The FCC approved an NPRM seeking comment on possible relaxation or elimination of the national cap on TV station ownership on a 3-2 party-line vote, as expected (see 1712060051). Though Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voted with the other Republicans to approve, he said he agreed with the Democrats the FCC doesn’t have authority to alter the cap. Despite that, if the FCC acts to modify the cap after the NPRM, O’Rielly said he will “happily support” Thursday's action: “That is not to suggest my position has changed, but only that I believe in getting to finality and am willing to cast a vote that will allow the commission to take the needed step to get this to court review.”
At Universal Service Administrative Co., FCC Chairman Ajit Chairman Pai OKs appointment from Farm Services Administration of Radha Sekar as USAC CEO; Vickie Robinson was acting CEO; the nonprofit that helps administer USF said its board accepted Robinson's resignation in roles also including vice president-general counsel, effective Dec. 31 and says she "accepted a leadership role with Microsoft’s Airband Initiative Team"; the company didn't comment ... New York Interconnect Head/Altice Media Solutions President Ed Renicker named CEO of new multi-operator cable advertising interconnect (see 1712130052).
A governor, a U.S. senator and more RLECs urged the FCC to approve additional funding this year for the Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) USF mechanism supporting many rate-of-return telcos. "Doing so will ensure that thousands of additional Nebraskans will benefit from new or upgraded broadband services since the companies that receive A-CAM support are obligated to provide those services under the FCC's 2016 order," Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) wrote Chairman Ajit Pai. The high-cost support program is "critical to achieving our national broadband goals and closing the digital divide," said a similar request to Pai from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn: "Lack of resources to meet these national goals is undermining investment and consumer access to affordable broadband across much of rural America." Rural telcos wrote letters to the FCC posted in the last week in docket 10-90 asking for additional A-CAM funding up to $200 per month per eligible customer location for Arkansas, California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. RLECs from 10 states previously sent letters (see 1712040035).
The FCC upheld an Office of Managing Director decision that Blanca Telephone must repay $6.75 million in USF support "to which it was not entitled." Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concurred and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O'Rielly issued separate statements in an order Friday in docket 96-45 that said Blanca included nonregulated mobile service costs in its regulated cost accounts. Blanca filed a petition for reconsideration arguing the OMD decision wasn't authorized. The item circulated last month (see 711270034).
The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. “developed a forensic audit plan” to probe the top 30 companies certified as Lifeline USF program eligible telecom carriers in response to a request by Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told committee leaders in a letter released Thursday. Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sought the Lifeline audits in September as a way to pinpoint program abuses (see 1709140059 and 1709190035). “FCC staff will oversee USAC's work on this initiative to ensure these audits are conducted in a cost-effective manner and are completed expeditiously,” Pai wrote. “My staff will also provide regular updates as the audits progress and will be available to respond to your questions.”
Protests highlight growing resistance to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to undo net neutrality regulation and Communications Act Title II broadband classification, said organizers of 700 demonstrations they say were held across the country Thursday. Attendees said much the same thing. But the protests won't change any votes at the FCC's decisive Thursday meeting, it's widely believed. Self-identified Republicans, independents and Democrats were among protesters, they said on the sidelines.
The FCC invited input on a Sprint request to reconsider a California waiver extension order provision affecting Lifeline USF-supported service (see 1710260025). Comments are due Jan. 8, replies Jan. 23, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 11-42. The PN noted Sprint asked "that if the California Public Utilities Commission does not update its eligibility process to comply with federal eligibility rules by April 30, 2018, California [eligible telecom carriers] 'will be responsible for ensuring that California Lifeline subscribers enrolled or recertified after that date are eligible under the Commission’s revised eligibility criteria.'"
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioners voted 5-0 to hike the state USF contribution factor to 1.96 percent from 1.83 percent, an increase of 7.17 percent. The contribution factor for 2018 increased due to shrinking carrier revenue and is based on an estimated year-end 2017 cash balance of $1.25 million, said Thursday's order in docket M-00001337.
A congressional infrastructure package isn't expected to contain broadband funding, said Grace Koh, National Economic Council technology, telecom and cybersecurity assistant to President Donald Trump. "I don't think broadband is going to be a set-aside" in legislation, though high-speed deployment could be encouraged in other ways, she said at a Practicing Law Institute conference Thursday morning. Other PLI news: 1712070063 and 1712070047.
Hughes Network Systems urged the FCC to go easy on performance-measurement duties in a planned Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction of USF support for fixed broadband services in traditional ILEC areas where incumbents declined CAF II offers. Such obligations would impose burdens that fall hardest on smaller winning bidders, said the Hughes response Wednesday to a public notice in docket 10-90 (see 1711060055). The FCC should leverage existing programs, including Measuring Broadband America, but if it does impose a new requirement, it should select a "software approach where the software resides on the operators' modems," said Hughes, which earlier made broader CAF II auction arguments. Several parties lobbied FCC rural broadband auctions task force members in filings this week. The Wireless ISP Association pressed the staffers not to require potential bidders using spectrum to submit propagation maps for the census block groups they're eying. Such applicants should demonstrate due diligence in applications, but the mapping requirement "would be impractical, unfair and inefficient," said WISPA, which also criticized a proposed financial screen and backed census block groups (CBGs) as the geographic bidding unit. A rural coalition of power companies and NTCA urged the FCC to simplify the auction, arguing that procedural complexity, particularly package bidding, could deter small provider participation. But officials from USTelecom, AT&T, CenturyLink, Consolidated Communications, Frontier Communications, Verizon and Windstream defended package bidding, which they said allows participants "to plan efficient network deployment" across CBGs. They said their analysis suggests packages of up to 25 CBGs are "likely to provide sufficient opportunity to reap network build and operating efficiencies to yield bids" consistent with the FCC's goal of ensuring competitive prices and broad coverage. They also said the ability of bidders "to change performance tiers between rounds appeared to contribute more to views that the auction is unnecessarily complex than to the needs of existing broadband providers."