In an interview scheduled to air Saturday on C-SPAN’s The Communicators, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wouldn't say whether he supports acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel being nominated as the permanent chair. "I'm not sure my endorsement of a Democrat chair would help or hurt them at this point, so I'll refrain from weighing in on that," Carr said, "but it's been great having her reach across party lines and compromise." Carr said President Joe Biden's infrastructure package ignores the "billions of dollars that we already have in the pipeline to further close the digital divide." The FCC should be allowed time to disburse existing funds before additional funds are approved, he said (see 2104080059). The challenge is coordinating those efforts because "money at this point is not the problem," and it comes down to administering existing programs, Carr said. The commission's current broadband maps are also "outdated," he said, and "we can't take $100 billion without knowing where there is still a problem." Efforts to create broadband price regulation could disincentivize private investment, Carr said: "There's nothing that's going to scare those dollars away more quickly than the threat of rate regulation." There could be a lot of common ground on net neutrality if rate regulation is taken off the table, he said: "I'm still hopeful we can have an objective conversation." California's net neutrality law is "pretty remarkable," he said, and "an example of the real harms that come from those extreme approaches." Another pressing challenge is addressing the "spiraling" USF contribution factor, Carr said (see 2103230032). "I think that's an issue that is going to demand the attention of Congress in pretty short order." He also said the FCC made the "right call" in freeing up prime spectrum, and he's "very worried that there could be some backsliding with respect to those initiatives." Carr said he's still "very much open and interested" in Communications Decency Act Section 230 reform, citing Twitter's decision to block former President Donald Trump (see 2103300074). "The reasons that they articulated for kicking the president off the platform didn't really seem to line up with the actual tweets that they were referencing."
In an interview scheduled to air Saturday on C-SPAN’s The Communicators, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wouldn't say whether he supports acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel being nominated as the permanent chair. "I'm not sure my endorsement of a Democrat chair would help or hurt them at this point, so I'll refrain from weighing in on that," Carr said, "but it's been great having her reach across party lines and compromise." Carr said President Joe Biden's infrastructure package ignores the "billions of dollars that we already have in the pipeline to further close the digital divide." The FCC should be allowed time to disburse existing funds before additional funds are approved, he said (see 2104080059). The challenge is coordinating those efforts because "money at this point is not the problem," and it comes down to administering existing programs, Carr said. The commission's current broadband maps are also "outdated," he said, and "we can't take $100 billion without knowing where there is still a problem." Efforts to create broadband price regulation could disincentivize private investment, Carr said: "There's nothing that's going to scare those dollars away more quickly than the threat of rate regulation." There could be a lot of common ground on net neutrality if rate regulation is taken off the table, he said: "I'm still hopeful we can have an objective conversation." California's net neutrality law is "pretty remarkable," he said, and "an example of the real harms that come from those extreme approaches." Another pressing challenge is addressing the "spiraling" USF contribution factor, Carr said (see 2103230032). "I think that's an issue that is going to demand the attention of Congress in pretty short order." He also said the FCC made the "right call" in freeing up prime spectrum, and he's "very worried that there could be some backsliding with respect to those initiatives." Carr said he's still "very much open and interested" in Communications Decency Act Section 230 reform, citing Twitter's decision to block former President Donald Trump (see 2103300074). "The reasons that they articulated for kicking the president off the platform didn't really seem to line up with the actual tweets that they were referencing."
In an interview scheduled to air Saturday on C-SPAN’s The Communicators, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wouldn't say whether he supports acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel being nominated as the permanent chair. "I'm not sure my endorsement of a Democrat chair would help or hurt them at this point, so I'll refrain from weighing in on that," Carr said, "but it's been great having her reach across party lines and compromise." Carr said President Joe Biden's infrastructure package ignores the "billions of dollars that we already have in the pipeline to further close the digital divide." The FCC should be allowed time to disburse existing funds before additional funds are approved, he said (see 2104080059). The challenge is coordinating those efforts because "money at this point is not the problem," and it comes down to administering existing programs, Carr said. The commission's current broadband maps are also "outdated," he said, and "we can't take $100 billion without knowing where there is still a problem." Efforts to create broadband price regulation could disincentivize private investment, Carr said: "There's nothing that's going to scare those dollars away more quickly than the threat of rate regulation." There could be a lot of common ground on net neutrality if rate regulation is taken off the table, he said: "I'm still hopeful we can have an objective conversation." California's net neutrality law is "pretty remarkable," he said, and "an example of the real harms that come from those extreme approaches." Another pressing challenge is addressing the "spiraling" USF contribution factor, Carr said (see 2103230032). "I think that's an issue that is going to demand the attention of Congress in pretty short order." He also said the FCC made the "right call" in freeing up prime spectrum, and he's "very worried that there could be some backsliding with respect to those initiatives." Carr said he's still "very much open and interested" in Communications Decency Act Section 230 reform, citing Twitter's decision to block former President Donald Trump (see 2103300074). "The reasons that they articulated for kicking the president off the platform didn't really seem to line up with the actual tweets that they were referencing."
