Thune Willing To Give FCC More Time To Act on Rural USF Overhaul
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., is willing to give the FCC extra time to make broad changes to rural rate-of-return USF mechanisms, Senate and FCC sources told us Monday. FCC commissioners had committed to Thune earlier this year that they would act by year-end to fix the “stand-alone broadband problem,” which prevents rate-of-return carriers from receiving USF support for broadband customers using other providers for voice service. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said recently he intended to circulate in December a draft item to address the rural USF issues more broadly but said he wouldn’t be “held hostage to the calendar” (see 1511190057).
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Hill pressure was seen as dropping. A Senate Commerce Committee aide appeared to give the FCC cover to take more time to address the broader rate-of-return USF issues. “Chairman Thune did not want the commitment Chairman Wheeler and his four fellow commissioners made to solve the USF stand-alone broadband problem by year’s end to be used as a reason to rush other policy changes through the FCC process,” the aide told us. “The FCC has worked hard to meet its commitment to fix the stand-alone broadband issue. If it takes a few more months to work through the details of other reforms in a package with the stand-alone fix, the commission should take that extra time.” An FCC official also told us Thune was willing to give the commission more time to address the rural USF issues.
NTCA, which has urged the FCC not to rush a “bifurcated approach” proposal for changing legacy rural USF mechanisms, said it would welcome an extension. NTCA “thinks it’s important to get reform done quickly, but also done right,” Senior Vice President Mike Romano told us Monday. “There are a number of issues that could be addressed in the very near future -- such as a fix for standalone broadband -- while other issues (such as bifurcation) require a greater level of examination, development, and testing. On the latter set of issues, we’d welcome the time to look those over with the FCC and get those right even as we’re eager to see the former set of issues move ahead as soon as reasonably possible.”
Wheeler had committed to Thune during a March committee oversight hearing that he would resolve the challenge of providing stand-alone broadband support by year’s end (see 1503180055). He repeated that commitment during a May Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, predicting he would release a proposal by football season (see 1505120041). The projected timing then shifted as Wheeler said at a Nov. 19 press conference that he was working with Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn and making "good progress" on possible changes to the rate-of-return USF mechanisms, but he also indicated a willingness to act after December if necessary, a view shared by O'Rielly (see 1511200062). Wheeler said central to that effort was taking steps to encourage broadband expansion and not just ensuring carriers get paid for existing broadband networks.
An FCC spokeswoman referred us to Thune’s office when asked about a timeline on addressing stand-alone broadband and declined to confirm the details of any interaction with Thune's office. She also referred us to an exchange Wheeler had with House Communications Subcommittee lawmakers during a November FCC oversight hearing.
“You know, a lot of people have focused on a December date that we talked about in a Senate hearing," Wheeler said then. “We're not going to be controlled by the calendar, but we want to get this done quickly. The key issue here is whether or not we are going to make sure that the money is spent for the expansion of broadband because that's what your consumers want." Â…One of Wheeler's priorities is ensuring "we have money that is going out to rural areas that will result in expansion of broadband service," he said.