Charter Communications owes Windstream $19.2 million in compensatory damages for violating an automatic stay against terminating their reseller agreement and its "literally false and intentionally misleading" ad campaign, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, said in a memorandum of decision Thursday (in Pacer, docket 19-08246). The stay “clearly and unambiguously” should have stopped Charter from terminating service at the start of Windstream’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that termination itself was contrary to the terms of the reseller agreement, Drain said. The judge rejected multiple Charter criticisms of Windstream’s damages calculations, including $9.2 million in legal fees and expenses, though he rejected an additional $1 million in various legal fees. Charter didn't comment Friday.
President Joe Biden's FY 2022 discretionary budget request, released Friday, asks Congress to give the Commerce Department $11.4 billion, up almost 28% from what it received for FY 2021. The money includes $39 million to NTIA "for advanced communications research," to "support the development and deployment of broadband and 5G technologies by identifying innovative approaches to spectrum sharing," the White House said. The request "ensures Commerce has additional staff and resources to analyze export control and Entity List proposals, enforce related actions, and implement executive actions related to export controls and secure telecommunications." The budget would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology $916 million, up 16% from FY 2021, the White House said. That would help NIST spur research into "computing, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, quantum information science ... and to establish prize competitions to pursue key technology goals." Biden is seeking $2.1 billion for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an almost 6% boost. CISA got increased scrutiny for the 2020 SolarWinds cyber hack (see 2104060058). "This funding would allow CISA to enhance its cybersecurity tools, hire highly qualified experts, and obtain support services to protect and defend Federal information technology systems," the White House said. "The discretionary request also provides $20 million for a new Cyber Response and Recovery Fund." The request includes $500 million for the General Services Administration’s Technology Modernization Fund to “strengthen federal cybersecurity and retire antiquated legacy technology systems.” The TMF request “builds on” $1 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan Act, the White House said. The request shows a "commitment to improve cybersecurity" and "invest in researching and developing modern technologies," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said.
Broadband “clears the definitional hurdle” of what constitutes infrastructure, but President Joe Biden’s proposal for $100 billion in broadband spending (see 2103310064) is a “blunder,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thursday in an opinion piece in The Hill. It’s “not a good thing” that Biden’s proposal “tracks many of the ideas” contained in congressional Democrats’ Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act. HR-1783/S-745 proposes $94 billion for broadband (see 2103110060). “At the outset, their efforts ignore” the $40 billion in existing broadband funding the FCC is working to distribute, including via the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the new $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, Carr said. “Not one penny from this $40 billion tranche has been spent.” Price tag “aside, the Democrats’ approach is plagued with substantive flaws that will only make it harder to close the digital divide,” he said. “It dedicates funds to upgrade communities that already have high-speed Internet services so that they can receive the superfast ‘future proof’ connections of tomorrow.” Carr criticized the proposal for betting “on government-owned networks as the future of connectivity” and for putting “price controls squarely on the table” when “rate regulation would be a surefire way to scare off the private sector investment needed to bridge the digital divide.” He compared the current infrastructure effort to the rollout of broadband funding in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in which “waste, fraud, and abuse flourished.” Congressional oversight hearings “followed with vows of ‘never again,’” yet “here we are again,” Carr said. “Rather than appropriating additional dollars in blunderbuss fashion, we can administer the substantial funds already available to the FCC while unleashing additional private sector investment” by reducing regulatory barriers, as House Commerce Committee Republicans proposed in February (see 2102160067). USTelecom and others also criticized Biden’s proposal (see 2104070057).
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said ensuring "the highest and best" intense use of spectrum and easing the path to infrastructure investment are among his top policy priorities. During a virtual AGL event Thursday, he said shrinking guard bands could be a potentially viable route. Simington said he's "skeptical" that a nationwide fiber buildout could be accomplished at $80 billion and cautioned that a Title II regulatory approach to broadband could raise the threshold for what constitutes a viable community for a broadband provider to offer connectivity. The FCC has done "quite well" in making low- and high-band spectrum available for commercial wireless, but midband needs remain, and that spectrum has a strong ability to drive 5G updates, Simington said: The FCC has the tools to make more spectrum available for terrestrial wireless, but the most effective way to use those tools is clear and open communication with federal users. "Often it's important to not let things get too far down the road before engagement." Simington said he hasn't heard any discussions about a twilight towers agenda item, though the issue could be under study at the staff level. Asked about Communications Decency Act Section 230 action at the FCC, he said it seems clear the agency has authority to take action, but whether it should is less clear. Congress might take up Section 230 without the FCC, he said, and the agency isn't likely to move any item forward before it has a fifth commissioner. He was largely critical of municipal broadband, saying systems frequently require ongoing taxpayer subsidization. Muni broadband "has on occasion filled gaps in some areas," but it's not an effective systemic solution to unserved areas, he said. Asked who will be permanent FCC chair, Simington said he has no insider knowledge, but acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel “has been doing a fantastic job. We are transacting business at a nice brisk clip.” Aurora Insight CEO Jennifer Alvarez said this fall's 3.45-3.55 GHz band auction won't be "quite as high-priced" as the C-band auction because while both represent midband spectrum, 3.45-3.55 GHz has to be shared with incumbent users. Localities lawyer Jonathan Kramer of Telecom Law Firm said small-cell deployments are varying widely in density, with two to three per square mile in some jurisdictions and 30-plus in others. He said local governments have pressing interests in knowing the numbers, locations and designs, because they are "the ones who will live with these things the next 30, 40 years."
