The FCC Wireline Bureau granted BARConnects eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status in 64 Census blocks in Virginia, clearing a hurdle to the company's participation in a rural broadband experiment funded by USF support. In an order released Friday, the bureau said it would "shortly release a public notice announcing its readiness to authorize rural broadband experiment support for BARConnects as a provisionally selected bidder." The bureau also granted BARConnects a waiver and request for extension of time to file proof of its ETC designation. BARConnects committed to deploying a fiber broadband network with voice service and data speeds of up to 100/25 Mbps, including at least one service plan that offers 25/5 Mbps to all eligible locations, the order said. Monday, the bureau issued an order giving Northeast Rural Services an extension to submit as timely filed a letter-of-credit commitment letter after a May 4 deadline. Due to banking complexities, CoBank didn't issue the commitment letter until June 12, the bureau indicated. The bureau recently authorized NRS to receive about $884,000 to carry out four rural broadband experiments reaching 335 "covered locations" in Oklahoma.
Rural telco groups offered feedback on, without endorsing, a possible "bifurcated approach" to ILEC cost recovery as part of a potential FCC overhaul of rate-of-return USF support mechanisms. In a letter posted Monday in docket 10-90, USTelecom joined by ITTA, NTCA and WTA said the FCC raised the possibility of a bifurcated approach in its June 2014 Further NPRM under which USF support for investments prior to a selected date would be based on old rules and USF support for investments after that date would be based on new rules. "Over time as companies depreciate and retire assets in the old mechanisms and invest in new assets, costs would organically shift from the old to the new mechanism," the groups said. "Companies who have more recently completed construction initiatives with greater debt obligations will transition more slowly than companies who have not made those investments since new assets will have longer remaining lives and the need for subsequent investment is lower." The groups said none of them was yet ready to endorse such an approach generally, or the specific ideas in their submission, but were submitting the comments to further discussion and analysis.
FCC draft orders on pole attachments and USF reverse auctions are circulating, agency officials said Thursday and Friday. A draft order to resolve a challenge to some CenturyLink USF support also is circulating, they said. Meanwhile, a possible draft order on inmate calling service (ICS) rates is still under consideration for the October FCC meeting, said another commission official.
FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly called on localities to facilitate wireless tower siting, or face commission intervention to move things along. Speaking at a town hall held by Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., in Spotsylvania, Virginia, on Wednesday, O'Rielly said the FCC needs to review wireless build-out policies and technical requirements to ensure they encourage network expansion. "Part of this will require cooperation by the local governments," he said, according to written remarks posted Thursday. "The simple fact is that wireless providers are going to need to install thousands of new facilities to provide service. I get the fact that not everyone likes the aesthetics of towers but they are a necessity for wireless broadband. For those local governments that stall or try to block tower siting, know that you will see the Commission step in with appropriate authority to push things forward." O'Rielly also discussed FCC efforts to make more spectrum available and to update USF support for broadband.
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied a motion to extend the reply deadline in its Lifeline USF rulemaking, leaving the date at Sept. 30. In an order issued Wednesday in docket 11-42, the bureau noted it had already granted one extension and said a further extension was "not warranted under the present circumstances." The extension was requested by the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates and other consumer groups (see 150918005).
The FCC is expected to take up a controversial privacy NPRM as early as its Oct. 22 meeting, though the proposal may well slip into November, FCC and industry officials said. There were lots of questions about the notice raised at CTIA earlier this month and signs of sharp divisions among commissioners (see 1509110027). Some industry experts predict that the FCC could delve into privacy rules for edge providers like Google, Amazon or Apple, in addition to rules for ISPs.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., lauded the approach to USF that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler laid out in his Monday speech to NTCA (see 1509210029). "This is the right approach," Walden said in a statement Tuesday. "Precious Universal Service dollars should be targeted for communities where investment is lacking. Chairman Wheeler’s decision to move the Connect America Fund forward with a focus on unserved areas will help bring millions of Americans online, including many in Oregon. The Connect America Fund is a tremendous opportunity to lower the communications gap for rural Americans, and with responsible management, we can ensure that ratepayer dollars are spent efficiently in fulfilling the important mission of the USF.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., wants the FCC to make changes to how it runs the Mobility Fund, he told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter dated Tuesday. “The Commission has the ability to correct earlier problems with the implementation of the Mobility Fund,” Manchin said. “First, the Commission must target the remaining one-time funds to truly unserved areas and stop citing a wireless coverage map that infers the job is done when people in the real world know it is not. Second, although the agency has repeatedly sought public comment on the ongoing support provided by the second phase of the Mobility Fund, it has yet to provide a concrete plan for how that process would work.” Manchin warned the FCC could leave $70 million “on the table” without making changes. Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry issued a statement agreeing with Manchin. “There is still time to restructure USF programs to adequately support wireless broadband nationwide, and CCA will continue to work with the Commission to achieve the important goal,” Berry said.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said a rate-of-return USF overhaul remains doable this year but could still be pulled apart by conflicting interests and overly complex solutions. He also warned against "half-measures." Wheeler Monday noted he had told Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., that the commission would adopt rural telco reforms by year-end (see 1506260024). “I think we are close,” he said at the NTCA’s fall conference in Boston, according to prepared remarks. “Where we will fall apart is if we become bogged down trying to address each and every special circumstance, rather than pursuit of the general public good." Wheeler said he understands different carriers have different interests, but added that "our goal must be broad reform, with a phase-in to allow for an evolutionary process.”
A new State Department diplomatic initiative will be unveiled at the U.N. General Assembly in New York in two weeks, said Phil Verveer, senior counsel to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Verveer said the initiative is “an effort to try to coordinate as much development activity as possible” to get another 1.5 billion people online over the next five years. He spoke Thursday at a Silicon Flatirons Center symposium webcast from Boulder, Colorado.