Cox will double the download speed of its low-cost ConnectAssist and Connect2Compete broadband programs to 100 Mbps at month's end, it said Wednesday. The upgrade comes at no additional cost, it said. It said it's expanding eligibility for the low-cost broadband to meet Affordable Connectivity Program criteria.
Staff at state commissions pushed forward USF update efforts. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is seeking comment and plans a meeting soon on draft legislation to update Oklahoma USF (OUSF) into a broadband-focused subsidy, the OCC emailed stakeholders Monday. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) posted a staff proposal Friday to use Alaska USF (AUSF) to close the digital divide in places where voice remains the primary form of telecom access. The Oregon Public Utility Commission plans to post a state USF proposal within a week, it said Monday.
The FCC Wireline Bureau warned providers participating in the affordable connectivity program against engaging in “improper enrollment tactics” identified by the Office of Inspector General in its March advisory on ACP and Lifeline-eligible consumers, said a public notice Friday in docket 21-450. Providers "must immediately stop using deceptive language, bring their application processes into compliance, and give consumers a choice as to which program benefit or benefits they wish to apply to their broadband service," the notice said. The bureau will refer any potential violations to the Enforcement Bureau and directed the Universal Service Administrative Co. to "conduct program integrity reviews" of enrollment and onboarding practices of Lifeline providers participating in ACP.
Industry, state officials and advocacy groups disagreed how the FCC should proceed in adopting new broadband consumer labels, in comments posted Thursday in docket 22-2 (see 2201280038). Industry disagreed whether certain information should be required or optional, while state officials and advocacy groups called for strong enforcement and regular publishing of the labels online and on consumer bills. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required the FCC to adopt labels and hold public hearings on the issue (see 2201270030).
The transition from the FCC’s emergency broadband benefit program to the affordable connectivity program has been largely smooth for most providers, said Wireline Bureau staff and industry during an FCBA webinar Wednesday (see 2111230058). Some providers said it was challenging to meet the transition deadline, and they're now focused on increasing enrollment.
States have a “really big job ahead of them” as they prepare for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program (BEAD), said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield during a webinar with the Fiber Broadband Association Friday. The groups unveiled a playbook with recommendations for states as they prepare for NTIA’s forthcoming notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) on the $42.5 billion program, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Bloomfield said will serve as a “valuable resource.”
New York’s affordable broadband law “regulates broadband rates” even though the state lacks authority, former FCC members Ajit Pai (R), Mike O’Rielly (R), Mignon Clyburn (D) and Jonathan Adelstein (D) told a federal court. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals received amicus briefs Wednesday supporting ISP associations that challenged the state law, enjoined by a lower court, that would require $15 monthly plans (see 2202230067). New York’s law “sets a price ceiling for two levels of broadband service … and price caps have been one of the main methods for regulating the rates charged for communications services in the United States,” the ex-commissioners wrote in case 21-1975. It may regulate rates only for New York households, but “this does not transform quintessential rate regulation into something else.” Broadband classification is irrelevant, the ex-commissioners said. “While much ink has been spilled debating whether broadband is an information service” regulated under Title I of the Communications Act or a telecom service under Title II, “that question does not determine the proper resolution of this case. Whatever the answer, broadband remains an interstate communications service, and broadband rates may not be regulated by state governments.” Lawful ways exist for states and the federal government to subsidize broadband for low-income households, the ex-commissioners added. One example is New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) $1 billion ConnectAll effort, which includes encouraging signups for the federal affordable connectivity program, they said. Others agreed. New York’s law “is not only preempted by federal law but unnecessary and counterproductive,” NCTA said. The Competitive Carriers Association said it “constitutes direct rate regulation of an interstate communications service.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, TechFreedom and Digital Progress Institute also urged the court to uphold the injunction by U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York.
The California Public Utilities Commission may vote April 7 on adopting rules for a $2 billion last-mile federal funding account required by the state’s $6 billion broadband law (see 2110270063), said a proposed decision (PD) Wednesday. It would limit funds to areas without 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, and allow recipients to propose projects lower than 100 Mbps symmetrical where it’s impractical. It would encourage limiting funding to wireline infrastructure and encourage funding fiber. Funds could be used for middle mile in places not reached by the coming state-owned middle-mile network, it said. Also, the PD would expand the fund’s list of eligible entities to include nonprofits and cooperatives and require grantees to participate in the federal affordable connectivity program “or otherwise provide access to a broad-based affordability program to low-income consumers.” The proposed rule “focuses on ‘need’ in determining whether an area is not served, instead of solely determining speed served status by relying of speed thresholds,” the CPUC said. The commission won’t say only fiber provides reliable internet, but it would adopt “a rebuttable presumption that legacy networks cannot provide reliable Internet service at speeds of 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload,” meaning areas with only DSL or cable technology based on DOCSIS 2.0 or earlier would be eligible for funding, it said. ISPs seeking to rebut would have to show all locations have at least 25/3 Mbps, said the PD: “Speed tests from terminals, cabinets and at other locations that are not end users are not sufficient.”
Next Century Cities and local officials told staff to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks that officials are "facing challenges" when enrolling residents living in city housing authorities in the affordable connectivity program, per a filing Wednesday in docket 21-450. Some eligible households have "abandoned the entire application process if one phase was unsuccessful," they said. Louisville, Seattle and Baltimore officials sought "more specific detail about providers' lower cost tiers of service" and "better zip-based data" on enrollment by provider and subscription type for targeted outreach.
The FCC wants comments by April 4 on a matching agreement between the Universal Service Administrative Co. and the Virginia Department of Social Services, which would take effect on that date, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. It lets officials verify eligibility for applicants and subscribers to Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program. Comments to privacy@fcc.gov.