Parties Welcome Pai Advancing Meeting to Feb. 14 for Votes on Jan. 30 Items

The meeting move makes sense to ensure the items are adopted next month, former FCC chairpersons and others told us. Telco and broadcast officials didn't voice concern about the expected shortened lobbying time.

"This just seems like a sensible thing for the FCC to do because the government might close again," said ex-Chairman Richard Wiley. "It keeps the ball moving forward." Ex-Chairman Reed Hundt said Pai is "showing he wants to make as much progress as he can as fast he can, and he’s certainly right on that." Hundt is highly skeptical another shutdown would happen because the "political cost was staggering" and "a bipartisan consensus" is against a repetition.

Pai "is rightly maximizing the Commission's efficiency, abiding by its statutory obligations and is enabling the agency to operate as effectively as possible inside the only window of certainty they have," emailed Mignon Clyburn, interim chairwoman during an October 1-16, 2013, shutdown. "He is playing the best hand he's been dealt and that is all any agency head can do when they do not control the cards." After the 2013 shutdown ended, Clyburn delayed an Oct. 22 meeting to Oct. 28 and gave parties a week to lobby.

Pai's plan "is a very elegant and pragmatic outcome, balancing the need to move on ... agenda items, giving time for lobbying and hopefully avoiding getting caught up in another government shutdown," emailed Andrew Lipman, Morgan Lewis telecom attorney. The drafts "have been out for a while" (since Jan. 3), emailed CCMI telecom consultant Andrew Regitsky: "While I don't foresee another shutdown, it's better to be safe than sorry."

The tentative agenda's drafts are on phasing down Connect America Fund Phase I support for price-cap telcos, revising IP captioned telephone service rules, processing noncommercial education station and low-power FM station applications, eliminating broadcaster Form 397 midterm equal employment opportunity (EEO) reports, and implementing Ray Baum's Act anti-spoofing caller-identification provisions (see 1901030039).

Lobbying Compressed

Some telco representatives recently criticized the CAF I draft not for creating a funding mechanism for extremely high-cost voice areas price-cap carriers must still serve. USTelecom wanted "ample time" to meet agency officials (see 1901160051).

Normally, stakeholders have two weeks to lobby before restrictions one week preceding a meeting. For the February meeting, those restrictions would be expected Feb. 7, allowing a little over a week of lobbying, though the commission could, if it wanted, give parties more time. The FCC didn't comment.

“We understand the need for a compressed schedule and appreciate the hard work that FCC staff will be putting in," emailed a USTelecom spokesperson. The move "seems like a prudent step" and shouldn't disadvantage stakeholders, emailed ITTA President Genny Morelli.

The FCC is intent on implementing "the full vision of the 2011 USF Transformation Order, and eliminate the legacy support that was in many instances not tied to the specific cost characteristics of the areas to be served," emailed telecom consultant Carol Mattey. "The shut-down slowed the FCC down by a couple of weeks, but it's full steam ahead."

Broadcast attorneys don't feel squeezed by the shutdown and earlier meeting as they might have in other circumstances.

Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council Senior Adviser David Honig has concerns about the midterm reports EEO order, but was able to reach several commissioners and schedule meetings with others despite the shutdown crunch. For many parties, the earlier date could be seen as inconvenient, he said.

Gray Miller broadcast attorney Todd Gray doesn’t feel unduly pressured by the abbreviated schedule. Though NCE broadcasters are interested in the LPFM/NCE NPRM set for February, it’s not considered controversial and the comment period will provide ample time to weigh in, he said. It’s not a “burning” item, Gray said.

"I haven’t heard anyone complaining" about the lobbying time," emailed telecom attorney Jeff Carlisle. "One can’t exaggerate the impact of a month-long shutdown on an agency that is processing thousands of pieces of business every week -- it holds up actions licensees need and wallops staff morale. So the Chairman making sure the agency doesn’t miss a second open meeting in a row is an important part of the process of getting the agency back to some semblance of normal."