5G Fund Order Likely to Get FCC Nod Amid Democrats' Concerns
The FCC’s proposed 5G Fund, set for a vote Tuesday, is raising concerns, especially for Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, but it could get support from all five commissioners, industry and FCC officials said. The Democrats partially dissented on the NPRM (see 2004230046) and see the order as moving in the right direction from what was proposed in April. Partial dissents are possible, officials said. Carriers are proposing various changes.
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Rosenworcel and Starks said in April the NPRM offered a false choice, and the FCC shouldn’t rely on bad maps or wait until 2023 or later to start offering support. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly also had concerns. Officials noted if Joe Biden is elected president and Democrats are in charge next year, they can address any concerns and tweak the rules.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said repeatedly the FCC can't move forward on its new digital data collection program without congressional funding, which is reflected in the draft. “We will take all appropriate steps" to implement the collection “as quickly as we can without jeopardizing the quality or accuracy of the new data we will collect,” the draft says.
The Rural Wireless Association expects agreement on parts of the order but hopes for changes, said counsel Carri Bennet.
The order adopts a $9 billion budget. Phase I of the auction would make available up to $8 billion, with $680 million set aside for bidders offering to serve tribal lands. Phase II would make at least $1 billion available, targeting adoption of precision agriculture technologies.
Carriers support the order in general but seek tweaks. Verizon asked the FCC to revise from 2021 to 2022 the start date for the requirement that wireless eligible telecommunications carriers use an increasing percentage of legacy support for 5G. “Wireless ETCs have already established budgets and deployment plans for 2021 that do not contemplate the Draft Order’s 5G requirements,” Verizon said last week in docket 20-32. Revise noncompliance measures for legacy support recipients, it said: “Clarify that the section 54.322(c) 5G spending requirement would be met by the deployment of 5G-capable equipment and facilities, even if the provider has not yet begun offering 5G services.”
The order “fails to address what happens to a supported 5G network at the end of five years,” RWA said: “Five years is not enough time to support a rural 5G network using legacy support” -- 10 years would be more appropriate. The order “incorrectly subjects legacy support carriers to performance obligations upon the adoption of the Report and Order rather than when the areas for which support is eligible becomes known,” the group said. It imposes “5G Fund performance obligations on legacy support carriers before the eligible areas are released, which will determine whether a legacy support carrier’s support is phased down or preserved for up to five years,” RWA said.
T-Mobile told aides to the five commissioners the FCC is taking the right approach but asked them to “omit any suggestion that providers overstated their 4G LTE coverage maps based on findings in the flawed Mobility Fund Phase II Staff Report.” Some maintain the report’s “analysis was deeply flawed and riddled with errors,” the carrier said. “The Draft Order does not make clear how the coverage requirements … could be developed and implemented in a timely manner before the 5G Fund is fully operational,” CTIA advised: “The proceedings necessary to develop all of the provider-specific plans would significantly delay the use of these funds to support 5G in rural areas and will likely take longer than the transition period to the 5G Fund.”
None of the items up for a vote Tuesday launches new proceedings or proposes new rules. “Instead, the items focus on implementation of a number of policies prioritized under Chairman Pai,” said a Kelley Drye blog post Thursday: “FCC regulatory activity will likely slow in the aftermath of the election. As a result, the October agenda may represent the FCC’s final push for any major reforms in the near-term.”