AT&T “will have no other choice” but to sue certain Florida local governments the carrier claims are flouting the state’s 2017 small-cells law and FCC infrastructure rulings, unless the Florida legislature passes a bill to tighten the law pre-empting local governments, said AT&T Senior Counsel Tracy Hatch Tuesday. Some members at the livestreamed House Ways and Means Committee hearing questioned the extent of problems. Oregon lawmakers weighed different ways to spur broadband deployment in another hearing Tuesday.

As frustrated stakeholders watch an FCC drafting process that they want to be more transparent for an NPRM circulating on USF budgets, concerns about the document's details (see 1903270042) are mounting (see 1903280050). All stakeholders we interviewed this week and last wish the rulemaking had been set for consideration at a monthly commissioners' meeting, so it would be public three weeks beforehand. Or, they wanted it released another way in advance.

NARUC's Telecom Committee unanimously cleared an amended Lifeline resolution urging the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. ensure the national verifier accesses state databases required to automatically check users are eligible. USAC is responding to concerns and committed to making the NV work, South Dakota Commissioner Chris Nelson told us after the vote.

NARUC's Telecom Committee unanimously cleared an amended Lifeline resolution urging the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. ensure the national verifier accesses state databases required to automatically check users are eligible. USAC is responding to concerns and committed to making the NV work, South Dakota Commissioner Chris Nelson told us after the vote.

An FCC declaratory order to clarify wireless messaging as a Title I information service, rather than a more regulated telecom service, appears headed to a 3-1 vote Wednesday, with a dissent expected by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, industry officials said. Twilio sought Communications Act Title II classification for texting in 2015, after the FCC classified broadband as a Title II service (see 1510130040).

An FCC declaratory order to clarify wireless messaging as a Title I information service, rather than a more regulated telecom service, appears headed to a 3-1 vote Wednesday, with a dissent expected by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, industry officials said. Twilio sought Communications Act Title II classification for texting in 2015, after the FCC classified broadband as a Title II service (see 1510130040).

Wireless carriers rejected legislative changes to Idaho USF, while rural LECs supported action but asked for more data on possible costs. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission asked in docket GNR-T-17-05 for recommendations for a possible legislative fix for state USF to present to the legislature next year (see 1808240017). Carriers disagree "with the premise that there is any need for changes to the funding mechanism for the IUSF in order to maintain the solvency,” said CTIA Director-State Regulatory Affairs Benjamin Aron in a Thursday letter: "Given the modest levels of the current surcharges there is considerable room to increase surcharge levels to offset the diminishing IUSF contribution base.” If the PUC must recommend legislative changes, it should either follow Washington state and support USF exclusively through general revenue using taxpayer funds, or Montana's “model of trusting the sufficiency of federal universal service support and declining to provide additional state funding,” Aron said. The Idaho Telecom Alliance wants legislative changes but said the state should first convene workshops and PUC staff should estimate costs of implementing various models used by neighboring states. Any device or service that connects to the public switched telephone network should be assessed a USF charge, and any carrier of last resort should be supported, the RLEC group said.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission aims to vote next week to change state USF contribution to a connections-based mechanism starting Oct. 1, Commissioner Patrick Lyons said at a livestreamed Wednesday hearing. Lyons plans to release a recommended decision by Thursday, to be considered by the full commission at its open meeting Wednesday. “We’re expediting this because we’re short on money for the" USF, Lyons said. State USF auditor GVNW Consulting's Blake Young recommended a $1.34 per connection charge for the remainder of 2018 and a $1.11 charge in 2019 to fully fund USF those years. The current revenue-based surcharge was about 6.1 percent in 2018, up from about 5 percent the year before. CTIA counsel Jeff Albright opposed changing from a revenue-based mechanism, saying it’s a “regressive tax” that shifts the cost burden to those who can less afford it. Making the change Oct. 1 may be too soon for some CTIA members, he said. New Mexico Exchange Carrier Group President Steve Metts supported the shift to connections as easier to administer and more sustainable than the revenue-based mechanism. He said his members likely can switch by Oct. 1. CenturyLink attorney Tim Goodwin supported changing to connections but said it would be better to implement the change Jan. 1 to avoid problems. Nebraska last week decided to move to a $1.75 per-connection fee in January for residential lines, but temporarily keeping the revenue-based system for business lines (see 1808080022). Utah in January became the first state to switch to connections from revenue (see 1807160062).

The FCC will auction off three more high-frequency bands in the second half of 2019, Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday as he unveiled the items for an Aug. 2 commissioners’ meeting. Pai said the meeting will focus on 5G, with draft rules for the first high-band spectrum auctions targeted for a vote. Pai also tentatively plans votes on a draft order to adopt "one-touch, make-ready" pole attachments and bar state and locality moratoriums on network buildouts, a draft order on broadcast ownership diversification through incubators and a draft notice of inquiry on creating a $100 million telehealth pilot program.

The FCC should try harder to thaw the separations freeze, two state members of the Joint Board on Separations and the state chair of the Joint Board on Universal Service said in interviews ahead of NARUC's summer meeting. They complained that the federal side of the Joint Board isn’t engaging to update separations factors set more than 30 years ago and first temporarily frozen in 2001. NARUC members plan to vote next week in Scottsdale, Arizona, on asking the FCC to extend the freeze’s 2018 expiration by two years, and other draft resolutions related to the Lifeline national verifier, IP captioned telephone service (IP CTS) and a precision agriculture bill pending in Congress (see 1807030052).