Arizona could modify state USF into a rural-focused fund to expand broadband, said Smith Bagley in comments Monday at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). "A narrowly tailored state universal service fund may be uniquely qualified to understand and address specific local needs in a manner that large temporary federal grant programs cannot.” The ACC could, through a rulemaking, amend Arizona USF rules “to create a rural universal service fund similar to the fund created by the New Mexico Public Utilities Commission,” it said in docket T-00000A-20-0336. Smith Bagley provides wireless and wireline service to tribes in remote parts of Arizona, but some areas in that territory remain unserved, and the company's voice, 3G and 4G networks "cannot be upgraded to 5G without substantial additional investment in wireless equipment and middle-mile fiber connections to its towers,” it said. "In areas with poor demographics and sparse population density (often less than ten people per square mile) there is no business plan supporting these additional investments without assistance from either a universal service mechanism or a grant program specifically designed to encourage investment.” Smith Bagley disagreed with Frontier Communications that the fund should be limited to voice. Tuscon Electric Power and UNS Electric on Friday supported using AUSF for “broadband development in rural and tribal communities, especially those that may be impacted by coal plant closures.” ACC Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson sought comments from tribes and cooperatives after only telecom companies commented initially on a possible AUSF update (see 2203280052).
The FCC Wireline Bureau released a set of best practices for domestic Communications Act Section 214 applicants seeking approval for transactions including a transfer of USF high-cost obligations, per a public notice Tuesday. The bureau "has recently received higher volumes" of such applications, it said, and recommended applicants include certain information to "expedite the timely acceptance ... and minimize the need for supplemental filings." Such information includes a list of all USF high cost support received that would be transferred, information about whether any entities are eligible telecom carriers, how a transfer may affect an entity's Connect America Fund Phase II or Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support, cost study areas to be transferred, and whether any entities currently participating in Lifeline, the emergency broadband benefit program, or affordable connectivity program would continue to do so.
The Communications Workers of America asked FCC Wireline Bureau staff to consider opening a proceeding "to determine the full scope" of FCC authority under Section 254 of the Communications Act to expand the USF's contribution base "to include broadband internet access service and relevant revenues of all entities whose services rely on telecommunications," said an ex parte posted Wednesday in docket 21-476 (see 2202180046). CWA also said expanding the contribution base to just broadband internet access service providers would create an "imbalance in the internet ecosystem between broadband and edge providers." The FCC should "explore how edge companies can participate in fair cost recovery, reduce the burden on broadband subscribers, and close the digital divide," CWA said.
Regulatory Commission of Alaska members voted 4-0, with one member absent, to seek comments on Alaska USF (AUSF) proposals by RCA staff and the Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition (ARCC). Comments will be due in 30 days, replies 20 days later, commissioners decided at a Wednesday virtual meeting. Chairman Bob Pickett said he will bring commissioners back April 27 to discuss staff questions, including on AUSF’s role and future funding amounts and methods. While not opposing taking extra comment, Pickett said he hopes the proceeding won’t stretch until fall. “This thing needs to be resolved ASAP.” Progress was “limited” at last month’s technical conference on the staff proposal (see 2203180066), RCA Common Carrier Specialist David Parrish told commissioners. It’s time for the "commission to make some tough policy calls,” he said. It appears support is needed, but it’s difficult for RCA members to tell how much support is required in the state that deregulated telecom, said Commissioner Antony Scott. Commissioners agreed the RCA’s limited authority to compel specific relevant data is a challenge. The ARCC filed an alternative proposal Tuesday, the second it filed in docket R-21-001. It proposes a voice connections-based contribution method and distributing most statewide support to remote areas disconnected from roads. It would defer for five years addressing middle-mile transport cost support so the state can assess the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Broadband VI asked the FCC to establish a "formal process" for eligible telecom carriers receiving funding for at least one high-cost USF program to "seek additional funding due to unanticipated increased expenses" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation or supply chain issues, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 18-143 on Viya's request to extend its legacy high-cost funding (see 2203030071). Broadband VI didn't take a position on Viya's request, although it "does concur with Viya that unanticipated, extraordinary inflationary pressures ... have imposed unexpected and unplanned-for costs on entities providing and developing broadband service in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
California's Senate Appropriations Committee placed a state USF bill in its “suspense file," a category reserved for bills deemed to be costly and that will be taken up later. Nobody testified on the bill at a livestreamed hearing Monday. SB-857 would extend California High-Cost Fund A and B programs, set to expire Jan. 1, until Jan. 1, 2028. CHCF-A is for small independent telcos; CHCF-B is for telcos serving areas where cost exceeds rates charged by providers. The bill would extend CPUC authority to collect surcharges, but it doesn't "necessarily mean that surcharges will be collected for both funds,” said a March 31 fiscal note on SB-857. The CPUC hasn't collected the CHCF-B surcharge since December 2013 due to a surplus that’s now about $22 million, it said. "In recent budget years, the state has borrowed funds from the” B surplus to fund other USF programs. As those funds are repaid, the surplus could grow to $106 million, it said.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission faces “a really tight deadline” to update state USF rules, said the Nicola Peterson, PUC senior telecom analyst, at a virtual workshop Thursday. There and in written comments earlier this week, telecom industry groups gave mixed reviews of the PUC’s plan to adopt a CostQuest model to determine the size of the Oregon USF (OUSF) starting Jan. 1.
The Arizona Corporation Commission would like to hear from more than just telecom companies on possible sweeping changes to Arizona USF (AUSF), Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson wrote Monday in docket T-00000A-20-0336. Only Cox, Lumen, Frontier Communications and CTIA commented by the original March 18 deadline and nobody else has commented since, Peterson said. Four responses don’t provide “an adequate basis” for the commission to consider what AUSF changes could advance its connectivity and universal service goals, she said. The ACC “must also hear from the communities in Arizona that lack ‘broad connectivity’ as well as from non-traditional service providers,” said Peterson, specifying she wants comment from tribes, municipalities and electric cooperatives. They should comment by April 18, she said. The ACC didn’t get much support in March 18 comments for transitioning the fund to broadband; cable and wireless companies suggested canceling the fund (see 2203210031). The chairwoman's office "is conducting additional outreach," an ACC spokesperson said.
The Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights said Thursday “more could be done” by the FCC and other policymakers to promote voting on Tribal lands. The FCC auctioned off spectrum licenses and USF support “to build out broadband capacity to millions of unserved locations, but could do more to integrate Tribal governments into the process, to ensure better communication and relationships between the auction winners and the Tribal communities they serve,” the report said. To the extent states deploy federal funding or funding of their own to promote broadband in Tribal areas “it would be advisable to similarly incorporate Tribal governments into the process of assessing needs and selection procedures, as well as bid evaluation and contract approval.” When the FCC issues spectrum licenses to Tribal governments it should offer “the technical and grantmaking assistance necessary for Tribal governments to capitalize effectively on the spectrum availability,” the report said. Information designed for viewing on desktop computers “may not be effective for eligible voters who are primarily online through smartphones, no matter how robust their connectivity or capacity,” it said: State and local officials should ensure “their election-related applications and information are also optimized (and translated) for mobile, in order to reach Native American voters where they are.”
Demand for the FCC’s next round of Emergency Connectivity Fund support will likely exceed the funding that will be available, E-rate stakeholders and public interest organizations told us. The third round will make at least $1 billion available and is expected to be the program’s final round for applications.