Representatives of Alaska providers, led by the Alaska Telecom Association, urged the FCC to release an NPRM on a petition seeking an update and expansion of the Alaska Plan (see 2302230040). An NPRM would "provide the opportunity to review the proposals made … and develop an extended Plan,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 10-90: “An extended Plan will allow participants to proceed with planning for future deployment and upgrades, and to participate fully in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.” On a call with FCC Wireless and Wireline bureau staff were representatives of KPU Telecom, Alaska Communications, Alaska Power & Telephone, Fastwyre Broadband, Vantage Point, Alaska Communications and GCI.
Nokia is expanding a program that combines in a single package several electronic products that FCC broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program participants use for building and scaling network infrastructure, the company said in a news release Thursday. The expanded program will include fiber products made in the U.S. such as those produced in the Wisconsin manufacturing project announced by Nokia earlier this month (see 2308030076). Operators building networks “need to be able to source a wide range of components and networking equipment all while ensuring their quality and compatibility,” the release said. Nokia’s “network-in-a-box” can help to simplify and speed that process, the release said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended until Oct. 30 the invoice filing deadline for emergency connectivity fund applicants and providers with deadlines occurring before that date, it said in an order posted Tuesday in docket 21-93. T-Mobile sought a waiver in June, citing the "complexities in the emergency program related to the invoicing process." The bureau also modified its rules to allow invoices to be submitted within 60 days from the date that the Universal Service Administrative Co. issues a notification that a refund request has been processed.
More than 20 million households have enrolled in the FCC's affordable connectivity program to date, said a news release Monday. The commission said it has hosted or participated in more than 1,400 virtual and in-person awareness and enrollment efforts. “Enrolling more than 20 million eligible households is no small feat -- and wouldn’t be possible without the partnership of organizations in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country who are getting the word about this powerful program," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: "We’ve made too much progress in helping families get online to turn back now."
An FCC order expanding tribal libraries' access to the E-rate program is effective Sept. 29, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the item in July (see 2307200041).
Providers participating in the FCC's affordable connectivity program must submit information required for the commission's data collection by Nov. 9, said a Wireline Bureau public notice Friday in docket 21-450. OMB completed its review of the proposed data collection Friday. Providers can begin submitting data Sept. 8.
The FCC wants comments by Sept. 25, replies by Oct. 23, in docket 02-6 on ensuring eligible tribal entities have access to the E-rate program and streamlining the application process for all applicants, per a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the item in July (see 2307200041).
Incompas and Morgan Lewis, on behalf of its clients, asked the FCC for a 30-day extension of the deadlines to file comments and replies on an NPRM on Section 214 international authorizations, approved by commissioners in April (see 2304200039). The extension would mean comments are due Sept. 30, replies Nov. 1. The NPRM “seeks comment on a host of legal and policy questions to which we are working diligently with our respective members and clients to develop input,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-119: “The questions posed … involve complex economic, operational, and policy issues and will require us to closely consult with our respective members and clients. Our members and clients also must coordinate internally among business units and, in many cases, with their corporate owners in the U.S. and globally to determine the potential impact of the rules proposed in the NPRM and to develop their input.”
Free market-oriented groups filed an amicus brief in support of Consumers' Research's challenge of the FCC's method for funding the USF, the subject of an upcoming en banc rehearing of the group’s challenge of the USF and how it’s funded by the FCC (see 2306290074). “Only Congress has the power to lay and to collect taxes for the universal welfare of all Americans. Regardless of the public policy that it seeks to advance, Congress cannot delegate this power to the FCC or any other executive branch agency,” said an amicus brief by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Free State Foundation and former Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, among others. Consumers’ Research argued the statutory framework for the fund unconstitutionally delegates legislative or taxing authority, and the FCC’s use of the Universal Service Administrative Co. is an impermissible delegation of regulatory authority to a private company. A three-judge panel ruled against Consumers' Research in March (see 2303240049). Said the filing Friday in case 22-60008: “The Constitution does not permit Congress to circumvent the legislative process by allowing an independent agency (guided by a private company owned by an industry trade group) to raise and to spend however much money it wants every quarter for ‘universal service’ at the expense of every American who pays a monthly phone bill. Elected representatives of the people, not the [FCC], must be responsible for making the difficult decisions to raise the revenue that funds this program.”
The FCC’s revised label template for its recently adopted broadband consumer label is effective Sept. 6, said a Monday Federal Register notice. The template “does not modify or otherwise change any entity's underlying responsibilities under the Broadband Label Order,” the FR said, but “ensures that broadband internet access service providers know as early as possible what content must be displayed in the labels” (see 2301180050). Compliance dates will be announced in a future FR , it said.