadband. The group emphasized the need for a granular data collection to "better understand what is keeping households offline" and said community organizations are "best situated ... to perform this work," per an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 22-69. NUL also cited "the importance of providing communities with updated skills to use the internet." The group backed "continued funding" for the affordable connectivity program and sought an annual report on "the state of digital discrimination" to assist the commission in establishing rules to combat digital discrimination.
The FCC granted nearly 200 applicants about $66 million in funding through the affordable connectivity outreach grant program Friday. The commission received 350 applications, said a news release. "These outreach grants will help us expand awareness in more communities, so we can continue the work to close the digital divide," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The commission awarded $60 million through the national competitive outreach program and about $6 million through the tribal competitive outreach program. Awards for the Your Home, Your Internet and ACP Navigator Pilot programs will be given later. Also Friday, Rosenworcel circulated an order proposing another "more targeted" notice of funding opportunity for ACP outreach grants. "I’ve proposed another targeted grant opportunity to give even more outreach partners a chance to join us in our work to close the digital divide," Rosenworcel said.
Lawmakers are beginning to forward to the White House the names of preferred contenders to replace Gigi Sohn as President Joe Biden's nominee to be the FCC's third Democrat, after the ex-candidate’s Tuesday announcement that she had asked the White House to withdraw her from Senate consideration (see 2303070082). The names of several potential contenders were also circulating among communications sector lobbyists, but several officials told us there's no prohibitive favorite in the immediate aftermath of Sohn's withdrawal. The White House didn't comment on its plans. The administration hadn’t formally withdrawn Sohn Friday.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel was to visit the Los Angeles Public Library's Pio Pico-Koreatown branch Thursday with Mayor Karen Bass (D) and EveryoneOn to promote the affordable connectivity program. The library launched a public campaign to increase enrollment, said a news release. “I’m grateful to Mayor Bass and our local community partners for collaborating with us to ensure families can get online and stay online, no matter who they are or where they live,” Rosenworcel said.
Eugene, Ore., Mayor Lucy Vinis (D) and Springfield, Ore., Mayor Sean VanGordon (R) and other city officials spoke with staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about RF safety and other issues. “Local governments often face questions and requests for action” on RF “from their residents, and given that the Communications Act assigns primary responsibility in this area to the Commission, we believe the Commission should shoulder more of the burden of explaining its rules to the public and also informing the public they should look to the Commission and Congress if they are unhappy with the Commission’s rules or with federal preemption of local authority to regulate RF emissions,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-226. They also discussed the FCC’s affordable connectivity program and “expressed concern about the program’s forthcoming funding cliff,” the filing said.