LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Affordable Connectivity Program enjoys general bipartisan support in Congress, but it's soft support, with ACP's looming lack of funds still not rising to the level of lawmakers' top priority, said Angelina Panettieri, National League of Cities legislative director-technology and communications, at NATOA’s annual conference Thursday. Several speakers urged localities to be active in weighing in on states' broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program plans, especially with advocacy on the challenge process design. "This is a zero sum game” since an inappropriately targeted BEAD subsidy means less money for areas with real needs, said Brian Roberts, policy analyst-city and county of San Francisco.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The growing gray area of streaming services being delivered by cable providers needs to be addressed by local franchise authorities (LFA), speakers urged at NATOA’s annual conference Wednesday. Keller & Heckman localities lawyer Sean Stokes said since states' broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program funding proposals need to show steps carriers will take to reduce costs and barriers to deployment, carriers will likely use this as an invitation to look for more limits on municipal authority over the management of rights of way or pole attachments. He called it “a rerun” of the same pushes made for deployment reforms to aid 5G rollouts.
The Senate confirmed FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to new five-year terms Saturday, providing stability for the agency and assuring a 3-2 Democratic-controlled commission through the end of the current administration. Two big, contentious items are already in the pipeline -- a net neutrality NPRM at the commissioners' Oct. 19 open meeting and a Nov. 15 statutory deadline to issue digital discrimination rules, with a commission meeting also scheduled for that day. If the Senate hadn't acted, Starks would have had to leave in January and the FCC would have been back to a 2-2 split between Democrats and Republicans.
Broadband experts raised concerns about the affordability requirements for middle-income households through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program, speaking during an American Enterprise Institute event Monday. Some said imposing pricing requirements and the FCC's efforts to reclassify broadband as a Title II service could hurt the BEAD program's deployment goals (see 2309280084).
Renew funding for the affordable connectivity program, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) urged his state’s congressional delegation this week. “We can run fiber broadband to every home in North Carolina, but if the residents can’t afford the service, they still risk being left behind,” said Cooper in letters shared Wednesday by the governor’s office. ACP funding could dry up this April, said Cooper: “Without bipartisan collaboration between Congress and the White House to continue the ACP, nearly 20 million households enrolled nationally could lose connectivity as well as all the essential services that come with it.”
The California Public Utilities Commission’s top goal for transitioning its foster youth pilot into a permanent program "should be ensuring that few youth lose service during the program transition,” said iFoster, the nonprofit that led the pilot. In comments Tuesday in docket R.20-02-008, iFoster said it knows “many foster youth lose their service during transitions of service providers and program administrators.” For example, during the migration from Boost to T-Mobile, “only about 25% of the foster youth successfully transitioned,” it said. Major changes proposed by staff could make the transition complex, said iFoster. The plan “contains many fundamental changes,” including a transition of users to California LifeLine at age 18 instead of 26, more service providers and possible changes to eligibility requirements, said the nonprofit. Every transition from the pilot into LifeLine has failed so far, even when LifeLine approves foster youth as eligible, iFoster said. “As an example, a foster youth successfully transitioned to the LifeLine program, and received a new device. Two days later, the youth was notified of termination as the youth was deemed to already have [affordable connectivity program support] in the form of at-home Internet. This was not the case.” The Utility Reform Network supports making the pilot permanent to "reduce foster youth’s barriers to accessing LifeLine services, particularly for minors,” TURN commented. The CPUC sought comments earlier this month on the proposal to make the foster youth pilot permanent (see 2309050080). T-Mobile recently said it found data discrepancies with the pilot (see 2309130016).
House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez to oppose Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s “Learning Without Limits” proposal to allow E-rate program money to pay for Wi-Fi on school buses and for hot spots (see 2306260029). Both lawmakers declared their “strong opposition” to the plan in July (see 2307310063). “We ask that you reject this unlawful plan to vastly expand the E-Rate program,” they said in a letter to Gomez released Wednesday. “Instead, the FCC should work with Congress, not ignore the text of” Communications Act Section 254’s E-rate authorizing statute “to advance its policy goals.” Expanding “E-Rate support to off-campus connectivity” would “open the door to funding broadband buildout to homes, even in cases where the community is already served by an existing broadband provider,” the GOP leaders said: “This use of taxpayer dollars to compete with private businesses is inappropriate and inefficient, and could duplicate existing federal programs.” There “is no telling how much USF fees could increase to pay for this dramatic, unlawful expansion of E-Rate,” they said. “Unlike congressionally funded programs like [the affordable connectivity program] or [broadband, equity, access and deployment program], the FCC’s USF avoids the appropriations process, hides who contributes, and adds fees to the phone bills of American families.” Gomez’s office didn’t comment.
The Internet Innovation Alliance will be "shutting its digital doors," after launching 19 years ago, the group said Friday. IIA said its "work is done, and our mission will soon be (just about) complete" because of NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment program. "We are so thankful for having had the chance to help shape the policies that have guided the growth and development of our dynamic internet ecosystem," the group said. A spokesperson said the group will officially shut down operations this weekend. "The last steps toward closing the digital divide are extending the affordable connectivity program and continuing efforts to increase broadband adoption," the spokesperson said, and "policymakers on both sides of the aisle now realize that broadband is a necessity. … IIA accomplished its mission, and its work is done."
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said during a Thursday hearing they’re signing on to the USF working group that Senate Communications Subcommittee leaders formed in May to evaluate how to move forward on a comprehensive revamp of the program that may update its contribution factor to include non-wireline entities (see 2305110066). The Thursday hearing largely focused on USF revamp and possible integration of the affordable connectivity program, as expected (see 2309120059).
The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Sept. 21 hearing on rural broadband funding issues, as expected (see 2309120059), the Commerce Committee said Thursday night. Lobbyists believe the hearing will in part focus on both how to fit an extension of the affordable connectivity program into broader universal service legislation and how to change the USF contribution factor to include non-wireline entities. “High-speed broadband is essential to participate in today’s modern economy, yet some Americans still do not have reliable Internet access, especially in rural communities,” House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “Congress has dedicated an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars towards closing this digital divide. As these resources are made available and new funding programs are considered, it is critical that we ensure taxpayer dollars aren't being wasted or duplicated.” The panel will begin at 9 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.