Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., bowed a House version of the Reprioritizing Unserved Rural Areas and Locations for Broadband (Rural Broadband) Act Tuesday. The bill and its Senate companion (S-2970) would prioritize Rural Utilities Service broadband funding for unserved areas over underserved ones receiving some USF funds. Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., filed S-2970 in May (see 1805250025). "Deploying broadband to rural America takes coordinated efforts from Congress and the managing agencies," Cramer said. "With this legislation, Congress is ensuring funds are being effectively distributed to unserved areas." Broadband access "is more important than ever for rural communities -- including farms and ranches -- which is why it’s so important that we use limited federal resources as efficiently as possible to reach rural Americans and sustain rural networks once built,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.
ST. PAUL -- A federal circuit judge showed deference to FCC legal analysis but asked if there can be federal pre-emption of states regulating interconnected VoIP without a ruling on classification of such services. The question came at oral argument Tuesday at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Other judges asked if technical differences between Charter Communications’ VoIP service and traditional phone services make it an information rather than telecom service. Minnesota is challenging a lower court’s May 2017 decision that Charter’s cable VoIP is an information service exempt from Public Utilities Commission regulation (see 1705080048).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission is still determining “the best path forward” on revamping elements of the Lifeline USF program. His responded to letters from House Democrats that raised concerns that his preferred plan would mean major cuts to the program’s subsidization of phone and internet services to low-income people. The revamp NPRM adopted in November seeks comment on creating a self-enforcing budget cap, setting a maximum subscriber discount level and ending both federal designation of Lifeline broadband providers and pre-emption of states' role in designating some eligible telecom carriers (see 1711160021). House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., led one letter in January. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and 67 other House members sent a separate letter in March (see 1803210061). Senate Aging Committee Chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Bob Casey, D-Pa., more recently also raised concerns (see 1805180043). “I am deeply committed to ensuring that the Commission fulfills its obligation to be a responsible steward of” USF, Pai said, posted Monday. “It is critical to strengthen the Lifeline program's efficacy and integrity by reducing the waste, fraud, and abuse that has run rampant in this program for the better part of a decade.” The national verifier of consumer eligibility for the program the FCC is implementing “will be one important tool in eliminating this waste, fraud, and abuse,” but “it simply isn't prudent to sit idly by when hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake,” Pai said. “That's why the Commission last year sought comment on a wide variety of measures to improve the administration of the Lifeline program.” Pai disputed suggestions that an accompanying November order will cut off Lifeline support to tribal members. He said the changes were designed to "incentivize providers" to deploy broadband networks on tribal lands. "All eligible Americans who apply will continue to receive support, but that enhanced support will now be tailored to better target those in need," he responded to Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and 31 colleagues. "Similarly false are suggestions that the Commission did not consult with Tribes before adopting the 2017 Lifeline Reform Order," he added, citing comments from, and consultations with, various tribal parties: "As Chairman, I have participated in three official Tribal consultations, made numerous visits to Tribal communities, and met with Tribal representatives, including the Navajo Nation."
Cable leased access, telecom discontinuance, rural USF, and slamming/cramming items approved at Thursday's commissioners' meeting (see 1806070021) were released Friday. Leased access Further NPRM, comments will be due 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register, with replies 45 days after publication. It would vacate a 2008 leased access order and solicit comment on the state of the leased access market and on updating that rules regime. The FCC issued text of an IP captioned telephone service order, declaratory ruling, FNPRM and notice of inquiry that takes actions to curb IP CTS funding and authorize automated speech recognition technology, and seeks comment on proposals and issues. Also released were orders to ease telecom service discontinuance approvals and streamline related network-change processes (here), provide certain rate-of-return telcos (not receiving model-based support) USF contribution relief on broadband service (here) and bolster safeguards against telephone slamming and cramming (here).
Don't include Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) support in the Wyoming USF fund manager’s calculations as a contribution from federal USF, small phone companies told the Public Service Commission in Wednesday comments in docket 14923. Union Telephone said its “reporting of A-CAM funding results in a similar amount of [federal USF] being reported to the [Wyoming PSC] as would have been reported absent the A-CAM election.” Chugwater Telephone said including A-CAM funding “would have a devastating effect on the company’s operations.” The companies supported the PSC interim decision to raise the state USF contribution factor to 1.7 percent starting July 1 (see 1805090006).
Growing delay in establishing a Lifeline national verifier is worrying some states and put Utah in a difficult situation, where its state eligibility system may terminate before the national system is available, state officials told us this week. Utah eligible telecom providers plan to self-certify consumers starting July 1, though some warned such a process can increase fraud risk.
The FCC approved 3-1 an order to further relax telecom service discontinuance duties and related regulatory processes in an effort to remove barriers and encourage the industry shift from legacy wireline to next-generation, IP-based offerings. Commissioners also voted 4-0 to adopt an order to relieve certain rural telcos of USF contribution obligations on their broadband services to equalize their treatment with other carriers and promote affordability. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel largely dissented on the discontinuance order and concurred on the rural telco USF order.
The FCC gave USF eligible telecom carriers an extra two weeks to file Form 481 annual reports that were due July 2, though carriers that day must still report rates and fees relevant to their high-cost support. Citing various commission orders on ETC high-cost support reporting duties, the Wireline Bureau said Wednesday it's seeking Office of Management Budget approval of recent modifications to information collection, including changes to Form 481, under the Paperwork Reduction Act. On its own motion, the bureau granted "waiver to all ETCs of the July 2 deadline" until July 16. "This limited waiver does not extend to section 54.313(h), which requires all [ILEC] recipients of high-cost support to report 'all of their rates for residential local service for all portions of their service area, as well as state fees as defined pursuant to section 54.318(e), to the extent the sum of those rates and fees are below the rate floor as defined in section 54.318, and the number of lines for each rate specified,” said the order in docket 10-90.
FCC commissioners were trying to resolve differences on some agenda items for Thursday's monthly meeting, an official told us Wednesday. "We’re working with our colleagues to see what we can achieve with items on the agenda, though there’s always a potential for disagreements." Asked if there were likely to be any major brawls or dissents, an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly emailed, “I don’t see anything major.” Four items were deleted from the agenda Tuesday after being adopted on circulation (see 1806050057), but the remaining eight seem likely to stick: on high-band spectrum for 5G, telecom service discontinuance processes, rural telco broadband USF contribution relief, 8YY access charges, text-enabled toll-free numbers, slamming and cramming, IP captioned telephone service and revisiting cable leased access.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed hiking a USF Rural Health Care cap by 43 percent, from $400 million to $571 million per year, to reflect inflation since program inception in 1997. He circulated a draft order to increase the cap for the current (2017) funding year ending June 30, index the program for inflation going forward and allow unused funds from prior years to be carried forward to future years, said a release Wednesday. It noted recent demand exceeded the budget, creating uncertainty for participants. Rural healthcare (RHC) and telco interests welcomed the announcement.