The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy cited potential harms from a USTelecom forbearance petition seeking FCC relief for ILECs from wholesale unbundling discount and resale duties. The office said many CLECs are "very concerned" the FCC may grant nationwide relief. "A blanket grant of forbearance in every market could have a devastating impact on small businesses that rely on unbundled network element (UNEs) to serve customers," said SBA advocates' filing on meeting aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, posted Thursday in docket 18-141. Many CLECs heavily invested in deploying fiber networks using revenue from UNE-based services, and then moved customers to their own facilities over time, creating competitive pressures and incentives for incumbents to do likewise, the advocates said. They "urged the FCC to study the impact forbearance would have on small businesses, competition and the deployment of next generation networks." SBA also addressed robocalling, infrastructure deployment streamlining and 3550-3700 GHz band issues. On the citizens broadband radio service, SBA sided with advocates of census tracts for the priority access licenses that will be part of the band. SBA has concerns that adopting larger geographic licenses could “foreclose competition and result in decreased service in rural areas.” Uniti Fiber said UNEs "enable the company to expand its service offerings and network to new customers," and it "relies especially heavily on dry copper loops" and "dark fiber interoffice transport," regarding meetings with Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Brendan Carr, and an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (here, here, here). It said "the loss (or increase in price) of these inputs will have a significant impact" on its ability to make new deployments and maintain existing services. Blackfoot Communications, an ILEC/CLEC leasing UNEs from CenturyLink, said eliminating its access to UNE loops or increasing their price "would have an immediate and direct adverse impact on businesses in Montana and Idaho," given lack of alternatives. UNEs support Blackfoot's fiber and fixed-wireless expansion, it told Wireline Bureau staffers. It urged the FCC to look at the UNE specifics of each regional Bell. CenturyLink, another ILEC/CLEC, "views purchasing UNEs as a short-term strategy which is part of a larger transitional process," said a filing on a meeting it and USTelecom had with bureau staffers.
The FCC adopted a one-touch, make-ready policy and other pole-attachment changes in a broadband infrastructure order and declaratory ruling approved 3-1 by commissioners at a Thursday meeting. The item also said the agency will pre-empt state and local legal barriers to deployment, including express and de facto moratoriums that prohibit entry or halt buildout. "No moratoriums. No moratoriums. Absolutely no moratoriums," said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who also noted some targeted edits to OTMR parts of a draft. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel agreed with OTMR in concept but partially dissented over "deficiencies in our analysis."
Using the shared 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band moved another step closer Monday, as the CBRS Alliance announced selection of the first eight labs to test equipment that will be used in the “OnGo” band. Gear must be able to “interoperate with other ecosystem components” and communicate with a spectrum access systems that will control the band as well as “operate within the provided operating parameters for LTE systems with in the 3.5 GHz band,” the alliance said: More labs are likely to be certified this year. The first eight include: Dekra, Nokia Global Product Compliance Laboratory, Sporton International, TUV Sud and Nemko San Diego. This all "further indicates the explosive growth of this technology,” said Alan Ewing, alliance executive director. "The OnGo Certification program ensures that FCC regulations for operating in shared spectrum are met -- expediting formal FCC certification -- and allows manufacturers to conduct the initial phase of functional testing,” the group said.
Any plan for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band that doesn’t include census-tract-sized priority access licenses (PALs) likely faces a divided vote at the FCC. Commissioners indicated potential disagreements during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday (see 1807250043). Chairman Ajit Pai said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly gave him analysis of proposed changes for rules for the band but no firm recommendations.
NTIA is starting a feasibility study for the 3450-3550 MHz band, though making the spectrum available for commercial use is no slam dunk, said Paige Atkins, outgoing (see 1807230049) associate administrator-spectrum, at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. NTIA is targeting the band as the next candidate for wireless broadband, Administrator David Redl announced in February (see 1802260047), noting DOD needs to find another location for military radar systems in the segment of frequencies that carriers may use for 5G.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is keeping his plans for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band close to his chest. O’Rielly said last week he has started to share his long-awaited proposal with Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1807120033). Some industry officials who favor smaller geographic license sizes for the priority access licenses that will be offered in the band are hearing that O’Rielly is proposing a plan similar to what was proposed by CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association. Other industry and FCC officials urged caution before drawing conclusions but said the proposal seems unlikely to get the full support of the commission, especially Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly split with fellow FCC Republicans Thursday to partially dissent from an order on emergency alert system testing and false alerts, over concerns about alert fatigue. Since lone FCC Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel voted in favor, it was approved 3 to 1. “If people come to expect that when those alert signals go off they may not be real, there is a very high likelihood that they will ignore potentially life-saving information.” O’Rielly said.
Commissioners approved 4-0 an NPRM and order Thursday that moves the U.S. a step closer to opening the C-band, key mid-band spectrum for 5G. The FCC will start by taking a snapshot of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, though as expected the agency relaxed its reporting requirements for satellite companies from what was in the draft order (see 1807060025). Rather than asking for additional data from fixed satellite service earth stations, the FCC will require them only to certify that the information the agency has is up-to-date. Space station operators will have to provide basic information. The NPRM asks whether the FCC should seek additional data from satellite operators, officials said.
A possible FCC compromise on the draft kidvid NPRM didn’t materialize and the item was approved with a 3-1 party-line split Thursday (see 1807110051). Though Commissioner Mike O’Rielly acceded to a request from Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to edit the item to be free of tentative conclusions, Rosenworcel said Thursday the two sides couldn’t come to agreement. She praised O’Rielly’s willingness to negotiate and didn’t identify any other concessions she requested. “I was informed that even with these edits it was not sufficient to garner a bipartisan vote,” O’Rielly said. The version approved Thursday contains the same tentative conclusions as the draft item, O’Rielly and Media Bureau staff said.
A heated dispute over FCC changes to informal complaint procedures overshadowed commissioners' 3-1 approval of an order to streamline formal complaint processes. Dissenter Jessica Rosenworcel said the order effectively removes the agency from working to resolve informal complaints against companies, forcing consumers unsatisfied by company responses to file a formal complaint costing $225. "This is bonkers. No one should be asked to pay $225 for this agency to do its job," she said at Thursday's commissioners' meeting.