NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez used speaking slots at the State of the Net conference Monday to press Congress to allocate additional money for the commission’s affordable connectivity program. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, also at the conference, urged that the commission investigate Apple’s purported blocking of cross-platform messaging service Beeper Mini “to see if it complies” with the agency’s Part 14 accessibility rules under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
Wireless Infrastructure Association President Patrick Halley Thursday called for Congress to fund an extension of the affordable connectivity program, which is set to expire. Rural networks are expensive to operate and maintain, Halley said: "Losing this broadband subsidy program will force families to make hard choices and will likely lead to many losing connectivity altogether. ... This is not a good result for our country.”
House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Thursday she won’t seek reelection. “After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided the time has come to serve … in new ways,” she said. “We will spend this year honoring the Committee’s rich history -- plowing the hard ground necessary to legislate on solutions to make people’s lives better and ensure America wins the future,” Rodgers said. She became the lead House Commerce Republican in 2021 after previous panel GOP head Greg Walden of Oregon retired (see 2012020070). Rodgers has had a lead role in many major communications and tech policy debates since succeeding Walden, including as lead sponsor of the House Commerce-cleared Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565), the panel’s privacy legislative talks and scrutiny of the FCC’s affordable connectivity program (see 2312150068). House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said he's “sad to hear” Rodgers is retiring, but “I’m glad we have about a year left to get some important priorities across the finish line together.” Getting “things done around here is hard work, but Cathy and I have been able to get important legislation” to “move the ball forward on establishing a comprehensive national data privacy standard,” Pallone said. “Her departure will be an incredible loss for Congress, which I know she cares about deeply.” House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, praised Rodgers’ “guidance and steady, principled leadership": “It would be an understatement to say her work within [House Commerce] has had a profound and positive impact on people and communities across the country." Rodgers’ departure means the House Commerce lead Republican seat for the next Congress is open. Some telecom lobbyists quickly tipped Latta as a likely contender, along with Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-Chair Brett Guthrie of Kentucky. Latta competed against Rodgers and Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas for the House Commerce GOP leadership in 2020 (see 2011180028). Burgess is among 11 other House Commerce members retiring at the end of this Congress. The others: Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.; Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.; Larry Bucshon, R-Ind.; Tony Cardenas, D-Calif.; John Curtis, R-Utah; Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.; Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.; Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.; Greg Pence, R-Ind.; and John Sarbanes, D-Md. Ex-Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, was a House Commerce member when he resigned last month to become Youngstown State University president (see 2401020056).
Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (HR-889/S-341) lead Senate sponsor Mark Warner, D-Va., is considering attaching the measure’s language to the House-approved Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (HR-7024) ahead of the upper chamber’s consideration of the package. Lobbyists question whether there’s sufficient momentum for swift action on HR-889/S-341 despite communications industry interest. Meanwhile, a potential bid to allocate $3.08 billion from an FCC reauction of 197 returned AWS-3 licenses to fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2401240001) is unlikely to become part of the 2024 National Security Act supplemental appropriations package but could be a factor in talks for other must-pass legislation this year.
Industry and state broadband officials encouraged engagement with local stakeholders and providers as states prepare to implement their plans for NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program (see 2402060081). NTIA is "looking at 2024 as the year of execution" for the BEAD program, said acting Deputy Administrator Sarah Morris during a USTelecom webinar Wednesday.
Allowing the affordable connectivity program to lapse would have “significant downstream effect” on the economy, said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez during a Q&A at ITI’s Intersect event Wednesday.
Congress should extend the affordable connectivity program, Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairperson Summer Strand wrote Tuesday. “The ACP is an effective resource for millions of families,” said Strand. “Access to broadband infrastructure alone is not enough to bridge the digital divide … The path to internet affordability starts by extending the ACP.”
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson urged leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees Monday night to “provide additional funding” for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program before its original $14.2 billion allocation runs out in April. Lawmakers are eyeing how to allocate as much as $7 billion in stopgap funding to keep ACP running through the end of this year (see 2401250075). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel confirmed last week that the Wireline Bureau will freeze new ACP enrollments Thursday as part of winding down the program (see 2402010075). “As more cooperatives, and other internet service providers, work to build broadband networks in hard-to-reach rural and low-income areas, affordability will become increasingly critical to adoption of these essential services,” Matheson said in a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and their ranking members. “Should programs supporting affordability fail, it could jeopardize access to broadband services for millions of customers.” Ensuring “that there is a consistent, dependable, and effective low-income broadband program, such as the ACP, will allow rural providers to deliver the highest quality broadband service to their communities at an affordable price,” said Matheson, a former House Commerce member who represented Utah as a Democrat. Enacting the ACP Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565), which would infuse $7 billion into the program for FY24 (see 2401100056), “or similar legislation would provide important short-term clarity and certainty ... while Congress works to address questions around the future of the program and develop a permanent funding solution.”
State broadband officials shed some light Tuesday into NTIA’s process for recommending changes to states’ broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) initial plans. NTIA’s so-called “curing" process lacks the transparency from earlier in the process when states sought public comments on drafts, some state and industry officials said during an FCBA webinar. States said they expect to use a mix of network technologies to reach everyone who needs high-speed internet.
Dish Wireless representatives spoke with FCC Wireline Bureau staff about a 2021 petition to serve as an eligible telecom carrier (see 2111290051), and in particular, an amended petition last week to serve as an ETC in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Through retail wireless offerings under the Boost Mobile and Gen Mobile brands, “DISH serves a significant number” of affordable connectivity program subscribers, the filing said.