FCC Launches Section 706 Inquiry Into Broadband-Like ATC Rollout; Rosenworcel Dissents

to Telecom Act Section 706, said a notice of inquiry in docket 18-238 issued Thursday, with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissenting. If the FCC finds ATC deployment progress is inadequate, it's to take remedial action. In its February report, the commission determined it "is now encouraging the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis." That formulation isn't what the statute asked the FCC to determine, said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., criticizing FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at a Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing last month. The new NOI said the 2018 report found ATC "was being deployed to all Americans in reasonable and timely fashion." It seeks comment on a host of proposals and questions. The FCC proposed to keep a 25/3 Mbps benchmark for fixed ATC and to continue to not set a single mobile ATC benchmark, given "the inherent variability of the mobile experience, combined with data limitations and methodological issues;" instead, it proposed to analyze various mobile speeds. It also asked if mobile services are now "full substitutes for fixed service" after finding in February they weren't. The NOI said the FCC plans to issue its next 706 report as part of a Communications Marketplace Report required in Q4 of even-numbered years under the Ray Baum Act. Rosenworcel said she feared the NOI "sets the stage for an unfortunate repeat" of the last report. "That report found -- despite clear evidence of 24 million Americans without high-speed service -- that broadband deployment nationwide is both reasonable and timely," she said. "It ignored too many people in too many places struggling to access high-speed service and dealing with connectivity that falls short of what is necessary for full participation in the digital age." She also said the 25/3 Mbps standard was "insufficiently audacious," and urged a 100 Mbps standard. "I suspect I can take my client’s comments from last year, update a few data points, and submit basically the same comments this time," quipped Butzel Long attorney Stephen Goodman, who represents Adtran. "And I would expect the same result because nothing has changed significantly." The FCC is "only giving one month for comments, during major vacation season," emailed Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. "If the FCC is trying to make it as difficult as possible for the public to participate, they are doing an excellent job."