FCC Adopts CAF I Legacy Shift to CAF II Auction Funding; Telco Voice Bid Denied
Commissioners approved 5-0 a Connect America Fund order to transition from legacy, Phase I price-cap incumbent telco support to CAF II support won at auction last year. As some expected (see 1902130054), the FCC stuck to a draft decision to decline a USTelecom proposal for interim voice support in certain areas, though it did make tweaks in response to ILEC requests. At Thursday's meeting, members also unanimously approved an IP captioned telephone service order, Further NPRM and order aimed at enhancing program management, combating abuse and improving emergency call management.
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Price-cap carrier CAF I support converts to auction-based CAF II support in areas where the ILEC won and it's authorized, and ceases in areas where another provider won and it's authorized, the FCC said. In auction-eligible areas with no winner, legacy price-cap support continues for now; in areas ineligible for the auction, such legacy support ceases "when the first Phase II Auction support is authorized nationwide"; and competitive provider legacy support will be phased down over two years, it said.
The order "provides for a smooth handoff from yesterday’s subsidies to a new, more efficient system that will help build tomorrow’s rural broadband networks while minimizing any potential loss of service and disruption to consumers," said Chairman Ajit Pai. It "will help free up funding so more Americans, in more parts of the country, can benefit from new and expanded broadband networks," said Commissioner Brendan Carr.
"We probably could have done more to bring our existing definition of 'unsubsidized competitor' in line with the current marketplace," suggested Commission Mike O'Rielly. "Continuing voice legacy support in areas where competitors provide service using another technology seems backwards-looking and troubling." Fixed and mobile service can be substitutes, he said.
The FCC considered USTelecom recommendations and "made some changes," said Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith, at a later news conference. The agency didn't agree to a request to delete a draft section declining to establish a new support mechanism for ILECs in extremely high-cost areas, though it made other "clarifications" in response, said Sue McNeil, associate bureau chief. ILECs asked the FCC to fund their mandated but unsubsidized voice services, or at least postpone a decision until CAF II auction support is finalized and USTelecom can revise its proposal.
O'Rielly said it's not "particularly fair" to continue the "unfunded mandate," so the FCC must ensure the carriers' voice duties "are not indefinite and that these unfunded areas become subject to auction as soon as possible." He's "eager to finally seek solutions via the long-awaited Remote Areas Fund auction and work with my colleagues to connect those most difficult to serve."
The FCC must better chart the location of "broadband desserts," many rural, some urban, said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Broadband maps "overstate coverage in too many areas and understate it in others. Fixing this problem is not for the faint of heart. But we will never manage the problems we do not measure." The FCC must audit where CAF dollars go, "what commitments were made, and where deployment takes place," she said. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said "much work remains to be done," including in "many urban areas that lack the kind of quality and affordable broadband service needed."
An order integrates IP CTS into the telecom relay service registration database (URD), with data submission and verification rules largely aligned with those for video relay service. The IP CTS move will help regulators verify users' identity, audit and review providers' practices and substantiate their compensation requests, the FCC said. IP CTS helps individuals with hearing loss read captions and use any residual hearing to understand a phone conversation.
The FNPRM proposes to require IP CTS providers to add user account identifiers to call records submitted for compensation. It proposes to simplify processing of 911 calls for some IP CTS users, to expedite responses. Pending the rulemaking’s outcome, a second order granted a partial waiver of many related requirements.
Pai said the actions improve accountability and public safety. The URD move "will make the program more sustainable and financially responsible by ensuring that providers are compensated only for calls made by individuals who are in fact eligible to use this service," he said. The proposed user account identifier "will enable the Fund administrator to more efficiently match call data with user data in the Database." The 911 call streamlining proposal would eliminate "the need for IP CTS providers to involve Communications Assistants -- those who provide captions to IP CTS users -- in handling 911 calls, which currently can cost precious time."
Pai said the FCC is "building on the important IP CTS reforms" made in June, when the FCC took steps to curb explosive growth in program funding, which was approaching $1 billion per year (see Notebook at end of 1806070021). Starks said the current funding is about $890 million, about 80 percent of the TRS Fund.
Staffers said the commission made some changes to a draft, letting providers serve new users for two weeks whose eligibility hasn't been verified. Providers can recover exogenous costs in some cases.