Gabriella Novello

Industry groups pressed NTIA to give states maximum flexibility in awarding the billions of forthcoming dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the agency prepares to roll out program rules for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle-mile programs, in comments we reviewed (see 2202070053). The agency made most of the more than 750 comments it received available Wednesday.

Community engagement at “all levels” will be “key” to the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, said Doug Kinkoph, associate administrator for NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2202080065). “You really do need to get down to the grassroots to make this effective,” Kinkoph said. A notice of funding opportunity for the BEAD and middle mile programs will come out “mid-May,” he said, and a notice for the digital equity programs will come out in early June (see 2202070053).

The FCC will soon adopt rules that "crack down on revenue sharing” and exclusive access arrangements between broadband providers and building owners in multi-tenant environments said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2201210039). The record the FCC received last year on broadband access in MTEs “made one thing very clear,” Rosenworcel said: “The agency’s existing rules are not what they could be.” Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington encouraged NTIA to prioritize unserved areas in its new broadband programs. Other panelists urged the FCC to revise the USF.

State and local governments sought close coordination as billions of broadband dollars come from the federal infrastructure law, in comments we received. Comments were due Friday on NTIA’s request for comments on implementing broadband programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Industry groups sought NTIA assurance the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle mile programs would be technologically neutral. Advocacy groups wanted maximum stakeholder participation and a focus on equitable deployment.

A draft FCC Further NPRM that would seek comment on rural healthcare program revisions would make needed changes to how the rates database is calculated and modernize funding cap rules, said experts in recent interviews (see 2201280065). The draft, if adopted during the Feb. 18 commissioners' meeting, would also seek comment on whether the agency should redefine rurality and how that affects program participation.

The Communications Workers of America’s "wished-for extra commitments” as a condition for FCC approval of Lumen’s proposed $7.5 billion sale of its ILEC assets in 20 states to Apollo don't “justify imposing unnecessary requirements,” the companies said in replies posted Thursday in docket 21-350 (see 2201190063). Others sought FCC assurance it will impose enforceable commitments on deployment and labor investments. Lumen affiliate Telephone USA Investments, which would be among the transferred assets, sought to have the proposed sale denied (see 2202010044).

Several groups lobbied aides to FCC commissioners on an order and declaratory ruling Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently circulated on broadband access in multi-tenant environments, said filings posted Wednesday in docket 17-142 (see 2201210039). Prohibit "sale-and-leaseback" agreements on wiring and give providers "ample time" to come into compliance with the new rules, said Verizon in separate meetings with an aide to Rosenworcel, Wireline Bureau staff, and aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington. There's "widespread competition and consumer choice in MTEs today," said NCTA in separate meetings with aides to Rosenworcel, Simington and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The group asked that any action taken applies to "all providers of broadband and other covered services." The Wireless ISP Association "fully support[s]" prohibiting graduated or exclusive revenue-sharing agreements, practices that circumvent cable inside wiring rules, and exclusive rooftop access agreements, it told a Rosenworcel aide, noting it backed "certain types of bulk-billing agreements."

Industry disagreed on allowing use of session initiation protocol 603 as a permanent notification option for blocked calls, in comments posted Monday in docket 17-59 (see 2201040034). The code allows call recipients to block a call without identifying a reason. The FCC Wireline Bureau previously partially granted USTelecom’s request for reconsideration and clarification that SIP code 603 could be used during the transition to SIP codes 607 and 608 (see 2112150039).

Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee members pressed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on how NTIA will administer the $48 billion under its control through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a hearing Tuesday (see 2201210083). "We need the FCC to produce its maps before we can even run the formula to figure out how much money each state has," Raimondo told members.

The FCC is “aware obviously of the need for telehealth” and “on the lookout” for what it can do to “more effectively assist with the development of telehealth” beyond the pandemic, said Nathan Eagan, acting deputy chief-Wireline Bureau Telecom Access Policy Division, during an FCBA webinar Monday. The agency’s order for round 2 of the COVID-19 telehealth program reflected the “input and discussions” from all commissioners on the “specific parameters,” Eagan said, noting audit procedures for round 2 are “still being discussed.”