Consumers’ Research and other parties challenging the legality of the USF contribution factor at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals urged the court not to allow various public interest groups to intervene. Motions to intervene were filed last month by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and jointly by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Center for Media Justice (see 2510300042). The 5th Circuit stayed the case Tuesday because of the federal shutdown (see 2511040071).
Democrats won Tuesday night in special elections for two Georgia Public Service Commission seats, marking the first time party members have earned spots on the regulatory body since 2006. Those victories were part of the Democratic Party’s broader rout in the elections, including selection of its candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. Ex-U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who won the Virginia gubernatorial race, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who won in New Jersey, both raised internet issues during the campaign.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the USF in Consumers’ Research v. FCC could prove critical as justices hear argument Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s legal authority to impose tariffs, said Adam White, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in a blog post Monday. The case turns on how justices view presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, White wrote. “If justices see the Trump tariffs as mainly a matter of foreign policy, and if they see IEEPA’s ‘regulate’ provision as ambiguous, then perhaps they will give substantial deference to the president’s interpretation.”
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday agreed to stay Consumers’ Research’s latest challenge to the USF because of the federal government shutdown, as requested by the FCC (see 2510310043), said an order in docket 25-60535. The request wasn’t opposed by any of the parties in the case. A lawyer involved in the proceeding said the order was “no big deal” and responds to a motion that the government is filing in almost all new non-urgent cases.
The FCC has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Consumers’ Research’s legal challenge to the USF because of the federal shutdown, said a motion filed Friday in docket 25-60535. The request for stay is unopposed, it said. The agency wants the court to stay the case until 14 days after the shutdown ends and extend all deadlines to the date the stay is lifted. The next filing deadline in the case is currently Nov. 10. The reduction in the FCC and DOJ workforces caused by the shutdown “has effectively eliminated the ability of counsel who have worked on and are familiar with this case to handle the litigation while the lapse in appropriations continues,” the filing said.
A legislative proposal to eliminate the ConnectMaine Authority (CMA) saw both support and criticism in a hearing Thursday of the state's Joint Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. LD-1975, introduced in May, would disband the agency -- the predecessor to the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the state's broadband office -- by repealing the Advanced Technology Infrastructure Act. "Maine does not need two broadband authorities in the long term," said Rep. Jack Ducharme (R), the bill's sponsor.
Several public interest groups are seeking to intervene in Consumers' Research’s 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenge to the constitutionality of the USF, according to court filings. Motions to intervene have been filed by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and jointly by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and the Center for Media Justice. Consumers’ Research is expected to oppose the motions to intervene, though such motions from the same groups have been granted in previous cases that Consumers’ Research brought against the USF, the filings said.
Top Senate Commerce Committee leaders told us they aren’t yet completely ruling out proposals to make the USF subject to Congress’ annual appropriations process as part of a legislative revamp of the program. However, some panel Democrats are dubious because of flaws in the funding system, amplified by the ongoing government shutdown (see 2510230049). In comments submitted to Congress' bipartisan USF working group, some stakeholders also strongly advocated for shifting to an appropriations-based funding model (see 2509160064). Meanwhile, panelists at a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition event Wednesday said they see appropriations as a largely unappealing option to give USF more sustainable long-term funding.
Amazon Web Services inexplicably gets a pass on the regulatory standards that far smaller enterprises such as telecom providers work under, Strand Consult's John Strand wrote Tuesday. AWS consistently lobbies against requirements for it to financially support more accessible and resilient access networks, including investments in broadband infrastructure and connectivity vouchers for low-income users, he said. There's a discussion to be had about whether AWS operates "a parallel internet" of fiber-optic backbones, routers and interconnection points and "whether these elements constitute 'telecommunications' under U.S. law." AWS likely is already eligible to contribute to USF but doesn't due to FCC forbearance, which lets AWS claim a self-provider exemption, he noted.
The FCC was right to eliminate programs that provided school bus Wi-Fi and internet hot spots to schools and libraries because they went beyond the agency's authority, wrote Daniel Lyons, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in a blog post Thursday. Supporters of the programs say that on a practical level, halting the programs puts schools and libraries in a financial bind (see 2510150047).