Broadcasters, MVPDs, ISPs and other entities argued over the state of competition in the broadband and video marketplaces and how to address it, in comments posted at the FCC by Friday’s deadline in docket 22-203 for the agency’s biannual State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace report to Congress, due in Q4. Regulations premised on lack of competition “should be repealed,” said NCTA. The FCC “must consider the real-world consequences of imposing, in a highly competitive marketplace, a burdensome and outdated regulatory regime,” said NAB.
Broadcasters, MVPDs, ISPs and other entities argued over the state of competition in the broadband and video marketplaces and how to address it, in comments posted by Friday’s deadline in docket 22-203 for the agency’s biannual State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace report to Congress, due in Q4. Regulations premised on lack of competition “should be repealed,” said NCTA. The FCC “must consider the real-world consequences of imposing, in a highly competitive marketplace, a burdensome and outdated regulatory regime,” said NAB.
Minnesota’s attorney general supported revisiting LTD Broadband’s eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation. So did some local governments and consumer and municipal broadband advocates, in comments due Wednesday in docket M-21-133 at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. LTD urged the PUC to reject the request by Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) and Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) to revoke the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winner’s ETC status (see 2205170058).
NAB and tech groups are preparing for a battle over the FCC’s upcoming collection of regulatory fees, said attorneys and advocates in interviews. Since regulatory fees must be collected by the fall, attorneys expect the agency to soon issue public notices on the 2022 fee collection. The NPRM on the 2021 fee collection was released in May 2021. NAB has had annual disagreements with the agency’s fee assessments for the past several years (see 2008210053), but broadcast attorneys and tech advocates said they expect the group to press the issue this year. NAB Chief Legal Officer Rick Kaplan at the 2022 NAB Show in April said the item is now “at the top of the list.”
A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last week against the SEC could have implications for FCC enforcement actions and the powers of administrative law judges like the FCC’s ALJ Jane Halprin, but it is too early to be sure how the ruling against the SEC applies to other agencies, said academics and communications attorneys in interviews. Based on that Jarkesy v. SEC decision, U.S. Supreme Court rulings and a pair of cases currently before SCOTUS, the outlook for ALJs at federal agencies -- including the FCC -- “looks a little shaky,” said Jeffrey Lubbers, an administrative law professor at American University. “I’d be surprised if this decision is the final word,” said former FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson, now with Wiley.
House Communications Subcommittee members voiced strong support during a Tuesday hearing for the Extending America’s Spectrum Auction Leadership Act (HR-7783) and two NTIA-focused spectrum bills, echoing expected backing from Wiley’s Anna Gomez and CommScope Business Development and Spectrum Policy Director Mark Gibson (see 2205230061). Lawmakers broadly supported elements of the Safe Connections Act (HR-7132), but opinions on the Ensuring Phone and Internet Access for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients Act (HR-4275) divided along party lines.
Citing the need to modernize the FCC's high cost USF programs and align them with recent federal broadband investments through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commissioners on Thursday unanimously adopted an NPRM seeking comment on an Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) Broadband Coalition proposal extending the program. The proposal would increase deployment obligations in exchange for additional funding, and seeks comment on whether to extend participation to carriers that haven't already been participating in the program.
The Biden administration’s Monday announcement (see 2205060046) that 20 ISPs committed to offer low-income households broadband plans with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps at no more than $30 per month got a mixed reception among communications policy stakeholders. All of the participating ISPs -- which include Altice, AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Frontier, Mediacom and Verizon -- were already part of the FCC’s affordable connectivity program that subsidizes qualifying households’ broadband up to $30 per month. The White House said the participating ISPs cover more than 80% of the U.S. population.
FCC commissioners and industry groups stressed the need for USF changes during Free State Foundation’s annual policy conference Friday. Panelists also urged close coordination among agencies throughout the implementation of broadband programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission will open a rulemaking to update state USF rules. Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to adopt staff's recommendation in docket AR 649. Telecom industry groups gave mixed reviews last month to the PUC’s plan to adopt a CostQuest model to decide the size of the Oregon USF (OUSF) starting Jan. 1 (see 2203310040). Deciding to issue an NPRM is merely a “jumping-off point” for the rulemaking, reminded Chair Megan Decker at Tuesday’s virtual PUC meeting. The PUC signed a contract earlier in the week to use a CostQuest model, said PUC senior telecom analyst Nicola Peterson. But the proposed NPRM is a framework to move forward while allowing input, she said. "I don't think putting it off is going to help make it an easier process." The Oregon Telecommunications Association doesn’t want to open a rulemaking that says the PUC will use a model when it doesn’t yet understand the model’s potential results, said OTA attorney Rick Finnigan: The PUC should take more time. "This is important and we need to get it right," he said. The Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association supports moving forward because it thinks the proposed framework is “flexible enough” to let parties work with the model, said Davis Wright’s Mark Trinchero. Commissioner Mark Thompson supported moving forward, while sympathizing with OTA’s concerns. “It is resonating with me that it feels a little weird to ... adopt a rule that says we're going to use a cost model when there seems to be concerns that we really don't know what that cost model is going to produce.” Commissioner Letha Tawney said she sees “outs” for the commission if “this goes off the rails.” Concerned parties should proactively engage, she said.