The FCC Wireline Bureau announced counties with conditional forbearance for eligible telecom carriers receiving high-cost USF support, effective Sept. 21, from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice services. Friday’s public notice doesn't apply to Lifeline-only ETCs.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., filed the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (Fair) Contributions Act Wednesday to explore requiring “Big Tech” companies to contribute to USF. It would direct the FCC to study “the feasibility of funding Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge providers” like Google-owned YouTube and Netflix. The study should examine “the class of firms and services on which contributions could be assessed, including an inquiry into the specific sources of revenue potentially subject to contributions, such as digital advertising revenue and user fees” and USF contribution “equity issues.” The bill wants the FCC to examine equity of “alternative contributions systems” like federal appropriations and “whether a flat or progressive rate is most appropriate.” More “consumers are moving to internet-based services,” which “raises concerns about the sustainability of fees collected from consumers’ telephone bills,” Wicker said. “As online platforms continue to dominate the internet landscape, we should consider the feasibility of Big Tech contributing to the USF to ensure rural areas are not left behind as we work to close the digital divide.” Commissioner Brendan Carr, who proposed making edge providers pay into USF (see 2105240037), said “requiring Big Tech to contribute is more than fair.”
Oklahoma could soon join a small and growing list of states adopting USF connections-based contributions. In Oregon, parties are discussing other rule changes, and in Texas, small rural LECs are taking the Public Utility Commission to court for not fully funding USF. Other states mulling changes include California and Kentucky.
The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. should seek additional funding to extend the emergency broadband benefit program “for as long as necessary,” or at least until Lifeline reimbursement is increased, said a draft resolution to be considered by NARUC during its July 18-21 meeting. The draft recommends Congress phase out the program’s bypass of the state eligible telecom carrier designation process and the FCC address problems with enrolling eligible households through the national verifier. The draft also seeks Lifeline revisions. Also under consideration is a broadband expansion task force recommendation to prioritize areas with less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps up (see 2106250048). It more participation in NTIA initiatives and the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. It recommends a “centralized database of carriers” that don't meet USF obligations, and regularly testing network speed, latency and reliability for carriers receiving federal or state funding. NARUC will consider whether to urge the FCC to make the EBB program more permanent, as well as a resolution backing the California Public Utilities Commission’s petition to reconsider the confidentiality of filings in the network outage and disaster information reporting systems. NARUC’s telecom panel unanimously supported the CPUC's petition in November (see 2011100033). The FCC didn’t comment Wednesday.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-24 Tuesday to advance its FY 2022 funding bill for the FCC and FTC. The measure proposes giving the FCC $388 million and the FTC almost $390 million, mirroring what President Joe Biden proposed in late May (see 2105280055). A report on the legislation seeks further work on changes to USF contribution rules and wants additional study of how municipal broadband can expand connectivity access (see 2106290066). The committee approved an amendment to the bill from Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, that would bar funding for government cloud computing unless the cloud services don't store or transmit images depicting violations of child exploitation law.
The House Appropriations Committee’s proposed report on the Financial Services Subcommittee-cleared measure to fund the FCC and FTC in FY 2022 seeks further work on changes to USF contribution rules and wants additional study of how municipal broadband can expand connectivity access. The committee was still considering the underlying bill late Tuesday afternoon. Dueling panels of telecom policy officials disagreed on how lawmakers should translate into legislation the $65 billion broadband component in a bipartisan infrastructure package framework President Joe Biden endorsed last week (see 2106240070).
Huawei believes the U.S. should “put the evidence out there” to justify recent actions to curb the presence of the Chinese telecom gear vendor’s products on U.S. networks, the company's U.S. Chief Security Officer Andy Purdy said during an episode of C-SPAN’s The Communicators set to telecast this weekend. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday denied Huawei’s challenge to the FCC ban of its equipment from networks funded by the USF (see 2106220053). Commissioners are to vote July 13 on congressionally mandated changes to its system for replacing insecure U.S. network equipment from Huawei and fellow Chinese vendor ZTE (see 2106210062). U.S. restrictions hurt Huawei “pretty badly in terms of our ability to do business” in the country, Purdy said. “Things are not going very well.” If “Huawei has done bad things, show us” so “the whole world can see so that they don’t just need to create incentives” not to buy Huawei products, he said. “There is not such evidence” and there “is no connection” between Huawei and the Chinese government “other than any other company around the world would have.” The U.S. shouldn’t “do things” like the FCC did in using “predictive judgment” to justify its anti-Huawei actions, Purdy said. “That’s not really consistent with the rule of law approach” that federal agencies generally employ.
The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee said Wednesday it’s proposing giving the FCC $388 million and the FTC almost $390 million in a draft FY 2022 appropriations bill it plans to mark up Thursday. This mirrors what President Joe Biden proposed in late May (see 2105280055). FCC funding would be 3.7% above what it got in FY 2021; the FTC’s budget would be 11% higher (see 2012210055). The bill would again bar the FCC from using funding to “modify, amend or change” rules for USF programs. The markup begins 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth; a House Appropriations Committee markup will happen Tuesday. The House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee plans to mark up its FY 2022 Agriculture Department bill 11 a.m. Friday in 2118 Rayburn.
Attempts to revamp a dwindling Texas USF are back to square one after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a bill to add VoIP providers to the contribution base. Friday's veto of HB-2667 followed a defeat for rural telco associations in state court where they challenged a Public Utility Commission’s decision not to raise the surcharge on consumer bills to fully fund USF (see 2103290060). It may be too late for legislators to override Abbott, and expect a court appeal soon, RLEC association officials said Monday.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association and others are expected to argue at a Tuesday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing that lawmakers should consider network resiliency issues as they decide the contours of connectivity language in upcoming infrastructure spending legislation. Subpanel lawmakers said they intend to look at how to move forward on a to-be-refiled version of the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (see 2102160067) and other resiliency-centric bills. The partly virtual hearing begins at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell.