The Senate Commerce Committee is postponing a planned Wednesday vote on the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207), a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night. That marks the third time the panel has postponed consideration of S-4207 since early May amid continued stumbling blocks in talks aimed at garnering GOP support for the measure. S-4207 would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, allocate money to the expired affordable connectivity program and fully pay for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program.
ISPs and industry groups told the FCC that while competition and access remain strong in the broadband marketplace, additional regulation could harm future investment and deployment. Those views were included in feedback the FCC sought about its biannual State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace report to Congress (see 2404220050). In comments, some wireless groups urged making additional spectrum available. MVPDs and broadcasters said the FCC should recognize the increasing competition they face from streaming video and accordingly relax regulations. Comments were posted Thursday and Friday in docket 24-119.
The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night it will mark up the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) June 12, as expected (see 2406050056). S-4207 would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, lend the commission more than $10 billion in FY 2024 funding for the expired affordable connectivity program and fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The Wednesday meeting would be Senate Commerce’s third attempt at marking up S-4207 after pulling it from consideration on two previous occasions (see 2405160066). The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr appeared to oppose S-4207 during a Thursday news conference. It’s “not clear to me that” S-4207 “gets the job done,” Carr told reporters. It “largely aligns with the Biden administration’s approach on spectrum” highlighted in its national spectrum strategy. Carr has repeatedly criticized the Biden spectrum strategy since its November release (see 2311130048). “I don’t think it is going to get us back to moving on spectrum with the same pace and cadence that we had” under former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Carr said: “We need to start clearing more spectrum, including high-power licensed exclusive use” and license sales should go toward clearing “the national debt.”
Congressional leaders haven't reached a consensus on how to resurrect the FCC's expired affordable connectivity program. In interviews this week, lawmakers pointed to a range of options, including an expected third attempt at a Senate Commerce Committee markup next week (see [2405310070]) of the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207). The FCC formally shuttered ACP Friday after supporters on Capitol Hill failed numerous times at allocating stopgap funding (see 2403280001).
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez told us during an exclusive Communications Daily Q&A that evaluating assessments made on consumers' bills as part of funding the Universal Service Fund is her top issue amid calls for contribution reform (see 2404190043). Sworn in in September, Gomez also mentioned concerns about USF's future and the affordable connectivity program. She also urged ISPs to create their digital equity plans with "intentionality."
Cash-strapped California has many challenges ahead as it seeks to connect everyone to broadband, said state, local and industry officials Wednesday at the livestreamed California Broadband Summit. Assembly Communications Committee Chair Tasha Boerner (D) said she has several concerns with state broadband policy, including that the California Public Utilities Commission is taking too long to distribute last-mile grants.
The California Public Utilities Commission should freeze California LifeLine specific support amounts (SSA) until state regulators and stakeholders can find a better way of calculating them, a consumer group and low-income wireless service providers said in comments Monday. The CPUC is considering freezing the SSA at $19 for wireline and wireless providers (see 2405070050). Meanwhile, consumer advocates defended their petition for temporary bridge funding through LifeLine that would help cover the loss of federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) support.
The Senate Commerce Committee is eyeing additional changes to the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) in hopes of jump-starting its prospects as a viable vehicle for resurrecting the FCC’s expired affordable connectivity program, lobbyists said in interviews. Committee leaders are hoping further revisions will allow them to raise S-4207 during a potential mid-June meeting, lobbyists told us. Senate Commerce pulled S-4207 from consideration twice last month, including fully postponing a May 16 executive meeting (see 2405160066). The Biden administration and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel made a final call Friday for Congress to keep ACP running as the program’s time expired.
The FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics released a summary of data associated with the affordable connectivity program (see 2405200010). A Thursday public notice in docket 21-450 included data on the "price, subscription rates, and plan characteristics" of the service offerings of ACP providers. The data released was a "snapshot" of the services nearly 20 million households were receiving as of Aug. 1. The bureaus said that 1,600 providers submitted plan and subscription data at the ZIP code level. The FCC made the data available at the nationwide level on "plan characteristics across all ACP households." State level data shows the average base monthly prices of plans for households "enrolled within designated download speed tiers and data on the number of subscribers of plans within those tiers." County and ZIP code level data included the average base monthly price and subscription rates for fixed and mobile service.
It wouldn’t be an “unfunded mandate” to require ISPs to have $15 affordable broadband plans as a condition of getting support from the California Public Utilities Commission’s federal funding account (FFA), The Utility Reform Network said Tuesday. TURN replied in docket R.20-09-001 to industry objections to the group’s petition asking the CPUC to pause FFA grants until it modifies rules to account for the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) winding down (see 2405160055). "The courts have previously held that funding conditions for voluntary programs are permissible; funding conditions are not unfunded mandates or rate regulations,” said TURN. "Providers are free to decline FFA participation and instead charge customers whatever they wish.” Existing ISP-designed affordable plans are no substitute for ACP, added the consumer group: Such industry plans "tend to have significantly more restrictive eligibility requirements than the ACP and therefore will not be available to all ACP recipients.” TURN has two other petitions related to ACP's end (see 2405240060).