The Rural Utilities Service is anticipating that investment for round two of the Broadband Initiatives Program “is going to be more than double what we invested in the first round,” Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said at the Broadband Breakfast. The agency planned to have three rounds, but “folded the second and third rounds into the second one.” Adjusting the “remote” definition, increasing the grant component and other changes in the eligibility process encouraged more applications, he said. Most of the awards will be announced in July and August, he said.
The ongoing fight over whether broadband should be reclassified as a more heavily regulated “telecom” service has resulted in chaos for the broadband industry, FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker said Thursday at the annual Broadband Policy Summit, sponsored by Pike & Fischer. Baker also said work on the “third way” reclassification plan by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has distracted attention from the National Broadband Plan. Another danger is that increased FCC regulation of the Internet could lead to more government control of the Internet in other nations, she warned.
The most significant National Broadband Plan recommendation is the overhaul of the Universal Service Fund “to expand support to explicitly fund broadband,” FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said at the Mid-America Regulatory Commissioners Conference of state officials in Kansas City, Mo. She said “up to 24 million Americans may not have access to broadband at home.” Although USF “provides some support of broadband networks indirectly, it does not do so in the most efficient manner,” Clyburn said. In the overhaul’s first phase, a Connect America Fund will be established to “specifically target support to extend broadband to unserved areas” and provide support in areas “where there’s no private sector business case to offer affordable broadband service without government support,” she said. Some claim that the new fund “will perpetuate a digital divide between urban and rural areas because it will only support broadband networks offering download speeds of 4 Mbps and upload speeds of 1 Mbps,” Clyburn said. The fund is for “providing to all Americans, no matter where they live, what most Americans already have available to them,” she said. The FCC recognizes that “there will be geographic areas where broadband has been built and that to continue to serve those areas, support will be required.” If broadband availability “decreases as a result of Universal Service Fund reform, then we will fail in our goal to reach all Americans.” Clyburn sought help from state regulators: “We are anxious to have your input on the proposed reform, carrier of last resort obligations and the current status of state high cost funds."
Utah’s Public Service Commission meets Tuesday to act on an application by Carbon/Emery Telcom for an increase in rates and charges and Universal Service Fund eligibility. The company and the commission have agreed to terms, including an $881,000 increase in the company’s annual intrastate revenue requirement. Under the agreement, Carbon/Emery could raise its base rates for residential and business services from $15.49 per month and $25.49 per month, respectively, to $16.50 and $26.00. The resulting annual revenue increase, estimated at $93,000, would be used in determining the company’s USF eligibility. The company’s total annual USF distribution would rise to slightly more than $1 million. The company agreed not to file for an increase in USF distribution based on 2010 results of operation except in extraordinary financial circumstances.
The three legislators most likely to be the next House Commerce Committee Republican leader have been active on telecom in the Communications Subcommittee. Current Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, could have to relinquish his post after the November election due to a House GOP caucus rule limiting Republicans to three two-year terms at the top of committees, whether the party is in the majority or minority. Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., wants the job, his spokesman said. Telecom industry lobbyists said Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., may have a better shot.
Nexus Communications’ Reachout Wireless isn’t entitled to federal universal service funds in Tennessee because its Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designation there only applies to wireline, the Regulatory Authority ruled Monday. “Nexus has misled our legislators and consumers that the TRA has the power to prevent Nexus from providing wireless service,” authority chair Sara Kyle said. “The TRA does not have jurisdiction over wireless providers, and because Nexus never applied to the FCC for proper certification, Nexus does not qualify for reimbursement from federal universal service funds.” The ruling reaffirms that Nexus “is not and has never been” approved under Tennessee law for federal USF reimbursement on 68 free minutes per month it was offering wireless customers qualifying for the Lifeline program, the regulator said. “Nothing in the TRA’s decision interferes with the ability of Nexus to continue to provide wireless service to its customers,” the authority said. “It merely precludes federal reimbursement to the company for the phones and free minutes it gives to its wireless Lifeline customers.” Nexus still can ask the FCC for ETC status, the state agency said. That would qualify the company for federal USF reimbursement for its “free” offerings in Tennessee, the authority said. The regulator advised low-income Tennesseans wanting Lifeline or Link-up service that Tracfone and Virgin Mobile are designated as ETCs and operate in the state.
Cable operators large and small largely are unified on many issues that affect the industry, some of them high profile, that are pending before the FCC, our survey of executives found. Retransmission consent deals, where pay-TV operators contend broadcasters force them to pay unfair carriage fees, are the latest example of a unified message across operators of all sizes (CD May 20 p4) and the NCTA, representing big operators and programmers, and the small-operator lobbying group American Cable Association (ACA). Concern about FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan to reclassify broadband transport under parts of Title II and a desire to use cheap HD set-top boxes with integrated navigation and security features are shared by many cable system owners.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said he’s concerned the proposal for a national wireless broadband network outlined in the National Broadband Plan has not won the support of most public safety groups. Copps also said in an interview he has grown increasingly optimistic Congress will approve funding for the network, as proposed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Copps also predicted that compromise is possible among the five commissioners on comprehensive Universal Service Fund overhaul. Bringing in outsiders to oversee “every difficult issue” at the commission isn’t necessarily the way to go, Copps said when asked about the hiring of a head for the review of Comcast-NBC Universal deal. (See separate item in this issue.)
Rural telephone companies are bracing for a less sympathetic Congress in 2011, said executives from rural telco associations. They spoke with reporters at the annual legislative and regulatory conference of the Western Telecom Alliance and the Organization for the Promotion & Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies. WTA and OPASTCO members from around the country arrived in droves to lobby Washington policymakers about their concerns with the National Broadband Plan. They heard remarks Tuesday from long-time rural advocate Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who’s set to retire this year, as well as Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
Slow broadband speeds and insufficient access stifles small business, business owners and executives told the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee during a round table discussion Thursday. “Broadband Internet service is the ability to open doors for small businesses that have been historically shut,” said Committee Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La. “Broadband can help some small businesses function like big businesses and increase their geographic presence by moving their operations online."