Federal funding and public private partnerships and subsidies are keys to building long-term U.S. competitiveness in the semiconductor industry, commented PC market share leaders HP and Dell Technologies, plus contract manufacturer Foxconn, in postings Tuesday in docket BIS-2021-0011. Comments were due Monday in the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security inquiry to help shape recommendations to the White House on President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order to relieve semiconductor supply chain bottlenecks (see 2103110054). Public and private sector investments in “people and education” are a good “first step” in developing “a ready and trained workforce that can sustain a U.S. semiconductor ecosystem,” said Foxconn in a rare public policy statement. “Decades of outsourcing has taken its toll on a semiconductor ready workforce,” said the self-described world’s largest electronics manufacturer. SIA also commented (see 2104060064)
The FCC Enforcement Bureau is investigating whether major wireless carriers are in compliance with rules requiring them to start delivering 911 callers’ vertical location information on calls in the top 25 cellular market areas by Saturday, the FCC said Friday. They're required to certify deployment by June 2. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile asked for 18-month waivers of the requirement (see 2103050043). Public safety groups opposed delays (see 2011040032). “Today we are taking action to ensure that wireless providers deliver on their public safety obligations,” acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: “The FCC adopted comprehensive rules to improve location information for 911 wireless calls back in 2015. But there has been too little progress since then, and I have consistently called on this agency to do more to ensure that our rules are delivering actionable information.” Accurate location information “is critical in emergency situations,” a Verizon spokesperson said: “It is a priority we share. But in this case there are technical requirements that are outside of our control.” Verizon will “continue to work constructively with the Commission and public safety stakeholders to achieve our common goals in the months ahead,” the spokesperson said. “We have spent years and significant resources to improve 911 by providing public safety accurate latitude and longitude information to locate a caller’s address,” said an AT&T spokesperson: “We continue to work with the FCC, our industry partners and public safety to help locate 911 callers in multi-story buildings by adding vertical location information that meets or exceeds accuracy benchmarks.” T-Mobile didn’t comment Friday. In a waiver request, AT&T said its “compliance depends in large part on the actions of others” and “on events outside of any party’s control.” Verizon and T-Mobile also said failure to meet the deadline was beyond their control (see here and here).
Dish Network slammed T-Mobile Thursday, telling the FCC the carrier’s opposition to higher power levels in the citizens broadband radio service band shows that after buying Sprint, the “Un-Carrier” became anti-consumer. “It is ironic that T-Mobile, with the largest spectrum trove in the United States, is against increasing the utility of CBRS licenses held by other competitors,” Dish said in docket 19-348. “No doubt they would take a different approach if they had real ownership of CBRS spectrum.” Dish slammed T-Mobile for its plans to shutter its legacy CDMA network from Sprint at year-end. “Unfortunately, a majority of our 9 million Boost subscribers (many of whom face economic challenges) have devices that rely on Sprint’s CDMA network and will be harmed if T-Mobile prematurely shuts down that network,” Dish said. T-Mobile didn’t comment.
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal, which includes $100 billion for broadband (see 2103310064), got attention during a Thursday meeting between administration officials and six community broadband groups, participants told us. ACA Connects, the Competitive Carriers Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, NTCA, Rural Wireless Association and the Wireless ISP Association participated in the meeting, a WISPA spokesperson confirmed. The groups didn’t object to the general plan the White House released Wednesday, but they want to hear more details, the spokesperson said. The meeting was cordial and had been set before the proposal’s release as a “get to know you” introduction of the industry groups. It appears the Biden administration is “still working out the details” and is in a fact-finding mode aimed at making the plan better, said a lobbyist. The White House appeared interested in how to improve the federal government’s collection of broadband coverage data and “boost competition and affordability,” the lobbyist said. Administration officials didn’t appear to have specific proposals on minimum broadband speed requirements. CCA “was pleased to participate in the discussion,” a spokesperson said. The White House and other participating groups didn’t comment. Biden said Thursday he’s designating five Cabinet-level officials to “take special responsibility” to sell his infrastructure plan to the public, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The Fiber Broadband Association praised the proposal Thursday, while the Wireless Infrastructure Association praised its proposed funding for registered apprenticeships. ACA, CTA and TechNet gave mixed assessments based on what they know so far.
The FCC released an initial list Thursday of providers participating in the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program (see 2103260047). Some big ISPs are on the list while others aren't, our review found. The commission plans to announce regular updates as more providers are approved, said a spokesperson. Among those participating so far are Cable One, Comcast, Consolidated Telephone and Windstream. AT&T and its affiliates, including BellSouth, Southwestern Bell and Pacific Bell, are also participating. Most providers will offer discounts for fixed broadband services. Several larger providers were notably missing from the list, including Frontier, Lumen, T-Mobile, UScellular, Tracfone, and Altice. It couldn't immediately be confirmed whether any of those companies' affiliates are participating. Most of the apparently missing companies didn't respond to questions about whether they plan to participate. A spokesperson for Lumen didn't answer our question about its participation but again said it's "reviewing the program's rules" (see 2103040049). Verizon, missing from the initial list, previously told us it will participate. Charter was approved to participate, but the company hasn't filed its confirmation yet. "We will do so shortly," emailed a spokesperson. A spokesperson for Altice said the company was approved to participate and is looking into why it was omitted from the list.
FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken backed Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s candidacy for ITU secretary general Wednesday. Bogdan-Martin, director of ITU's Telecom Development Bureau, would be the first woman to lead ITU and the first U.S. secretary general in more than 50 years. Rosenworcel said "no one is more qualified to sit at the helm of the ITU." Bodgan-Martin "has dedicated her career to championing gender equality and the expansion of digital access and adoption across the developing world," Raimondo said. Blinken said she's a "widely admired expert on global communications issues." In 2018, delegates to the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference elected Bogdan-Martin director of the ITU Telecom Development Bureau, the first American elected to one of five leadership positions there in 30 years (see 1811010052).