The Tanana Chiefs Conference of Fairbanks, Alaska, urged the FCC Tuesday to take “expedited action" to review a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision denying its request to file three FCC Form 466 USF Rural Health Care Program funding applications outside the FY 2016 filing window. TCC cited President Donald Trump’s Monday executive order, which made permanent for rural communities an expansion of Medicare recipients’ eligibility to receive 135 types of services via telehealth (see 2008040068). The White House “tasked” the FCC “to work with other government agencies to ‘develop and implement a strategy to improve rural health by improving the physical and communications healthcare infrastructure available to rural Americans,’” TCC counsel Ronald Quirk said in a filing in docket 02-60. “Granting TCC’s Waiver Request comports with” the EO since “failure to grant … would result in the communities served by TCC suffering serious hardships if funding for the subject health clinics is denied.”
The Tanana Chiefs Conference of Fairbanks, Alaska, urged the FCC Tuesday to take “expedited action" to review a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision denying its request to file three FCC Form 466 USF Rural Health Care Program funding applications outside the FY 2016 filing window. TCC cited President Donald Trump’s Monday executive order, which made permanent for rural communities an expansion of Medicare recipients’ eligibility to receive 135 types of services via telehealth (see 2008040068). The White House “tasked” the FCC “to work with other government agencies to ‘develop and implement a strategy to improve rural health by improving the physical and communications healthcare infrastructure available to rural Americans,’” TCC counsel Ronald Quirk said in a filing in docket 02-60. “Granting TCC’s Waiver Request comports with” the EO since “failure to grant … would result in the communities served by TCC suffering serious hardships if funding for the subject health clinics is denied.”
Federal policymakers must help spur rural connectivity to support precision agriculture and ensure food security, John Deere Director-Advanced Technology, Intelligent Solutions Group Daniel Leibfried told a virtual meeting of the FCC precision agriculture task force Wednesday. Leibfried, who chairs the task force's connectivity demand working group, said if it were profitable to deliver connectivity to rural agricultural lands, ISPs would have done so.
State eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation is useful to the FCC, though it might be time to update that and other USF rules from the 1996 Telecom Act, said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel at NARUC’s virtual summer meeting. Later Wednesday, the state regulator association's board unanimously adopted a telecom resolution opposing Capitol Hill efforts to scrap the ETC requirement (see 2007200054). Preserving the ETC designation is a top issue for state regulators, said NARUC President Brandon Presley in a Tuesday interview. He pledged to move “swiftly” on the association’s social justice pledge.
COVID-19 amplified the need to address broadband gaps, said members of NARUC’s broadband task force in interviews Tuesday. Cable, wireline and wireless networks are holding up to the surge in traffic during the pandemic, but industry agrees with policymakers on the heightened need to expand access, NCTA, CTIA and USTelecom panelists told state regulators' virtual summer meeting.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson challenged state utility commissioners to increase diversity and be more inclusive, in a Monday keynote at NARUC’s virtual summer meeting. NARUC President Brandon Presley pledged “intentional actions” to end systemic racism, backing up the association’s June 4 statement amid a national reckoning. Another major crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, drove broadband discussions Monday.
Eligible telecom carrier designation is valuable to state commissioners and mustn't be eliminated, NARUC Telecom Committee members said in interviews last week. The committee plans to vote at the state regulator association’s July 20-22 virtual meeting on a proposed resolution that would reject an idea supported by some industry and FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly that raised state alarm (see 2007070057). State commissioners supporting the draft by Chair Karen Charles Peterson of Massachusetts said they haven’t seen the process discouraging providers from seeking USF funding. Two industry groups disagreed.
USTelecom and its members urged the FCC to launch an order soon on a February consensus proposal on toll-free access rates. Rural and competitive LECs want to make sure they don't lose revenue in the process or face added costs. Activity in docket 18-156 heated up in recent weeks as stakeholders lobby Wireline Bureau staff and commissioner offices. The commission issued a Further NPRM two years ago (see 1807020040). At issue is who pays to move toll-free traffic and who gets revenue for it.
Industry, USF recipients and consumer advocates are exploring new ways to fund USF. Talks began last year and remain in early stages, participants said in interviews. Parties fear the contribution factor, which reached a record high of 25% last fall (see 1909130003), isn't sustainable. Some want to present a unified funding proposal to Congress or the FCC. Most want the matter addressed next year.
Major associations wrote congressional leaders Thursday backing legislation funding replacement of Huawei and ZTE equipment in U.S. networks. Industry questioned the FCC approach on equipment by the two Chinese companies, in comments on how provisions in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act affect supply chain security rules. The March law lacks funding for gear replacement (see 2003130083). Industry representatives told us they hope lawmakers fund it soon.