The FCC Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force will meet virtually Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. EDT, said a notice for Friday's Federal Register (see 2208030046). It will hear updates from working groups.
The FCC canceled the North American Numbering Council's Oct. 4 meeting (see 2207150066). The next meeting will be announced in a future Federal Register publication, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 92-237. The Wireline Bureau broadened the numbering administration oversight working group's scope of work and extended its deadline to submit a report to March 2. The working group "will need more time as a result of the amended referral," emailed a spokesperson on Wednesday, so the meeting, "which was intended to focus on the original charge, is no longer needed."
The National Institute of Standards and Technology plans a hybrid open meeting of its Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board Oct. 26-27, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. Written comments and questions are due Oct. 25, it said. Participants planning to attend in-person at the Washington headquarters of the American Institute of Architects don’t need to register, it said. Those planning to attend via webinar must register online by Oct. 25, it said.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau said Friday the commission’s 911 reliability certification system is now open for the filing of annual reports, which are due Oct. 17. “The Commission’s rules require covered 911 service providers to take reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service with respect to: (i) 911 circuit diversity; (ii) central office backup power; and (iii) diverse network monitoring,” the notice said: “Covered 911 service providers must certify as to their compliance with each of these three requirements or to their implementation of reasonable alternative measures.”
The FCC Office of Inspector General warned providers against fraudulently enrolling households in the affordable connectivity program based on a benefit qualifying person (BQP) in a memorandum Thursday. The office identified 12 BQPs that were used more than 100 times to enroll households each, collecting "more than $1.4 million in connection with those enrollments alone." In one case, the office identified three providers that claimed more than $365,000 from more than 1,000 enrollments based on a single BQP. "Providers who continue to seek program support each month after failing to properly train and monitor their sales agents’ enrollment activity will be held accountable," said Inspector General David Hunt. The Universal Service Administrative Co. has "development work" underway on the national verifier regarding ACP enrollment to "prevent multiple households from enrolling" with the same BQP, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 21-450. USAC also "instituted a process for holding payments to limit the amount of potentially improper payments disbursed" and is de-enrolling households that enrolled in ACP using the same BQP.
The Biden administration slammed the door on technology neutrality in how it's awarding broadband funds (see 2205130054), former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly blogged Wednesday. “Effectively ignoring this basic principle (and the underlying law), the Administration essentially has done everything possible -- absent strict mandates -- to favor fiber broadband technology over any other when awarding the $41.601 billion in competitive grants under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program,” O’Rielly charged: “In doing so, the Administration has unfairly penalized other innovative technologies, such as licensed fixed wireless access providers or Low Earth Orbit Satellite systems. This has huge ramifications, including driving up broadband costs and deployment timelines in the short-term and leaving consumers unserved in the longer-term.” The BEAD rules make the job of state broadband offices “that much harder,” he said.
The FCC committed more than $81 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support Wednesday, bringing the total to nearly $5.8 billion to date (see 2208240040). The new funding will support more than 300 schools, 25 libraries and two consortiums, said a news release. “With students heading back to classrooms this fall, we need to make sure all our kids can connect with teachers and homework assignments when school ends for the day,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
The FCC’s new broadband maps are “absolutely critical” to administering NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program, said Administrator Alan Davidson Tuesday during an Internet Innovation Alliance webinar. Sates and local organizations should also have “at least one shot” at challenging the first iteration of the new maps before funding is allocated, Davidson said (see 2209020041). “We have to get the maps right so we know that we're spending the money where the where the need is,” he said, and “It's been really hard in the past to get this done right” because the maps “in the past honestly have been pretty bad." NTIA will the FCC's maps "as the ultimate source of truth" for deployment needs, Davidson said, "but I think states will be guided by their own information."
The FCC's rules for its affordable connectivity outreach grant program are effective Nov. 7, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Rules for an ACP pilot program to boost enrollment among federal public housing recipients are effective Tuesday. Commissioners approved the items in August (see 2208050023).
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will meet Sept. 21, starting at 1 p.m. EDT, via conference call, the FCC said Friday. The agency also announced that Ben Goldsmith, DOJ principal scientific officer, has joined the council, and Rittwik Jana of VMWare left. CSRIC last met in June (see 2206150052).