The FCC will soon adopt rules that "crack down on revenue sharing” and exclusive access arrangements between broadband providers and building owners in multi-tenant environments said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2201210039). The record the FCC received last year on broadband access in MTEs “made one thing very clear,” Rosenworcel said: “The agency’s existing rules are not what they could be.” Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington encouraged NTIA to prioritize unserved areas in its new broadband programs. Other panelists urged the FCC to revise the USF.
State and local governments sought close coordination as billions of broadband dollars come from the federal infrastructure law, in comments we received. Comments were due Friday on NTIA’s request for comments on implementing broadband programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Industry groups sought NTIA assurance the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle mile programs would be technologically neutral. Advocacy groups wanted maximum stakeholder participation and a focus on equitable deployment.
The USF contribution factor will drop sequentially to 22.2% during Q2 from 25.2%, emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg Tuesday (see 2111040065). It's the fourth straight drop and would "result in the lowest assessment factor in two years," Gregg said. Projected demand is $1.66 billion.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel changed the leadership of several FCC bureaus, said a release Monday. Industry officials said the change doesn’t appear to be an omen of big shifts at the agency -- most of the new heads are longtime bureau staff who were already in the leadership of their departments. They said the staff changes are an expected outgrowth of Rosenworcel’s becoming permanent chair late last year. "The timing is based on the Chairwoman’s new term and appointment as permanent Chair," said an FCC spokesperson. The spokesperson confirmed that the former chiefs remain employed by the agency. Until Monday's announcement, Rosenworcel had retained several bureau heads from the administration of former Chairman Ajit Pai. Holly Saurer, a longtime Media Bureau staffer who had been Rosenworcel’s acting media adviser, will become MB chief, replacing Michelle Carey. Michele Ellison, a longtime FCC Deputy General Counsel, who was general counsel in an acting capacity under Rosenworcel, will take the job on a permanent basis. Former Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief Debra Jordan will replace Lisa Fowlkes in that bureau’s top post. Alejandro Roark, former executive director for Latino civil rights group HTTP, is the new chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, replacing Patrick Webre. Prior to HTTP, Roark worked on tech policy for the League of United Latin American Citizens. Loyaan Egal, a former deputy chief in DOJ's National Security Division Foreign Investment Review Section who worked on Team Telecom matters, will become Enforcement Bureau acting chief, replacing Chief Rosemary Harold. Before DOJ, Egal was in the Enforcement Bureau, where he established and led the then-USF Strike Force. “I’d also like to thank Michelle Carey, Lisa Fowlkes, Rosemary Harold, and Patrick Webre, for their public service as they transition to new roles across the agency,” Rosenworcel said. See our news bulletin also.
The FCC is “aware obviously of the need for telehealth” and “on the lookout” for what it can do to “more effectively assist with the development of telehealth” beyond the pandemic, said Nathan Eagan, acting deputy chief-Wireline Bureau Telecom Access Policy Division, during an FCBA webinar Monday. The agency’s order for round 2 of the COVID-19 telehealth program reflected the “input and discussions” from all commissioners on the “specific parameters,” Eagan said, noting audit procedures for round 2 are “still being discussed.”
FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction recipients will undergo more scrutiny in 2022 with increased audits and verifications as part of the agency's "rural broadband accountability plan," said a news release Friday. It's "part of an ongoing effort to increase accountability and to build upon existing audit and verification processes performed by the Universal Service Administrative Co.," said a fact sheet. The FCC also announced that more than $1.2 billion in RDOF support is ready to be authorized for 23 providers, as expected (see 2201270030).
The California Public Utilities Commission set aside a week, Feb. 14-18, for a hearing on updating state USF contribution. The virtual hearing starts at 10 a.m. PST every day, Chief Administrative Law Judge Anne Simon ordered Thursday in docket R.21-03-002. Carriers and consumers groups raised concerns with a commission proposal last year to switch to a per-access line surcharge for public purpose programs (see 2112010014).
The FCC should consider imposing cybersecurity rules tied to USF support, similar to what the regulator did on insecure network equipment from China (see 2012100054), said former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai during a Hudson Institute virtual event Friday. Pai was interviewed by former Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
NTIA faces several challenges as it prepares to administer more than $48 billion dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, panelists said during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar Wednesday (see 2111240021). It’s “possible” that NTIA will include metrics on latency, said Corning Manager-Federal Government Affairs Jordan Gross. The agency is looking to find metrics, based on the questions it asked in its request for comment due Feb. 4, Gross said.
At Graham Holdings, Graham Media President-CEO Emily Barr retires "later this year"; Catherine Badalamente, vice president-chief innovation officer, becomes her successor ... Lumen hires Stephanie Minnock as assistant general counsel, replacing Jeff Lanning; she works on USF issues and comes from FCC Wireline Bureau’s Telecom Access Policy Division; Lanning previously went to Womble Bond.