FCC national security supply chain rules barring equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF take effect Friday, with Federal Register publication. Commissioners approved the order 5-0 at their November meeting (see 1911220033). Comments on the initial designations of Huawei and ZTE as covered companies are due Feb. 3 in docket 19-352. A Further NPRM seeks comment on additional actions. “The Commission proposes to require [eligible telecommunications carriers] receiving USF support to remove and replace covered equipment and services from their network operations,” the FNPRM says: “To mitigate the impact on affected entities, and in particular small, rural entities, the Commission proposes to establish a reimbursement program to offset reasonable transition costs. The Commission proposes to make the requirement to remove covered equipment and services by ETCs contingent on the availability of a funded reimbursement program.” Comments are due Feb. 3, replies March 3. Huawei and ZTE didn't comment Thursday.
Lifeline comments are due Jan. 27, replies Feb. 25 on the FCC’s Further NPRM in docket 17-287, says a notice in Friday's Federal Register. The FCC’s related fifth order in that docket takes effect Jan. 27, says another Friday notice. The 3-2 decision is on waste, fraud and abuse in the Lifeline USF program, with the rulemaking asking comment on prohibiting Lifeline providers from offering handsets to consumers at no cost (see 1911140064).
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted a waiver to the Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet) after the consortium included incorrect calculations on an E-rate program application for 2013-14, in an order posted Monday in docket 02-6. Ryan Palmer, chief of the bureau's Telecommunications Access Policy Division, said MOREnet acted in good faith, and the bureau found no evidence of waste, fraud or abuse of the USF program from the group's actions.
An item on an E-rate amortization requirement began circulating among FCC commissioners last week and appeared on its list updated Friday. Early this year, the FCC temporarily waived an E-rate requirement that schools and libraries participating in the USF program amortize over three years upfront, non-recurring charges of $500,000 or more and issued an NPRM in docket 19-2 proposing to eliminate the amortization requirement (see 1901310061).
ISPs expect wide participation in the first phase of the $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auctions FCC Chairman Ajit Pai signaled he wants in 2020, they said in interviews this month. RDOF replaces the Connect America Fund phase II USF program that supports deployment in high-cost, sparsely populated areas (see 1907110031). "We'll start to see the pace of things quicken in 2020," said Mike Saperstein, USTelecom vice president-policy and advocacy.
New Mexico legislators shouldn’t tweak state USF structure, size or purposes, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission recommended in a report sent to the legislature Friday. “No need” to raise the $30 million cap, which sufficiently covers current demands and possible future increases, the agency said in docket 19-00046-UT. “The Commission’s focus at this time is on increasing participation in the fund, particularly the participation of small, rural carriers, as the Commission does not believe that the fund is currently meeting their needs as well as it could.” The agency is mulling a rule change “to increase the number of applications that it receives for Broadband Program support,” including by “potentially decreasing or eliminating the 25% per-project matching amount that the Commission currently requires program awardees to fund from their own pockets.” The PRC may need to do outreach to small rural carriers “who simply may lack the resources to design projects and applications for broadband funding though the areas they serve are in need,” it said. CTIA had urged the New Mexico agency not to recommend USF changes (see 1911010022).
The FCC should strengthen Lifeline and reject proposals to ration the USF, said the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Common Cause and others, posted Friday in docket 17-287. With Lifeline participation low among eligible households, "28 percent as of the most recent measurement," they asked the FCC do more to increase that. Access Now, MediaJustice, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge also signed.
The FCC waived Form 509 rules to let Connect America Fund rate-of-return carriers report actual rates for consumer broadband-only lines in determining 2018 revenue, rather than impute revenue based on the maximum possible rate, in an order Friday on docket 10-90. The Wireline Bureau previously granted one-time waiver to avoid causing a significant reduction in USF support. It found similar circumstances now.
House Commerce Committee leaders raised concerns about lack of detail on the FCC’s recently announced plan to ditch Mobility Fund Phase II and repurpose $9 billion in USF funds for that program and others over the next 10 years for a new 5G Fund (see 1912040027). Several lawmakers raised concerns about the proposal at a House Communications Subcommittee FCC oversight hearing earlier this month (see 1912050043). The “5G Fund must be allocated responsibly,” said House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and others in Thursday's letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “The way that this fund is structured can make the difference between connecting unserved and underserved Americans or deepening the digital divide.” House Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, also signed. “Goals of [MF-II] remain unmet” so it “is critical that areas that lack 4G LTE coverage -- or any connectivity -- are not left behind in a rush to advance well intended efforts to deploy 5G,” the lawmakers said. “The design and execution of any new fund must be carefully constructed to succeed where [MF-II] failed.” They sought information on what “safeguards” the agency will “put in place to ensure that areas eligible for support are based on reliable coverage data,” along with how the commission will determine which services qualify for 5G Fund support and potential performance benchmarks. The FCC is "pleased" House Commerce leaders are "‘encouraged that the FCC plans to dedicate $9 billion in Universal Service Fund support’ to expand mobile broadband in rural areas as well as the wide range of support for the creation of the 5G Fund," a spokesperson emailed. "The questions they raise are important ones that the Commission will resolve through a notice-and-comment rulemaking to be launched early next year."
The Wireless Bureau approved Arctic Slope Telephone Association Co-op’s and GCI’s revised performance plans in response to the FCC’s 2016 Alaska plan order (see 1608310067). The bureau approved the initial plans three years ago. The Wireline Bureau ended biennial review. Circle Telephone & Electric and Bush-Tell can maintain wireline services at existing levels, the staff said. The bureau approved revised performance obligations for Mukluk Telephone and Arctic Slope for participation in USF. The items on docket 16-271 were in Friday’s Daily Digest.