ATN International told FCC leadership the best way to help the U.S. Virgin Islands through stage 2 fixed-service USF support for hurricane recovery is through its subsidiary Viya (see 1811080024), the sole ILEC "charged with serving the USVI in its entirety as the last resort and the sole operator of a Territory-wide wireline broadband network." USF support must be "sufficient and stable" in the "USVI where the costs of providing service are high and the economic conditions are challenging," ATN wrote of CEO Michael Prior and others' meetings with Chairman Ajit Pai, Commissioner Brendan Carr and aides to all four commissioners, posted Friday in docket 18-143.
Rural telco groups endorsed a draft FCC order to offer increased USF support to rate-of-return carriers in exchange for more 25/3 Mbps broadband deployment, tentatively set for a Dec. 12 vote (see 1811210032). The draft "would take substantial steps toward fulfillment of statutory mandates with respect to predictability and sufficiency, promote the effectiveness of existing USF support mechanisms," promote network investment, and ensure service availability "on a reasonably comparable basis between rural and urban areas," filed NTCA, on meetings with aides to all commissioners and with Wireline Bureau staffers (here and here), posted through Friday in docket 10-90. Meeting aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly, ITTA backed "increased funding for A-CAM [Alternative Connect America Cost Model] carriers and attendant commitments to buildout at additional locations at speeds of 25/3 Mbps; ensuring sufficient and predictable support for legacy rate-of-return carriers; a new model offer for legacy carriers; and separate budgets for the model-based and legacy programs." Nebraska A-CAM Companies support "adoption of a voluntary offer of additional funding up to $200/month per location for existing A-CAM recipients, with modified deployment obligations, as set forth in the draft order," filed consultant Carol Mattey, on meetings with O'Rielly and aides to all commissioners (here and here). They backed "extending a new offer of A-CAM support to all companies not currently receiving A-CAM support and would not limit such an offer to those companies that would receive less support under the model than their current support." USTelecom discussed with O'Rielly aides how the draft compared with proposals submitted by associations and "addressed the potential impacts of a second ACAM offer and the lack of a challenge process in determining overlap."
FCC commissioners seem open to giving states and territories access to national outage data in the network outage reporting system (NORS) and disaster information reporting system (DIRS), said Puerto Rico Telecommunications Bureau Chairwoman Sandra Torres Lopez in a Thursday interview before scheduled meetings with Chairman Ajit Pai and an aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Torres met Wednesday with FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr, she said. The federal body has had a flurry of meetings recently on NORS access (see 1811210018). Torres is optimistic the FCC will open access. Her agency responded to requests for information including about confidentiality, a concern raised by industry. The territorial government needs the information “to keep the people ... informed” about the status of recovery, she said. In FCC meetings, the she argued for additional funding to help the island further recover from 2017 hurricanes and reach unserved areas, Torres said. Pai last week suggested Puerto Rico may need even more USF support for recovery (see 1811230018). The territory needs more than the $117 million in short-term support from USF, Torres agreed. It needed the money “yesterday” but is working through the process, she said. One year after Hurricane Maria, infrastructure restoration remains a challenge, Torres said. Puerto Rico faces at least weekly brownouts, with brief telecom outages, she said.
Oregon Public Utility Commissioners won't vote next week on staff’s recommendation the agency issue an NPRM on requiring interconnected VoIP companies to contribute to the state USF, and the PUC hasn’t set a new date, said Senior Telecom Analyst Nicola Peterson Wednesday. Commissioners had planned to take up the NPRM in docket AR-615 at Tuesday's meeting (see 1810290027)
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai suggested Puerto Rico may need even more USF support to help the island recover from 2017 hurricanes. Pai noted $117 million in additional short-term funding support already allocated, plus $700 million in long-term support proposed in an NPRM, most of it existing funding repurposed for specific broadband deployment, with a competitive mechanism contemplated to allocate additional support. "The Fund would make available at least $100 million in new funding for Puerto Rico to rebuild and restore communications networks damaged in last year's storms -- with most of that new funding going to rebuilding the wireline networks," he responded to Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, R-Puerto Rico (exchange), posted Wednesday in docket 18-5. "I appreciate that additional support beyond this $100 million increase may well be necessary to rebuild, improve, and expand service in Puerto Rico." Pai, aides and other FCC officials met with Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico CEO Naji Khoury and other executives, who explained their company's use of "Stage 1" funding and proposals for additional funding, particularly its "support for allocating the majority of Stage 2 funding for new deployment through a competitive bidding process at the census block group level."
State utility commissioners must hone skills to respond to a rapidly changing industry, said new NARUC President Nick Wagner in an interview. NARUC elected the Iowa Utilities Board member at the association’s annual meeting this month in Orlando. State commissioners’ relationships with the FCC and other federal agencies are “absolutely critical,” and there’s “always room for improvement,” said Wagner, referring to calls by some NARUC members to work on states’ rapport with the FCC (see 1811190010).
The FCC would give rural telcos monthly model-based USF support of $200 per location if they adopt new commitments to build out 25/3 Mbps broadband, under a draft order issued Wednesday. It would also seek to firm up support for rate-of-return (RoR) carriers still on legacy support in exchange for increased 25/3 Mbps deployment. The tentative agenda issued for the Dec. 12 commissioners' meeting also includes draft items on a new high-band 5G spectrum auction, a communications market report, a quadrennial review, media modernization, a robocall-related reassigned number database (here) and wireless messaging classification (here), as announced Tuesday by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1811200048).
The FCC plans to launch a 2018 quadrennial review, classify wireless messaging as an information service, pave the way for a new high-band 5G auction, and provide rural telcos with new USF support in exchange for more deployment of 25/3 Mbps broadband, at the Dec. 12 commissioners' meeting. It's targeting votes on items to create a reassigned phone number database to help against unwanted robocalling, further "modernize" broadcast rules and issue a communications market report. The wireless messaging (including short message service or SMS) and auction items weren't among those previously expected (see 1811190047), with the first item now getting criticism.
Parties disagreed on the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act's fallout for an FCC's rulemaking to protect the communications supply chain from national security threats. The Telecommunications Industry Association said NDAA Section 889 requires the commission to bar certain suppliers from participating in its funding programs. Huawei -- one of the targeted suppliers -- and others said the recently enacted provisions give the FCC no mandate to impose supplier restrictions on USF support. NCTA suggested the commission defer action and consult with other agencies. Comments were posted through Monday on a public notice (see 1810260044).
FCC drafts on rural telco USF, robocalling, an eagerly awaited quadrennial review of media ownership rules and a communications market report appear among the items under consideration for commissioners' Dec. 12 meeting, we were told Monday. Some of those items were expected, including the QR (see 1811080063). Chairman Ajit Pai said in August he planned to circulate a draft order to ensure rate-of-return high-cost USF support is adequate and efficient (see 1807310034). FCC officials and others said a draft order is likely or could be on the tentative agenda Pai is expected to announce Tuesday.