President Donald Trump seems receptive to prioritizing broadband access, potentially through his infrastructure proposal, senators who raised the issue with him told us. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump invoked plans for an infrastructure stimulus of as much as $1 trillion, and this year several lawmakers from both chambers and parties pressed the White House to incorporate broadband funding through such a vehicle. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a key Trump liaison to the House, cautioned it’s too soon to say.
NTCA said FCC action is urgently needed to address two rural USF issues: "(1) the need for a technical correction to or clarification of the Capital Investment Allowance adopted in last year’s reforms; and (2) the continuing adverse effects upon consumers arising out of application of the 'rate floor' policy." NTCA advocacy on the issues was consistent with prior submissions, said a Tuesday filing by the rural telco group in docket 10-90 on a meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai.
Expect the Senate Commerce Committee to work on “Mobile Now-plus kind of ideas,” said GOP Telecom Policy Director David Quinalty Tuesday during an FCBA event. Senate Commerce cleared the reintroduced Mobile Now spectrum bill (S-19) last month, a key initiative for Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. The committee is believed to be eyeing a spectrum hearing at the Communications Subcommittee level for early March (see 1702100051).
USTelecom opposed Sandwich Isles Communications' petition for the FCC to reconsider and to set aside a Dec. 5 order imposing $27 million in repayment duties on the company for violations of the USF high-cost program in Hawaii (see 1701050068 and 1612060032). Sandwich Isles Communications (SIC) "has filed the Petition solely in an effort to avoid the penalties associated with the related Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order that resulted from the findings in this Order and was released on the same day. Unfortunately for SIC, there are no new facts or arguments presented in their Petition that refutes the facts already presented," said USTelecom comments Thursday in docket 10-90.
The FCC circulated a draft Connect America Fund order Feb. 13, according to the agency circulation list updated Friday. A March 30 Further NPRM on rate-of-return telco USF issues had asked whether operating expenditure limitations should be modified for carriers serving tribal lands, said a commission spokesman. "This order addresses that question."
Boomerang Wireless asked the FCC to delay revoking its Lifeline broadband status until the agency or state regulators act on its long-pending petitions to become a USF-eligible telecom carrier (ETC) in numerous states. Boomerang said de-enrolling 17,538 affected Lifeline subscribers under the Wireline Bureau's Feb. 3 Lifeline broadband provider revocation order would be disruptive despite a 60-day transition given the company to migrate the customers to rivals. Some other providers criticized the FCC decision to revoke the LBP designations of nine companies, including Boomerang, pending further review (see 1702030070).
State commissioners seek more certainty about where they fit into the telecom landscape, said NARUC Telecom Committee Chairman Paul Kjellander in an interview Wednesday at the group's meeting. Early decisions by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and congressional talk of a possible Telecom Act rewrite are good signs that clarity is coming, Kjellander said. As the meeting wrapped Wednesday, the board passed the three substantive telecom resolutions adopted Tuesday by the committee (see 1702140003).
Congress should address net neutrality even if it can't pass a broader rewrite of the Communications Act, said Verizon Senior Vice President Kathy Grillo Wednesday. She said election-driven political changes cause regulatory shifts that increase uncertainty and complicate long-term business plans. "Ultimately, Congress does really need to speak to this issue," she said on one of several panels at an Incompas policy conference. It also heard from legislators about dig once and broadband infrastructure (see 1702150068).
An FCC order on phase two of a Mobility Fund (MFII) appears headed to a 3-0 vote at next week’s commissioner meeting, industry and agency officials said Wednesday. Smaller carriers have been active at the FCC, raising objections to parts of rules in the draft order circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai is seeking a vote on the relatively complicated order as part of an ambitious agenda at only his second meeting as chairman (see 1702030039).
The Competitive Carriers Association urged the FCC to revise its plans for a second phase of the Mobility Fund (MFII) “to ensure sufficient, predictable support for the preservation and deployment of wireless networks,” in a letter filed at the FCC Wednesday. The letter was signed by 18 of the group’s CEOs. “This letter makes clear that the FCC’s Mobility Fund II current plan is headed in the wrong direction,” CCA President Steve Berry said in a news release: Members are “seriously concerned that the FCC’s current plan for MFII will undermine their hard work serving areas that would have gone unserved absent their investment and USF support. The Commission is relying on inaccurate and inconsistent information to determine areas that will be eligible for MFII support, and I strongly encourage the FCC to perform a thorough review of its data and utilize the most accurate measurement analysis to identify coverage gaps.” The biggest concern is that the FCC plans to “immediately slash legacy USF in many areas where services consumers enjoy today could be reduced by a flash cut of support,” Berry said. “Rural areas are some of the most difficult to serve, and putting these funds ‘on the chopping block’ will directly impact carriers’ abilities to continue service and will harm consumers that live in or visit these areas. As these CEOs noted, a flash-cut is fiscally irresponsible, especially given the amount of budgetary planning required to maintain and build out networks.” A vote on the fund is teed up for the commissioners’ Feb. 23 meeting (see 1702030039).