Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., filed the Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act Thursday. It would eliminate a requirement only ISPs designated eligible telecom carriers are eligible for USF. “Millions of Americans still lack access to consistent and reliable Internet service because the broadband infrastructure necessary to serve all households and businesses does not exist,” Butterfield said. “And in urban areas where broadband service is available, there are numerous low-income families that simply cannot afford it.” Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Don Young, R-Alaska, filed the Universal Broadband Act last month. HR-6723 would increase the USF contribution base to include all broadband services rather than the existing model that draws support from phone services (see 2005050064). Charter, NCTA and the Wireless ISP Association backed Butterfield’s bill.
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska might have to push forward uncertainly in telecom matters until it meets resistance, Chairman Bob Pickett said at one in a series of summer meetings about the RCA's telecom jurisdiction after 2019 deregulation law SB-83 (see 2005130039). There should be no confusion about what authority the agency retains, said Alaska Telecom Association Executive Director Christine O'Connor in an interview.
USTelecom and its members urged the FCC to launch an order soon on a February consensus proposal on toll-free access rates. Rural and competitive LECs want to make sure they don't lose revenue in the process or face added costs. Activity in docket 18-156 heated up in recent weeks as stakeholders lobby Wireline Bureau staff and commissioner offices. The commission issued a Further NPRM two years ago (see 1807020040). At issue is who pays to move toll-free traffic and who gets revenue for it.
The FCC reached a $5 million settlement with magicJack over the VoIP provider's failure to report its interstate revenues and contribute to USF, it said Friday. The consent decree includes an extensive compliance plan. The company didn't comment.
Parts of USF changes approved by the FCC involving a 5G Fund take effect Friday, says that day's Federal Register.
China may be “attempting to drive a high-tech wedge” between the U.S. and U.K. via concerns about the national security implications of allowing equipment from Huawei on telecom infrastructure, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the U.K. House of Commons’ Defense Select Committee Tuesday. Cotton and other U.S. lawmakers criticized the U.K. allowing Huawei on “non-core” parts of communications infrastructure but bar it from “sensitive locations” like military bases (see 2001280074). Recent media reports claim the U.K. government may be planning to change that.
The move to open-radio access networks in wireless is a natural evolution, follows trends in other industries and could help the U.S. make networks more secure, speakers said during a Hudson Institute webinar Tuesday. The FCC postponed a March 26 summit on 5G-focused O-RAN technology because of coronavirus concerns (see 2003120071) and hasn’t set a new date, a spokesperson confirmed now. In February, Attorney General William Barr said the O-RAN is “just pie in the sky” and a “completely untested” approach that would “take many years to get off the ground.”
The USF contribution factor will reach a record 26.5% in Q3, up from Q2's 19.6%, emailed consultant Billy Jack Gregg Monday. Q4's was a then-record 25% (see 1909130003).
SpaceX urged the FCC to forbear from requiring an eligible telecom carrier designation for participants in high-cost USF support programs, in reply comments on market competition posted through Friday in docket 20-60. "Requiring broadband providers to secure regulatory authorizations for voice service only serves to frustrate new entrants and stifle competition." Limits on the number radio outlets one company can own in a market “remain necessary to promote diversity, localism, and competition,” said the Future of Music Coalition and musicFIRST Coalition in joint replies on the report. Local content is “a casualty” of consolidation, the music rights groups said. “Loosening current ownership restrictions could potentially provide economic benefit to only a subset of AM/FM broadcasters.” the groups said. NAB noted radio stations face much competition (see 2005280061).
Industry, USF recipients and consumer advocates are exploring new ways to fund USF. Talks began last year and remain in early stages, participants said in interviews. Parties fear the contribution factor, which reached a record high of 25% last fall (see 1909130003), isn't sustainable. Some want to present a unified funding proposal to Congress or the FCC. Most want the matter addressed next year.