Virgin Islands Telephone (dba Viya) petitioned the FCC Wireline Bureau for clarification or reconsideration of an order on the Uniendo a Puerto Rico and Connect USVI funds, posted Tuesday in docket 18-143. "Buried coaxial cable and buried fiber have substantially equal resilience and therefore both should be scored zero points" in a regressive competitive bid by providers seeking USF funds to rebuild the islands' telecom networks following destructive hurricanes, it said. Commissioners adopted the order in September (see 1909260032).
Competitive bidding for revisions to the USF Rural Health Care Program's funding year 2020 open Jan. 1, the FCC Wireline Bureau said in a public notice Tuesday on docket 17-310. Changes became effective Nov. 12. FY 2020 starts July 1. Competitive bidding for FY 2021 also starts then. Commissioners voted this summer to overhaul the program's rules (see 1908010041). Some groups have concerns (see 1911130022).
If Huawei equipment is enough of a threat to warrant barring USF funds to networks using it (see 1911220033), the FCC should look further into having that hardware removed even from networks where carriers aren't getting USF funds, Commissioner Brendan Carr said at Tuesday's Practising Law Institute conference. Legal issues could arise with that approach, but the topic should at least "be on the table," he said. He said the FCC is working "with other three-letter agencies" on such issues. Huawei didn't comment.
Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and 47 other senators urged the FCC Monday to prioritize “sustainable” broadband networks in its proceeding to set rules for the $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 1905010188). “Promote the deployment of networks that will be sustainable even as new advancements are made and are capable of delivering the best level of broadband access for the available USF budget for many years to come,” they asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Signers include 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said that "networks are built not for the mere sake of meeting deployment goals, but rather for the purpose of connecting as many Americans as possible to one another -- and the Commission’s program requirements should reflect this purpose by aiming higher.” The FCC has "received the letter" and is "reviewing" it, a spokesperson said.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the new Precision Agriculture Task Force that America's need for broadband on farms and ranches will only increase, at its first meeting Monday. Farmers and ranchers want to upload huge amounts of data to the cloud, "and that's why broadband is going to be central," he said. Pai said task force insights will be important in advising the FCC on how to spend at least $1 billion of the proposed $9 billion 5G Fund that he announced last week (see 1912040027). He said without such USF support for precision agriculture, there might be no business case for 5G in many rural areas.
States that spent time and money challenging carrier coverage maps submitted for Mobility Fund Phase II are frustrated the FCC said Wednesday it will terminate it (see 1912040027). They asked in interviews last week what a $9 billion replacement for rural 5G will mean for areas that never had any wireless. Small rural carriers that challenged larger national competitors through speed tests on foot, horseback and all-terrain vehicles wonder if there's any way to recoup those funds.
Huawei petitioned the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the FCC banning rural eligible telecom carriers from using USF programs to buy equipment that could come from the Chinese firm, the company said Thursday. Last month, the FCC voted, for national security, to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment on networks bought with USF dollars (see 1911220033). The FCC declined comment now.
State and federal governments should link arms on USF programs, including more syncing up between the California Advanced Service Fund (CASF) and the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and Connect America Fund (CAF), the California Public Utilities Commission told the FCC. Staff from the CPUC Communications Division and the FCC’s Wireline Bureau and Office of Native Affairs had a call Tuesday, said a Thursday-posted filing in docket 19-126. FCC staff say they plan to wrap RDOF meetings by month’s end and hope to start taking bidding applications late next year after auction rules are adopted, the CPUC said. Statestaffers said it’s hard to know how many CAF Phase II subscribers are in California because carriers don’t report it, so they use subscribers to 10/1 Mbps as a proxy. “CPUC staff noted that subscribership to CAF II appears to be fairly low, below 15%, with some counties at 0%.” Thursday, the CPUC scheduled a Jan. 22 en banc hearing on how California should update rules and processes to keep up with the communications market, following up on a May meeting (see 1905200052). The commission wants providers to weigh in on affordability, rural and tribal challenges, grant programs and network sharing. The hearing is 10 a.m. PST.
House Communications Subcommittee members from both parties grilled FCC commissioners during a Thursday hearing on recent actions, including the commission's long-running investigation into wireless carriers' location tracking practices (see 1805240073), and what some deemed Chairman Ajit Pai's failure to adequately loop legislators in on his plans. Pai was praised on his proposal for a public auction of spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, as expected (see 1912040028). House Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and others drilled in further on C-band plans, with an eye to advancing legislation (see 1911210056).
The House Communications Subcommittee's Thursday FCC oversight hearing is expected to include criticism of commission actions and a focus on telecom policy priorities like deciding how to allocate proceeds from a coming auction of the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, said lawmakers and others in interviews. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the other four commissioners are to testify during the panel, which will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The hearing will happen a day after the House easily passed another FCC-related policy priority, the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151).