A coalition of 21 Republican state attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Consumers' Research's challenge of the FCC's quarterly USF contribution factor and methodology in an amicus brief posted Thursday (docket 23-743). "Agencies are finding all kinds of creative new ways to grab money and power for themselves lately," the coalition, led by West Virginia AG Patrick Morrisey (R), said. The FCC "extracts billions from American consumers based on a vague statute" and "doesn’t even do the work of setting these rates itself," they argued (see 2401100044). The AGs called the FCC's use of the Universal Service Administrative Co. unconstitutional and a violation of the nondelegation doctrine. "Those that would warn the Court away from reaching these issues are wrong," the group said: "The benefits of the present state of play are overstated." The FCC declined to comment Monday. The agency on Monday petitioned the court to extend until April 3 the March 4 deadline for responding to Consumers' Research's petition, citing a parallel case pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Broadband experts emphasized the need for the FCC to reclassify broadband internet access service as a Communications Act Title II telecom service Thursday. "Today, there is no expert agency ensuring the internet is fast, open, and fair," Ramesh Nagarajan, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's chief legal adviser, said during a New America Open Technology Institute event (see 2310190020). Multiple court decisions have made it clear that "Title II is the foundation of strong, legally sustainable net neutrality rules," Nagarajan said, adding it would also aid in the commission's efforts in addressing national security, cybersecurity and public safety. Hooman Hedayati, Communications Workers of America senior strategic research associate, agreed. Title II allows regulators to "require service quality standards and basic safeguards so that networks are there at times of emergencies," Hedayati said. Title II reclassification and net neutrality are "incredibly relevant to individual privacy for lots of reasons" said Stacey Gray, Future of Privacy Forum senior director-U.S. policy. "The most obvious one is that it's the most clear hook, arguably mandate, that the FCC has for promulgating specific and robust privacy rules" for broadband providers, Gray said. Future of Music Director Kevin Erickson noted net neutrality protections would also allow online creators to have more choice when deciding on platforms that best fit their business models. It gives smaller creators "the same level of access to audiences that huge corporations have," Erickson said. "Net neutrality policy is competition policy" because it ensures that consumers and small businesses can access online content and services "without undue interference by their ISP," said Incompas President Angie Kronenberg. Consumers "don't have a lot of choice" in the home broadband marketplace, Kronenberg said. Providers offering broadband service need only the nondiscriminatory access and rights provided through reclassification to "build the networks faster and more affordably," she said. "Most consumers do not have Title II-regulated services for their communications needs," Hedayati added. A national framework established at the FCC that is ultimately responsible for ensuring consumers and businesses have access to affordable services and choice is necessary, Kronenberg said, because "we don't have a place to really go right now to say there's an issue" when one is identified.

Allowing the affordable connectivity program to lapse would have “significant downstream effect” on the economy, said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez during a Q&A at ITI’s Intersect event Wednesday.

The FTC should deny a petition for a right-to-repair rulemaking because the proposal would chill innovation and undermine market-based solutions, tech and telecom groups told the agency in comments due Friday (see 2401040020). U.S. Public Interest Research Group and iFixit filed a petition in November for an FTC rulemaking seeking rules making independent repair easier and more widely available.

5G fixed wireless access is “changing the broadband marketplace” but it needs the FCC to make more full-power, licensed, mid-band spectrum available for carriers, CTIA said in a Wednesday blog post. FWA is having “such an impact on cable’s bottom line that you’ve probably also seen their commercials attacking it -- a striking indicator that 5G home broadband is bringing real competition to cable incumbents,” CTIA said. The blog notes that the fastest growing broadband companies are all wireless carriers, led by T-Mobile. In the first three quarters of last year, FWA had 34 times more adds than cable broadband, based on reports by Leichtman Research, CTIA said. Wall Street analysts have found that nearly 20% of 5G home gross adds “are new to the broadband marketplace altogether,” the group blogged: “That’s twice what they found for the full broadband market, meaning FWA is connecting more people for the first time than cable or any other broadband service.” Spectrum is the sticking point, CTIA warned. “More spectrum will increase speeds -- we’re seeing that with the C-band allocations that have been coming online -- and allow providers to serve more Americans with more capacity.” CTIA called for a “pipeline of spectrum” starting with the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands to give consumers “an even more robust 5G for home experience, all while keeping more money in their pockets.” T-Mobile said last week it added 541,000 home internet customers in Q4 and 2.1 million for the year (see 2401250076). Verizon reported 375,000 fixed wireless adds for the quarter, bringing its total to more than 3 million (see 2401230071).

Wireless carriers are concerned that mobile broadband has “maxed out” its opportunities for revenue growth, Hans Hammar, Ericsson head-business strategy for business area networks, said during a Mobile World Live webinar Monday. Other speakers agreed that 5G faces challenges, including living up to what providers promised the new technology can do.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit pressed Consumers' Research Friday on its challenge of the FCC's Q2 2023 USF contribution factor (case 23-1091). During oral argument, judges also questioned the group and the FCC about Universal Service Administrative Co. calculations to determine quarterly factors and definition of universal service (see 2401100044).

Former NTIA acting Administrator Diane Rinaldo and other witnesses set to testify during a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing say in written testimony that smart, expedited use of funding from NTIA’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (Wireless Innovation Fund), among other actions, will help supercharge innovation in U.S. open radio access networks. Several witnesses also urge accelerated development of ORAN standards, ensuring equipment interoperability. The hearing is set to begin at 2 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn, the House Commerce Committee said Tuesday.

The White House “deeply believes” it’s critical that Congress restore FCC auction authority, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser-cyber and emerging technology, said Thursday during a CES event. “Think about how much making spectrum available has enabled innovation,” she said: “That’s something that we’re working on closely with the Hill, and it’s an area that we know needs to be addressed.”

Consumers' Research asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its cert petition challenging the FCC's method for determining the USF quarterly contribution factor, saying the case presents "an excellent vehicle for addressing the contours of nondelegation whose abuses highlight the dangers of delegated and politically unaccountable power." Docketed Friday (docket 23-743), the petition asked the court to review a Dec. 14 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Q4 2022 contribution factor (see 2312140058). Responses to the new petition are due Feb. 8.