USF revamp matters are expected to come up in both a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the state of the U.S. video marketplace (see 2309070060) and a likely Sept. 21 subpanel discussion on rural broadband funding, communications sector lobbyists told us. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt and other officials set to testify at the Wednesday hearing focused their written statements largely on more video-centric issues, including staking a range of positions on a recent push for the FCC to refresh its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules. The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
Colorado should fund next-generation 911 (NG-911) with $1.6 million remaining from a 2022-retired enforcement mechanism called the Colorado Performance Assurance Plan (CPAP), commenters said Friday at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. However, groups disagreed on which nonprofit should administer funds tagged for emergency services.
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau awarded more than $1.2 million Wednesday in its final round of funding through the affordable connectivity program's tribal competitive outreach program (see 2303150058). The new funding will support five tribal organizations, said a public notice in docket 21-450. The funding was limited to governmental and nongovernmental tribal entities that will do outreach and enrollment assistance to eligible households on qualifying tribal lands.
The FCC Wireline Bureau is waiving some rules and deadlines for Lifeline, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), E-rate, the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, and Rural Health Care Program for areas affected by Tropical Storm Idalia, said an order Friday. “Because of these compelling and unique circumstances, we find good cause to waive certain rules and deadlines to assist program participants, service providers, and USF contributors in the affected areas,” the order said. The waived rules include Lifeline non-usage, recertification and reverification requirements, ACP non-usage and de-enrollment rules, and the deadlines to file E-Rate appeals. The waivers “promote the maintenance and rebuilding of communities affected by the hurricane” and “facilitate continued access to telecommunications services for disaster victims,” the order said. The FCC announced Thursday it was scaling back the storm-affected areas being monitored through the disaster information reporting system: DIRS was deactivated for all of South Carolina and for all but 13 counties in Florida. Friday’s DIRS report shows 5.4% of cellsites down in the covered area and 4,752 cable and wireline subscribers without service. No broadcast stations were reported out of service.
California Public Utilities Commission members rejected the state cable association’s bid to reconsider what counts as free broadband service as it doles out public housing grants. Through a unanimous vote on the consent agenda at a webcast Thursday meeting, California commissioners denied a California Broadband and Video Association (CalBroadband) petition. Commissioners later voted 5-0 to approve a $1.77 million grant to South Valley Internet under the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) line extension program.
The FCC's rules establishing an enhanced up-to-$75 monthly broadband subsidy through the affordable connectivity program for eligible households in high cost areas take effect Oct. 2, said a notice for Friday's Federal Register (see 2308030075).
Congress “should expedite passage” of the House Commerce Committee-cleared Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) and “support additional funding for” the FCC’s affordable connectivity program to make it permanent, NARUC officials said Friday in letters to top lawmakers. HR-3565 faced headwinds on Capitol Hill amid slow progress in negotiations on a spectrum legislative compromise (see 2308070001). The measure “not only extends the FCC’s auction authority, but it also funds two programs critical to your constituents and to national security,” said NARUC President Michael Caron and Telecommunications Committee Chair Tim Schram in a letter to House and Senate leaders and top lawmakers of both chambers’ Commerce panels. HR-3565 would allocate up to $14.8 billion in future auction proceeds for next-generation 911 tech upgrades and give the FCC an additional $3.08 billion to close the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall. The rip-and-replace program is “chronically underfunded” and “federal funding is needed to ensure that all parts of the country have access to advanced, secure, and reliable emergency response systems,” NARUC leaders said. ACP, meanwhile, “has helped more than 19 million households” in the U.S., including “at least 3 million low-income seniors, 400,000 veterans, and more than 3 million students remain online,” Caron and Schram said in a letter to House and Senate leaders and the heads of the chambers’ Commerce and Appropriations committees. “Currently, the program is expected to run out of funds no later than second quarter 2024 and very likely much earlier.” The NARUC leaders referenced a resolution the group passed during its July meeting in Austin backing ACP’s renewal (see 2307190028).
The FCC and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signed a memorandum of understanding to promote awareness of the affordable connectivity program among federal housing assistance recipients, said a news release Monday. "This agreement builds on our ongoing and tireless efforts to broaden awareness of an essential cost-saving program that can bring connectivity to families on the wrong side of the digital divide," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Also Monday, Commissioner Geoffrey Starks joined HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge in Seattle to announce the partnership. "Working together, the FCC and HUD will make it easier for millions of eligible HUD households to secure the connectivity they need to participate in a 21st century economy," Starks said.
Free Press urged lawmakers to make the FCC’s affordable connectivity program permanent as part of any USF revamp legislation. Congress should “appropriate the funding” for ACP “needed to ensure that low-income households can afford broadband long after the initial appropriation from” the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “is expended,” FP said in comments to Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., and other USF revamp working group members released Monday. Some other commenters also urged Congress to make ACP permanent, in some cases suggesting it outright replace the Lifeline program (see 2308250064). FP also asked lawmakers and the FCC to “reject the cynical call from some of the nation’s largest businesses to massively lower their own USF contribution burdens by imposing a regressive tax on residential broadband services. These parties have for years falsely warned that the USF contributions system is in a death-spiral,” which “is simply not true. The fact is that the total USF contribution pool in real terms peaked in 2012, and has declined substantially since. While the overall contribution factor percentage has risen, the average residential consumer has seen their contribution burden decline slightly, as the burden borne by large businesses increased slightly.”
Three telecom policy stakeholder groups urged Senate Communications Subcommittee leaders Friday to include stronger accountability rules in USF revamp legislation but diverged on some other goals. The entities were responding to a late July feedback request from Communications Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., and other USF working group members for feedback on the path forward on legislation (see 2305110066). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, meanwhile, is pushing back against criticisms from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, of the agency's Learning Without Limits proposal to allow E-rate program money to pay for Wi-Fi on school buses and for hot spots (see 2307310063).