Consumer advocates and local broadband officials emphasized the need for states to engage community stakeholders as they prepare their digital equity plans funded by the Digital Equity Act, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday (see 2211020082). Some urged additional funding for the FCC's affordable connectivity program to ensure low-income households can adopt broadband once NTIA's grant programs are implemented.
Gabriella Novello
Gabriella Novello, Assistant Editor, is a journalist for Communications Daily covering telecommunications and the Federal Communications Commission. She joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2020, after covering election integrity and the 2020 presidential election at WhoWhatWhy. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in health promotion at American University. You can follow Novello on Instagram and Twitter: @NOVELLOGAB.
IP captioned telephone service providers urged the FCC to proceed with caution in setting new rates for the service, which is funded through the Telecom Relay Services Fund, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 03-123. Industry agreed additional data is needed and new rates should account for the full cost of providing the service.
Members of the FCC Precision Ag Task Force raised concerns Tuesday about how the commission's next iteration of the broadband availability map will treat agricultural lands. Meeting virtually, the task force also heard updates from working group leaders and discussed the timing of its reports amid efforts to pass the 2023 farm bill (see 2212020059).
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Consumers' Research's challenge of the FCC's method for funding the USF under the nondelegation doctrine, in a ruling Friday (see 2212060070). The FCC "has not violated the private nondelegation doctrine because it wholly subordinates" the Universal Service Administrative Co., the court said, noting Congress "supplied the FCC with intelligible principles when it tasked the agency with overseeing" USF.
Industry groups and ISPs asked the FCC to refrain from adopting significant changes to its broadband consumer labels, in reply comments posted Friday in docket 22-2 (see 2302170046). Some urged the FCC to allow providers to fully implement the labels and analyze their usefulness before considering modifications. Consumer advocates sought additional information about pricing and speed data, with some raising concerns about the use of hyperlinks.
Inmate calling services providers and consumer advocacy organizations welcomed a draft NPRM and order the FCC will consider during the commissioners' open meeting Thursday that would begin implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022. Advocates sought some clarifying language in the final item, and ICS providers sought additional language in the draft on how the agency should establish just and reasonable rates.
Industry groups and broadband experts want flexibility in the buy American provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, per comments to OMB posted through Tuesday in docket OMB-2023-0004-0001. OMB sought comments on proposed revisions and clarifications to the IIJA's Build America, Buy America Act provisions. Some raised concerns about how the requirements could affect broadband deployment projects funded through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program and backed establishing a waiver process.
FCC commissioners emphasized the need for action on spectrum policy and 5G, and more certainty on broadband affordability and deployment efforts, during Incompas’ policy summit Tuesday. Some industry experts also urged changes to sustain the USF because funding for the affordable connectivity program remains uncertain and the USF contribution factor continues to rise.
Disagreement continued between inmate calling services providers and consumer advocacy organizations about how the FCC should proceed with setting permanent ICS rates, in reply comments posted Monday in docket 12-375 (see 2212160061). Some also disagreed whether all facilities, regardless of size, should be required to provide telecom relay services. The FCC will consider an item during its March 16 meeting on implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act (see 2302230059).
Industry groups urged the FCC not to revisit its current rules for the affordable connectivity program's annual data collection, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 21-450 (see 2301120056). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required the commission to collect data on prices and subscription rates offered by participating providers. Consumer advocacy organizations disagreed and continued to back subscriber-level data collection with additional data points.