Since House Republicans said in December they plan to overhaul the 1996 Telecom Act, there has been limited Commerce Committee leadership outreach to House Democrats and committee Republicans, said lawmakers and Capitol Hill staffers. Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., hasn’t yet sought out his Democratic counterpart. Republicans said the minimal outreach is by design, with substantial dialogue expected to kick off soon.
The House Commerce Committee received 50 responses to its white paper on USF policy, the committee revealed Thursday, posting all comments online (http://1.usa.gov/1lBg6gN). It had issued the white paper in August as part of the Communications Subcommittee initiative to overhaul the Communications Act, and responses were due Sept. 19. It was the fifth white paper on aspects of the overhaul issued this year. Respondents include major companies such as AT&T and Verizon as well as state groups like NARUC and NASUCA and Microsoft, which has responded to every white paper so far. Other commenters include the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the Oregon Telecom Association and the Telecommunications Association of Maine. “We urge Congress to encourage the FCC to create an inclusive environment where all eligible providers have an opportunity to compete for support with the goal of closing the gap between broadband available in urban and rural areas,” the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association told House lawmakers. Microsoft lauded the shift in focusing USF on broadband and encouraged Congress to “continue to afford the FCC with authority and flexibility to reform the mechanism for contributing to the universal service fund, as needed.” The Alaska Communications System noted that “contrary to the prevailing view in Washington,” it “has never considered the USF system as ‘broken,'” but said it’s “vital to include safeguards that ensure that available funding is used efficiently.”
The FCC should allow Wilkes Telephone Membership Corp. to include $147,149 owed by Halo in 2011 as part of its base period revenue for that year, NTCA said in an emergency petition (http://bit.ly/XWgnAf) posted Monday in docket 10-90 on behalf of the member company. It requests a waiver from a commission rule that requires that funds included as 2011 revenue be collected by March 31, 2012. The rural North Carolina company, which relies on Universal Service Fund support, has not been able to collect the money from Halo, which declared bankruptcy in 2012, the petition said. Not being able to count the funds “would not only create a one-time impact, but would continue to cause a financial impact to Wilkes every year” that the base period revenue is used to calculate USF support, the petition said.
Don’t use USF money to build out service where providers already are providing broadband and phone service, the American Cable Association recommended to Congress. ACA also recommended that broadband service not be assessed for USF contributions but that USF should support broadband service. Distribute the support “efficiently” and “on a competitively neutral basis,” with “fiscally responsible” USF programs, it said. ACA submitted its comments to the House Commerce Committee in response to questions about overhauling USF policy. Those comments were due Friday but have not been released online by the committee (CD Sept 22 p7). It’s fine for states and state regulators to create USF programs as long as they don’t give money to regions already served and as long as “any eligible telecom carrier [ETC] can compete to obtain support on a competitively neutral basis,” it said. “For federal universal service programs, the role of the states and state commissions should be more circumscribed” and “largely to examine whether a provider is a ‘bad actor,'” ACA said. “ACA suggests that the FCC take over the ETC designation process for its programs, which it does already in select instances, and permit states to participate in that process if they have material information about the qualifications of the potential ETC.”
Congress received divided views on how important state authorities should be in any new communications regimen, in comments due Friday to the House Commerce Committee on a white paper about overhauling Communications Act USF policy (CD Sept 22 p7). Groups representing smaller telecom companies and state regulators emphasized the importance of an ongoing state role, and several commenters pointed to the FCC Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and its potential importance for federal-state cooperation. Bigger industry groups such as CTIA advocated more limited state involvement.
Industry officials urged Congress to reconsider many elements of USF support policy, despite lauding the broad principles that have guided it. House Communications Subcommittee Republicans issued a white paper last month (http://1.usa.gov/1pmX66c) asking several questions about USF, seeking responses by Friday. It was the fifth white paper the subcommittee issued as part of efforts to overhaul the Communications Act, an initiative announced in December. Initial responses, which the committee has not posted online but were shared with us, were on what parties considered necessary changes to the USF contribution mechanism.
Calls by education and library groups, and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a speech Wednesday, to increase E-rate funding are running into opposition from telcos, in comments filed in the E-rate modernization Further NPRM. The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance and USTelecom said they worry expanding E-rate could cut into other USF programs like the Connect America Fund.
FCC Inspector General David Hunt told a House Communications Subcommittee Wednesday that he has been unable to hire criminal investigators, despite recurring requests. Hunt said his office “initiated a discussion with management” on its need to hire investigators in early 2012, but has been unable to do so. Hunt also questioned FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s decision to set up a USF Strike Force under the Enforcement Bureau and whether its efforts duplicate work more properly handled by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The FCC “must tackle long overdue” USF contribution reform before thinking about expanding the E-rate budget to meet the goal of spending $1 billion annually for E-rate Wi-Fi connections in schools and libraries, ITTA said in comments filed Monday in docket 13-184. “Universal service contribution rates have jumped 60 percent under the current Administration,” it said, and the commission “can no longer ignore the pressure its decisions put on the” USF. Doing so would jeopardize other agency goals, including broadband development, and would increase costs “that are ultimately borne by consumers,” ITTA said. The FCC’s $2.30-per-square-foot E-rate funding formula for libraries “would result in the inequitable distribution” of funds, said a study commissioned by the Urban Libraries Council submitted in the same docket. The study found that unlike for rural, town and most suburban libraries, square footage is not an accurate indicator of library users or Wi-Fi costs, ULC said (http://bit.ly/1qZ6GM4).
"Several concerns” worry FCC Inspector General David Hunt, he plans to tell the House Communications Subcommittee Wednesday. “The FCC has refused to allow the IG to hire criminal investigators despite the authority granted to the IG in the IG Act of 1978, as amended,” Hunt said in his pre-filed written testimony (http://1.usa.gov/1s5qnpa). “Criminal investigators are a very much needed resource at this Office, to increase its ability to conduct criminal investigations without consuming the resources of DOJ and the FBI. Further, FCC management retains a right to approve all OIG hires, a requirement which appears to contravene the IG Act and impugn the independence of the OIG.” Hunt will also criticize the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s recently formed USF strike force, referring to concerns “that efforts might be duplicative and resources wasted.” FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins plans to testify on the agency’s attempts to overhaul its internal processes and other work, despite funding concerns. “Flat funding since 2009, despite the growth in our operational costs, has challenged the FCC’s ability to maintain current service levels,” Wilkins said in his written testimony (http://1.usa.gov/1ydmCAA). “In addition, sequestration created a gap in our budget that not only challenged the FCC’s ability to commit funds to basic programmatic needs, but also introduced budget uncertainties that made it difficult to pursue opportunities to invest in improved efficiency.” The hearing is at 10:15 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.