The FCC may use USF support to help carriers during an ongoing emergency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Friday as it denied Tri-County Telephone Association's challenge to agency orders to provide high-cost support to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. A per curiam order in case No. 20-1003 said the petitioner's USF contributions would have been increased regardless of whether the FCC used existing cash reserves or future contributions. Judges cited the commission's prior use of USF funds for disaster relief in its 2005 Hurricane Katrina order. Then-Judge Merrick Garland and Judges David Tatel and Harry Edwards heard oral argument in October (see 2010150042). An attorney for Tri-County didn't comment now.
Not meeting deadlines for using FCC high-cost USF funds to further roll out broadband could imperil other auction winners that played by the rules, some said in recent interviews. Charter Communications, which received $1.2 billion to serve more than 1 million locations (see 2012070039), is among rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction winners seeking waivers to extend the June 7 eligible telecom carrier certification deadline.
Texas legislators passed state USF, commission revamp and multiple broadband bills before Democrats walked out in protest Sunday of an elections bill. Lawmakers didn’t vote before the session’s dramatic finish on a bill (SB-12) opposed by internet companies to regulate social media, though it could be revived in a special session the governor sought for the election bill. The House voted 129-18 Friday to concur with Senate changes to the USF bill (HB-2667), which was passed unanimously last week by the other chamber (see 2105250042). Both chambers cleared a conference report Sunday on a bill (SB-2154) to add two commissioners to the Public Utility Commission, which would make it a five-member body (see 2105240014). Lawmakers also sent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) bills on telehealth (HB-4), broadband expansion (HB-5), pole replacements (HB-1505), highway right of way (SB-507) and electric utility middle mile (HB-3853). HB-2667's expanding the Texas USF contribution base to include VoIP is “a great tool to help stabilize the TUSF,” emailed Texas Statewide Telephone Cooperative CEO Weldon Gray. “Throughout the legislative process … there was clear intent established that should the PUC wish to move away from a revenue assessment to a more modern connections based methodology, they do have that authority under law.” TSTCI awaits a court decision on its suit against the PUC for letting the fund dwindle (see 2103290060), Gray said. “While HB 2667 does help give additional tools to the PUC as they fund the TUSF, there has been no action by the PUC as of this date to address funding current obligations, or to address the shortfall which has existed since January.”
NTCA asked staff to FCC commissioners to waive the budget control mechanism for certain USF support, said a filing Tuesday in docket 10-90. Support cuts would be "particularly harmful as providers strive to keep Americans facing economic challenges brought on by the pandemic online despite unpaid bills," the group said: Providers will otherwise "face substantial reductions in support."
FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel welcomed Commissioner Brendan Carr’s proposal to make Big Tech pay into USF (see 2105240037). The idea is “intriguing,” Rosenworcel said in a statement to us Friday, and the commission “should be open to new ideas.” The funding mechanism is “hopelessly outdated” and the program is “on the verge of collapse,” Carr wrote last week. Under his proposal, Congress would pass legislation that “ensures Big Tech contributes an equitable amount” to USF, he said. Rosenworcel agreed it’s “clear that this would require action from Congress.”
Texas senators unanimously passed a state USF revamp bill Monday. The House must concur with Senate changes to HB-2667 before it can go to Gov. Doug Ducey (R). Texas Telephone Association Executive Director Mark Seale applauded Senate passage. The bill aims to stabilize a state telecom subsidy that's running out of cash (see 2105180037).
Big Tech should be required to pay into USF, said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Monday in Newsweek. It would “secure a funding model that can support the long-term investments needed to close the digital divide,” Carr wrote. “Big Tech has been enjoying a free ride on our internet infrastructure while skipping out on the billions of dollars in costs needed to maintain and build that network.” He said it would take .009% of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Netflix's 2020 combined revenue to “eliminate entirely the unsustainable 30 percent tax that currently hits consumers on their monthly bills.” USF is “on the verge of collapse,” Carr added, saying he's discussing his proposal with other members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. “We hope the FCC will take a common-sense approach and not punish innovative, high-quality streaming services that are fulfilling consumer demand,” said Internet Association CEO Dane Snowden in a statement.
Being vertically integrated with content helped AT&T's domestic connectivity business, but it became apparent its HBO Max platform needed to be global in scale to compete and wouldn't fit with the U.S. focus, hence the spinoff and Discovery deal (see 2105160003), CEO John Stankey said Monday during a JP Morgan conference. He said AT&T's smaller dividend after the DirecTV and WarnerMedia spinoffs will mean more capital the company can invest into wireless and fiber deployment for connectivity.
The Biden administration said Thursday it expects deliberations over how to respond to Senate Republicans’ infrastructure counteroffer to continue into Friday, amid conflicting evaluations about prospects for a deal (see 2105190069). House Commerce Committee Republicans bowed the American Broadband Act to counter President Joe Biden’s proposal to spend $100 billion on broadband. The counterproposal includes $65 billion. More than 40 groups and companies launched the Broadband Equity for All coalition to press lawmakers to create a permanent federal broadband benefit program to succeed the FCC-administered $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program.
Citing the impact of COVID-19 on incarcerated people and their families, FCC commissioners unanimously approved an order and Further NPRM Thursday to cut interstate rates for inmate calling services (see 2105120031). It’s “not the last action we will take because there is more that needs to be done,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during Thursday’s meeting.