The FCC should do more to ensure a smooth rollout of its $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, consumer advocates said in recent interviews (see 2102250066). The commission’s website isn’t sufficiently user-friendly, and it should be more transparent on when the program will actually start, they said. Others praised the FCC for the consumer outreach actions it has already taken.
State telecom associations asked the FCC to reject some of the biggest winners’ long-form applications for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. The Minnesota Telecommunications Association, Iowa Communications Alliance and Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association want LTD Broadband’s application to be rejected, claiming the company is incapable of delivering the services it won bids on.
The FCC should do more to ensure a smooth rollout of its $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, consumer advocates said in recent interviews (see 2102250066). The commission’s website isn’t sufficiently user-friendly, and it should be more transparent on when the program will actually start, they said. Others praised the FCC for the consumer outreach actions it has already taken.
The FCC should do more to ensure a smooth rollout of its $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, consumer advocates said in recent interviews (see 2102250066). The commission’s website isn’t sufficiently user-friendly, and it should be more transparent on when the program will actually start, they said. Others praised the FCC for the consumer outreach actions it has already taken.
The FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund was enthusiastically praised by education advocates, schools and broadband providers in comments posted Tuesday in docket 21-93. The ECF program will give schools and libraries $7.17 billion to support remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2103110037). Many suggested that the existing E-rate program is the best model for setting up the new funding as quickly as possible. Others questioned excluding smartphones from funding support.
Several state telecom associations want the FCC to review LTD Broadband's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application with increased scrutiny and, if necessary, reject it, in recent filings in docket 19-126. The Minnesota Telecom Alliance and Iowa Communications Alliance said there's "no indication that LTD has the technical, engineering, financial, operational, management, staff, or other resources" to meet the RDOF requirements for the locations it won in either state. If LTD can't prove otherwise, the commission should reject its long-form applications, the groups said. The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association filed a similar request, saying LTD "will not be able to provide the requisite broadband service with the support it won in the RDOF auction." The company filed an opposition to MTA and ICA's petition, arguing the groups are part of an "off-key chorus of unsuccessful bidders disappointed in the outcome of the RDOF auction." LTD accused MTA and ICA of "pick[ing] out the winner of the largest amount of RDOF support and, relying on speculation, innuendo and surmise, call[ing] into question" its qualifications. "Attempts by some members of these rural ILEC associations to disparage LTD Broadband after failing to bid competitively in the reverse auction are transparently sour grapes," said LTD Broadband CEO Corey Hauer in an email. "This is not the FCC's first reverse auction nor is it the first time they have withstood criticism from angry mobs of losing bidders." LTD is "excited" to begin building rural fiber networks, Hauer said. "Demand for broadband is acute in these rural areas."
Several state telecom associations want the FCC to review LTD Broadband's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application with increased scrutiny and, if necessary, reject it, in recent filings in docket 19-126. The Minnesota Telecom Alliance and Iowa Communications Alliance said there's "no indication that LTD has the technical, engineering, financial, operational, management, staff, or other resources" to meet the RDOF requirements for the locations it won in either state. If LTD can't prove otherwise, the commission should reject its long-form applications, the groups said. The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association filed a similar request, saying LTD "will not be able to provide the requisite broadband service with the support it won in the RDOF auction." The company filed an opposition to MTA and ICA's petition, arguing the groups are part of an "off-key chorus of unsuccessful bidders disappointed in the outcome of the RDOF auction." LTD accused MTA and ICA of "pick[ing] out the winner of the largest amount of RDOF support and, relying on speculation, innuendo and surmise, call[ing] into question" its qualifications. "Attempts by some members of these rural ILEC associations to disparage LTD Broadband after failing to bid competitively in the reverse auction are transparently sour grapes," said LTD Broadband CEO Corey Hauer in an email. "This is not the FCC's first reverse auction nor is it the first time they have withstood criticism from angry mobs of losing bidders." LTD is "excited" to begin building rural fiber networks, Hauer said. "Demand for broadband is acute in these rural areas."