Broadband items drew some lawmakers’ attention Wednesday night and Thursday as Capitol Hill fully shifted into the week-plus Thanksgiving recess. A trio of non-Commerce Committee-affiliated senators weighed into the debate over expanding the USF contribution base, while leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees sided along party lines on the FCC’s 3-2 Wednesday vote to adopt rules aimed at curbing digital discrimination (see 2311150040). President Joe Biden, meanwhile, is set to sign off before Friday night on a continuing resolution to fund the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies at FY 2023 levels through Feb. 2 (HR-6363) after the Senate joined the House Wednesday night in passing the measure.
The FCC is focused on efforts to build a smart power grid, Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the 2023 Clean Energy Transition Conference, according to text of the speech in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. Smart grids “show a clear path to tap into more renewable sources, strengthen our resilience in the wake of more frequent and more severe natural disasters, squeeze power routing efficiencies, and lower consumer costs on their utility bills,” he said. Starks highlighted a USF program push to connect more than 700,000 unserved rural locations with high-speed fixed broadband. “We’re also helping every community in America migrate to mobile 5G by increasing access to spectrum, accelerating deployment and supporting rural buildout through initiatives like our 5G Fund,” he said: “This is about much more than gaming and movies.”
To facilitate wider adoption of school bus Wi-Fi in 2024, the FCC needs to clarify E-rate eligibility issues before year's end, Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen said Wednesday during an SHLB webinar. A divided FCC last month approved a declaratory ruling 3-2 clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is eligible for E-rate funding (see 2310190056). Comments are due Nov. 30 about the addition of services and equipment needed to use Wi-Fi service on school buses, the Wireline Bureau ordered. With the agency's declaratory ruling, legislation from Congress about bus eligibility issues is unlikely to be forthcoming, said Jeff Lopez, senior policy adviser for Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. Lopez said past bus eligibility bills faced pushback from questions about USF's limited resources. He said the USF working group started by Lujan and others (see 2305110066) is focused on broader revisions to the program. Farmington (New Mexico) Municipal Schools Supervisor Billy Huish said its adoption of bus Wi-Fi "was kind of a no-brainer" because all students have a take-home electronic device and often face rides of 90 minutes to two hours each way. He said there aren’t gaps in connectivity coverage, though buses going to tribal lands require installation of dual wireless carriers, with coverage toggling depending on which has a stronger signal. The costs the FCC cited in the declaratory ruling -- $1,840 per bus per year -- are "pretty close to what we're paying," Huish said. The typical bus setup involves a cellular modem, which converts LTE or 5G signals into Wi-Fi, and an antenna, with the system wired into the vehicle's power supply, said Ben Weintraub, CEO of Kajeet, a school bus Wi-Fi provider.
The FCC’s 2022 order further clamping down on gear from Chinese companies, preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment in the U.S. (see 2211230065), was years in the making and reflected long-term concerns of Congress and the FCC, speakers said Tuesday during an FCBA webinar.
LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Congress should continue “lifeblood connectivity” provided through the affordable connectivity program (ACP), Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Stephen DeFrank said in an interview at this week’s NARUC meeting. Expect broadband, universal service and pole attachments to be key issues for the state PUC in the year ahead, he said. Industry officials debated possible USF changes during a Tuesday panel.
The FCC's USF funding mechanism "violates the original understanding of the nondelegation doctrine, the modern intelligible-principle doctrine, and the private nondelegation doctrine" (see 2310060069), Consumers' Research told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a reply brief Thursday (docket 23-1091). The court should "make clear that Congress cannot delegate such power, let alone to a private entity," the group said.
An FCC NPRM released Thursday proposes allowing schools and libraries to apply for funding from the E-rate program for Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet access services that can be used off-premises. FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented, as they did last month on a declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose eligible for E-rate funding (see 2310190056).
The Nebraska Public Service Commission adopted a multitude of telecom orders at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. In mostly unanimous votes, commissioners adopted policies on broadband funding, state USF, dark fiber leasing rates and rip and replace. Looking ahead, Commissioner Kevin Stocker (R) asked about tightening resiliency requirements after hearing a report on October communications outages.
The USF contribution factor will likely increase to 35.4% during Q1 2024, emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg Friday. Gregg noted that the USF contribution base for all of 2023 was $34.2 billion, the "lowest annual revenues in the history of the USF." The contribution factor could be even greater should quarterly revenues continue to decline, he added.
The Utah Public Service Commission should OK a settlement that would approve Dish Wireless’ application for eligible telecom carrier designation, officials for Utah’s Division of Public Utilities and Office of Consumer Services said at a virtual hearing Friday. Approval would let Dish provide Lifeline service in Utah. In the Oct. 13 settlement (docket 23-2641-01), Dish agreed to additional requirements including to make a Utah-specific fact sheet for consumers to know what service they will receive, comply with all applicable Utah customer protection requirements, report to the division on any plan changes, and pay USF and emergency fees, said Ronald Slusher, DPU utilities technical analyst. Approval would lead to a just and reasonable result and is in the public interest, said Alex Ware, OCS utility analyst. Administrative Law Judge John Delaney said the PSC will “issue an order in due course.” A Utah PSC spokesperson emailed, “The PSC will consider the settlement stipulation and issue a written order at a later date.”