The FCC approved over a dissent by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel rules requiring carriers to provide height above ellipsoid (HAE) data from wireless calls to 911, within 3 meters accuracy for 80 percent of calls, starting in the largest markets in April 2021. APCO and some others in public safety are concerned the mandate will mean an FCC retreat from dispatchable location. Such more specific location is a concept endorsed by commissioners 5-0 in January 2015 under former Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1501290066).
FCC commissioners are seeking various changes to the national security supply chain rules set for a vote Friday. FCC officials said the email chain has been active this week, with all the commissioners seeking edits from Chairman Ajit Pai and staff. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel laid out in detail the changes she wants in the order in a Wednesday speech at the 5G Securing Rural Engagement Initiative in Flowood, Mississippi.
FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks dissented in an order released Tuesday (and adopted last Friday) that updates rules for the USF Lifeline program's minimum mobile broadband service standards. The FCC said it would waive the increase in minimum standards, but only in part, to require mobile broadband Lifeline carriers to offer more than 3 GB per month Dec. 1-Nov. 30, 2020, and the agency denied industry petitions to pause a phase-down in voice-only support from $9.25 to $7.25 per month, as expected (see 1911150062).
The FCC should take five new steps to manage fraud risks in its USF programs supporting broadband deployment in high-cost rural areas, said a GAO report released Monday. It recommended the FCC: (1) ensure it follows leading practices from a GAO fraud risk framework; (2) plan regular fraud-risk assessments tailored to the high-cost program and assess those risks; (3) design and implement an anti-fraud strategy for the high-cost program with specific control activities based upon the results of the fraud-risk assessment and a corresponding fraud risk profile; (4) assess the model-based support mechanism to determine how well it produces reliable cost estimates; and (5) consider whether to mandate the use of the model-based support mechanism depending on the results of the assessment. "Given the continuing importance of deploying telecommunications services in difficult-to-serve areas, effective oversight for rate-of-return carriers is an important component for helping ensure that the high-cost program's finite funds are used properly to meet the intent of the program," GAO said. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said he “requested this report because it was clear FCC was failing to adequately protect the high-cost program against flagrant waste, fraud and abuse of federal funds by some rate-of-return carriers.” The GAO “agrees” with that view and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai “must heed GAO’s recommendations and implement an antifraud strategy for the program,” Pallone said. In comments attached to the public report, FCC Managing Director Mark Stephens and Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith said the agency remains "committed to our statutory obligation to close the digital divide, while preventing waste, fraud, and abuse of universal service funding." They noted the FCC gave small, rural carriers the opportunity to elect model-based high-cost support "in exchange for robust broadband deployment" to help advance its objective to protect USF from waste, fraud and abuse. The FCC said it will implement the GAO's recommendations through the Office of the Managing Director.
Suspending South Carolina USF support to Frontier Communications while an audit takes place would be like handing “down a sentence before holding a trial,” and is “neither supported by law nor regulation,” Frontier said Monday in docket 2019-352-C. After a 24-day Frontier outage last month, the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff asked the Public Service Commission to freeze payments pending an audit to determine whether the carrier appropriately used the funding (see 1911140033). Frontier said it answered ORS requests for information and will cooperate with any audit, even though the carrier think it’s “unnecessary” because “even with USF support Frontier is suffering a net loss on its regulated operations in South Carolina.” Suspending support would cause Frontier irreparable harm as a carrier of last resort, it said.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said rural telecom providers should become active participants in challenging the accuracy of broadband maps as the FCC upgrades location data reporting in its USF programs. "You can provide a public service," she said Monday at an NTCA telecom policy summit. She wants the broadband mapping program to aim for both speed and accuracy. "Fast and right are not alternatives," she said. "We just have to do both." Rosenworcel also joked she's not "all in" with the RDOF label for the upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that would allocate up to $20 billion to deploy broadband in unserved and underserved rural markets. Applause broke out in the room when Rosenworcel asked providers to focus on audacious goals and think beyond their current plans so rural broadband customers don't fall behind during the course of the 10-year RDOF program. She asked providers to remember how fast change comes and how often they would need to rebuild their networks.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission will hear a motion to reopen the record on state USF and set a procedural schedule to readjust the contribution factor, the OCC said in docket 201900036. The current 6.28 percent factor needs modification to ensure the state fund has enough money, said the Oklahoma USF administrator in Thursday’s motion. Data used to calculate the factor changed significantly since the factor was set, it said. Total intrastate revenue was lower than expected from July to September, a trend that will likely continue, and funding needs will exceed what the administrator previously estimated, it said. Also Thursday, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission staff urged commissioners not to recommend to the legislature any changes to state USF’s size, purpose or structure. "To date, the $30 million cap has been sufficient to cover the various demands on the fund that fall within the support programs currently in place,” it said in docket 19-00046-UT. The commission can make short-term tweaks through rulemaking or order, staff said. CTIA told the New Mexico PRC to wait to recommend USF changes (see 1911010022).
Don't rely on the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act to ban equipment from Huawei for USF, as proposed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, asked the Chinese company. Huawei opposes the ban, scheduled for commissioner vote Friday (see 1910290054).“The Commission cannot rely on CALEA as a source of authority for its rule because it never proposed to rely on CALEA in its NPRM,” Huawei said in docket 18-89, posted Friday. “In the Draft Report and Order, the Commission cites two provisions of CALEA, 47 U.S.C. §§ 229 and 1004. But the Commission cited § 229 nowhere in the NPRM and cited § 1004 only in a footnote with no explanation or context whatsoever,” Huawei said. The FCC’s proposed interpretation of CALEA “departs from the statute’s plain text, ignores statutory structure, purpose, and legislative history, and is otherwise patently unreasonable,” the company said.
Frontier Communications' South Carolina USF could face a freeze pending an audit to determine whether the carrier appropriately used the funding. The Public Service Commission opened docket 2019-352-C Wednesday after the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff petitioned Nov. 8 to suspend and hold state USF disbursements to the carrier. Frontier blamed antiquated equipment for a 24-day outage last month in Georgetown County, but tried to repair rather than replace or upgrade it, ORS said. “It is unclear how much additional equipment Frontier has in South Carolina that is in such an antiquated state as the equipment at issue here.” There weren’t enough local technicians to work on the problem, ORS added. The firm is the largest USF recipient in South Carolina, scheduled to receive about $6.6 million this year including about $553,000 this month, ORS said. “This raises serious concerns about whether Frontier has been utilizing the USF ... for the programs for which the funds were intended, including investing and maintaining its South Carolina network to provide basic telephone service," or is using the money for other things. The company plans to respond by Monday, its attorney wrote Tuesday. The telco didn’t comment Thursday.
The FCC addressed waste, fraud and abuse in the Lifeline USF program in a fifth order and a Further NPRM in docket 17-287, issued Thursday and OK'd about two weeks ago. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks dissented in part and concurred in part. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 30 days later. The rulemaking seeks comment on prohibiting Lifeline providers from offering handsets to consumers at no cost.