The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a joint motion from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Center for Media Justice and National Digital Inclusion Alliance to intervene on behalf of the FCC in Consumers' Research's new challenge of the USF Q4 2023 contribution factor (see 2310030069). An order posted Monday in case 23-60525 was denied "without prejudice" should the groups want to file amicus curiae.
Industry sought some edits to a sweeping update to state telecom rules under consideration at the Texas Public Utility Commission. The PUC received comments Friday to Sept. 26 proposed changes to Texas Chapter 26 substantive telecommunications rules (docket 54589). The Texas Telephone Association (TTA) commended the PUC’s "Herculean effort in crafting proposed changes to the entire chapter on telephone regulations all at once."
The Biden administration’s Wednesday request for Congress to appropriate an additional $6 billion to fully fund the FCC’s affordable connectivity program (ACP) through the end of 2024 (see 2310250075) is drawing initial skepticism from top telecom-focused Republicans amid their push for the commission to be more transparent about how it has been spending the program’s existing $14.2 billion allocation. Congressional Democrats enthusiastically backed the White House’s request, noting it would give Capitol Hill more breathing room to examine whether and how to tie in changes to a longer-term ACP with a push for broader USF revamp legislation. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust its funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024 (see 2309210060).
Proposed changes to Nebraska's USF program saw disagreements during Nebraska Public Service Commission hearing testimony Tuesday over benchmark speeds for targeting support and what data to use to define unserved and underserved areas. State USF Fund Director Cullen Robbins said the USF Fund recommends maintaining the speed threshold at 25/3 Mbps for targeting support. He said changing that threshold would potentially divert unserved support to areas that might qualify as underserved. Robbins said the fund also recommends changing the structure of payments for the high-cost program. Today it pays on a reimbursement basis, but that has resulted in issues of the fund rising to high levels and legislators wanting to access that money for other purposes. Robbins said a structured payout process, with some funding being paid during the course of a project, might work better. Andy Pollock of Rembolt Ludtke, representing the Rural Nebraska Broadband Alliance, urged transitioning by July 1, 2025, away from USF support for infrastructure that cannot provide 100 Mbps symmetrical speeds. He said there's no reason to continue supporting obsolete infrastructure providing lower speeds. Charter Communications Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Tim Goodwin said that rather than 100 Mbps symmetrical, 100/20 Mbps or 25/3 Mbps would be better benchmarks because those speeds align with other state program standards. Making 100 Mbps symmetrical the benchmark for unserved or underserved would be out of line with numerous state and federal programs, he said. Many cable operators offer 1 Gbps downstream speeds but not 100 Mbps upstream, so with a 100 Mbps symmetrical standard, "you just declared almost all of Lincoln and most of Omaha unserved," he said. Consortia Consulting Director Dan Davis, representing a group of rural LECs, said that a transition to 100 Mbps symmetrical to establish served status would be sound policy, but that 2025 was too soon and a graduated approach should be taken through 2028. Multiple speakers testified in support of using FCC broadband data collection data for determining high-cost support distributions for 2024 and forward. BDC data, “as imperfect as it is,” is still better than the Form 477 alternative, said Charter's Goodwin. However, said Davis, BDC data "is demonstrably inaccurate," overcounting the number of broadband serviceable locations. He said once the data is more accurate, the LECs would support using it for future USF distributions.
Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T told the FCC it should move with care on a 5G fund, especially given the perilous state of the USF. Groups representing small carriers said the fund is critical to connecting millions of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 20-32 in response to a Further NPRM approved by commissioners 4-0 in September (see 2309210035).
Industry welcomed the FCC's efforts to establish a sustainability framework as part of its review of the future of its USF high-cost programs. Comments posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 showed widespread support for a contribution revamp and ensuring ongoing support for operational expenses remains available.
The FCC’s USF program is in need of “substantial reform,” the Rural Wireless Association said in comments posted Monday in docket 10-90. RWA opposes picking winners through the use of reverse auctions. “In support of the FCC’s universal service goals, the Commission should expeditiously … transition high-cost support for fixed broadband to ongoing support to maintain networks that are deployed with funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other federal and state grant programs; and … develop a model-based support mechanism for mobile networks,” RWA said.
The Biden administration is expected to seek about $4 billion in additional money for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program as part of a second part of the supplemental federal funding request it will send to Congress this week, communications sector lobbyists told us. House Democratic leaders are already highlighting the to-be-announced money as a priority alongside the stalled regular FY 2024 appropriations process once the chamber can elect someone to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The era of FCC agreement on most items appears to be over. In addition to the fight over net neutrality, and perhaps the longest statement yet at a meeting by Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2310190020), Carr and Simington dissented Thursday on a declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding. But an order approving changes to rules for wireless emergency alerts, a notice of inquiry on broadband and maternal health and an NPRM on connectivity in Alaska were approved without dissents.
AT&T reported 468,000 postpaid phone and 296,000 AT&T Fiber net adds in Q3, as it became the first of the major carriers to report. Other financial indicators were also mostly an improvement over last year. CEO John Stankey slammed the FCC’s expected vote later that day approving an NPRM on net neutrality (see 2310190020), suggesting policymakers should address other problems. “Why we would use taxpayer money and resources and political capital to chase a problem that doesn't exist is a bit of a mystery to me,” Stankey said Thursday.