Senators from both parties questioned the effectiveness of the Lifeline program Tuesday during a Communications Subcommittee hearing. Some Democrats strongly praised FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s move to expand the program for broadband service, while Republicans emphasized deeper fiscal concerns. Both Republicans and Democrats weighed the possible need for capping the Lifeline fund.
Industry stakeholders universally praised the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) report on communications sector cybersecurity risk management for recommending voluntary processes and assurances, with Motorola Solutions saying in comments posted Monday that those recommendations “strike an appropriate balance” between assuring cybersecurity protection and reflecting the interests of all stakeholders. The CSRIC report, adopted in March, was meant to adapt the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework for communications sector use (see 1503180056). Industry groups CTIA and TIA similarly praised the CSRIC report for providing important guidance to the sector (see 1505290042). A separate Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) proceeding (see 1504090049 and 1503160059) on possible cybersecurity topics the IPTF should address through multistakeholder work drew multiple filings urging the IPTF to factor the NIST framework into its process.
Lifeline legislation is on deck for discussion Tuesday in a Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing. Lawmakers have offered conflicting reactions on whether to expand the program. The FCC is planning a June vote on a proposal to expand the Lifeline program to address broadband service (see 1505280037).
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler voiced concern that rural telco groups haven't reached agreement on an industry plan for overhauling rate-of-return USF mechanisms. Though he was hopeful rural representatives could still address their differences, industry talks “cannot drag on,” Wheeler said in a letter that circulated Monday responding to a previous letter from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., who had urged the FCC to “reform” USF mechanisms to support rural broadband deployment. Telco parties negotiating a possible industry plan face a Wednesday FCC deadline for reaching agreement.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal for changing the $1.7 billion USF Lifeline program to cover Internet access could face some resistance from FCC Republicans, industry officials told us Monday. An order and further rulemaking on Lifeline are teed up for a vote at the FCC’s June 18 meeting (see 1505280037). Wheeler proposed an examination of a cap on the program as part of the proposal circulated last week to commissioners. The Senate Communications Subcommittee plans a hearing on Lifeline Tuesday (see 1506010050) The Lifeline item is lengthy and various commissioner offices were still taking a closer look as of Monday, FCC officials said.
Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council President Kim Keenan said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to revamp the Lifeline program (see 1505280037) is a positive move. “Americans are increasingly relying on broadband to access education, jobs, healthcare, and other essential services, but a disproportionate number of minorities and economically vulnerable consumers rely on their smartphones to access these services,” Keenan said in a news release Thursday. “Closing the digital divide and getting everyone connected is critical and the Chairman’s actions today are a major step in the right direction.” MMTC was part of a 36-member coalition that recently called for modernization of the Lifeline program (see 1505150049). NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said Lifeline support is only part of the answer for increased adoption. “In high-cost areas, the Lifeline program and other USF programs can only be effective to the extent that a network for consumer use is there in the first instance and if the services offered on that network are reasonably comparable in price and quality to those in urban areas,” Bloomfield said. "If we don’t tackle and overcome these threshold issues in high-cost areas -- if we don’t set up a sufficiently funded and predictable high-cost mechanism that is updated for a broadband world -- consumers of all kinds in rural America, low-income and otherwise, could be left behind notwithstanding any Lifeline changes that might follow."
Comcast officials updated FCC staffers on the company's "Internet Essentials" broadband-adoption efforts during discussions they had on the commission's Lifeline USF program, said a Thursday ex parte filing on a meeting they had. Internet Essentials offers students and their families in more than 30,000 schools access to broadband service for $9.95 per month, Internet-ready computers for less than $150, and options for digital literacy training, the filing said. The program connected more than 450,000 households with more than 1.8 million Americans to the Internet, the filing said. Comcast spent $225 million in cash and in-kind support to promote digital literacy and readiness training and education reaching more than 3.1 million people, it said. Comcast officials also outlined their efforts to make the program's application process more user friendly. Meanwhile, Charter Communications officials meeting with FCC officials said Charter supported transitioning Lifeline to provide discounts for broadband and discussed barriers to company participation in the program, a Thursday ex parte filing said.
The Obama administration’s Broadband Opportunity Council later this year could help improve wide-ranging government efforts to expand high-speed Internet access to Americans, but it should follow up annually to ensure the initiatives are sustained, panelists said at an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event Friday. Although the federal government can be a catalyst, localities will have to do much heavy lifting to remove barriers to investment, with the private sector providing most of the capital, they said. The BOC is an inter-agency group assigned by President Barack Obama to make recommendations by Aug. 20 to spur broadband deployment and adoption. Comments to the group are due by June 10.
Two senators made another push for the FCC to act on stand-alone broadband USF support. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote a joint opinion article for the Journal by IJReview, published Thursday, on “5 Things Everyone Should Know About Broadband Access in Rural America.” The lawmakers peppered the piece with videos from the social media service Vine, showcasing brief clips of technologies such as the AOL dial-up process. The piece said that universal access to broadband is important and that the infrastructure investment is expensive but crucial. FCC “rules have failed to keep pace with the changing communications landscape and consumer preferences,” Klobuchar and Thune said. “Outdated rules effectively require rural Americans to pay for a traditional landline -- even if they no longer want one -- in order to get broadband services. These rules particularly disadvantage low-income consumers by putting the price of broadband out of reach unless they pay for additional, duplicative landline phone service.” They said developing a stand-alone broadband support mechanism is a “common-sense fix.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has told Congress he’s on track to develop such a fix by year’s end. Thune and Klobuchar led a letter this year with dozens of colleagues backing stand-alone broadband (see 1505120041).
One House Republican doesn’t anticipate granting the FCC budget request increase of roughly $50 million for FY 2016. “That’s looking less likely,” Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., told us of the agency’s request. “We’ll probably go to our subcommittee sometime after the break, in early June, so we’ll mark our bill up probably middle of June, that kind of thing. So we’ll know more then.”