The FCC took its first official steps Thursday to wind down the affordable connectivity program. A Wireline Bureau order in docket 21-450 gives providers guidance on notifying enrolled households about the impact of the program ending, advertising and outreach, claims submissions and "participation during a possible partially funded month." The bureau said it will announce ACP's final date about 60 days prior to the end of the program's last fully funded month. "To facilitate the efficient wind-down of the ACP, we strongly encourage providers to submit any remaining outstanding claims for reimbursement or revisions prior to February 1," the order said. The bureau will freeze new enrollments Feb. 8, which it said will help it "more accurately project funding exhaustion by increasing certainty in program commitments." ACP "connected millions upon millions of households to broadband services," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. "[D]isconnecting millions of families from their jobs, schools, markets, and information is not the solution," she added. Commissioner Anna Gomez said she was "dismayed that the commission finds itself with no choice but to initiate the wind down process," but "I remain hopeful that this program will continue to be funded."
The White House “deeply believes” it’s critical that Congress restore FCC auction authority, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser-cyber and emerging technology, said Thursday during a CES event. “Think about how much making spectrum available has enabled innovation,” she said: “That’s something that we’re working on closely with the Hill, and it’s an area that we know needs to be addressed.”
House Communications Subcommittee members again raised concerns about the impact the FCC Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program’s $3.08 billion funding shortfall is having on removing suspect gear from U.S. networks, as expected (see 2401100072). Their concerns came during a hearing Thursday. In addition, subpanel members offered generally positive reviews of the FCC's voluntary Cyber Trust Mark cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices (see 2308100032), but some GOP leaders were skeptical that it would remain voluntary as advertised.
One of the more common earth station special temporary authority snafus the FCC Space Bureau encounters in applications is the questionable use of the STA category, Earth Station Licensing Division Chief Franco Hinojosa said at the bureau's earth station licensing open house Wednesday. When an STA application is for a time period of close to 180 days or when it needs extensions, it raises the question whether an STA is the proper route. STAs are by definition supposed to be for a limited duration, he said. Wednesday's event follows a Space Bureau open house held in November as part of the bureau’s transparency initiative (see 2311010033). Bureau Chief Julie Kearney said another open house, covering orbital debris, would be held in late February. Wednesday's open house saw Space Bureau staff discussing issues ranging from whether the international communications filing system allows more than three attachments to an application (it does), to the state of the 2018 freeze on accepting new upper C-band earth station registrations (still in place, for now). Hinojosa said among the errors the bureau sees in STA and modification applications, another that frequently appears is missing or incomplete information. An STA application that refers to information found in past authorizations instead of repeating it slows the process, he said. The bureau processed a record 2,804 satellite and earth station applications in 2023, with increased earth station in motion applications helping drive that volume, Kearney said.
The FCC is awaiting Paperwork Reduction Act approval for its order implementing the Low-Power Protection Act, so the opening date of the Class A window hasn't been determined (see 2401090072.
An FCC order modifying certain rural healthcare program rules takes effect Feb. 12, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners adopted the item in December, which made healthcare providers that expect to be eligible for the program conditional approval to request funding sooner (see 2312130019). It also simplified rules for urban rate calculations.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court removed the consolidated pole attachment appeal of Duke Energy and AT&T against the FCC from the oral argument calendar for Jan. 24 and granted their unopposed joint motion to voluntarily dismiss the case (see 2401080036), said the court’s order Monday (dockets 22-2220 and 23-1010). The appeal was dismissed “on terms agreed to by the parties,” said the order.
The FCC wants comments by Feb. 13, replies by Feb. 28, in docket 17-84 on a Further NPRM concerning pole attachment applications and make-ready work, a notice for Thursday's Federal Register said. Commissioners adopted the item in December (see 2312130044). It seeks comment on proposed steps making the pole attachment process more efficient and resolving disputes that may delay broadband deployment.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Senate Agriculture Rural Development Subcommittee Chairman Peter Welch, D-Vt., led filing Wednesday of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act to give the initiative stopgap funding through the rest of the year, as expected (see 2401090074). The measure would allocate ACP $7 billion for FY 2024, mirroring an earlier draft of the measure Clarke circulated in recent weeks. The FCC estimates the program could exhaust its original $14.2 billion appropriation in April. Congress’ appetite for providing the program more money remains in question given misgivings among top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2312210074), although several Republicans signed on as ACP Extension Act sponsors at filing: Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), and New York Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro. The measure “provides a transformative opportunity to bridge the gap of the digital divide for communities of color, urban and rural families, and so many more underserved Americans,” Clarke said in a statement. “Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity,” Welch said. “That’s why it’s never been so important to avoid this funding cliff and extend the ACP.” Welch’s office cited support from more than 400 companies, groups and other entities, including FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her fellow Democratic Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks. In addition, several major ISPs and related industry groups are backing the measure: AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, Incompas, NTCA, T-Mobile, USTelecom, Verizon, Wireless Infrastructure Association and WTA. Others supporting the ACP Extension Act: the AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Communications Workers of America, Fiber Broadband Association, Free Press, NAACP, Pew Charitable Trusts and Public Knowledge.
Consumers' Research asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its cert petition challenging the FCC's method for determining the USF quarterly contribution factor, saying the case presents "an excellent vehicle for addressing the contours of nondelegation whose abuses highlight the dangers of delegated and politically unaccountable power." Docketed Friday (docket 23-743), the petition asked the court to review a Dec. 14 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Q4 2022 contribution factor (see 2312140058). Responses to the new petition are due Feb. 8.