Rural wireless carriers didn’t endorse but some may be open to Universal Service Fund overhaul legislation by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. The bill (HR-5828) is backed by major wireline associations, the cable industry and AT&T and Verizon (CD July 23 p1). Some expected a competitive bidding rule to alienate rural wireless carriers that compete for USF dollars as competitive eligible telecommunications carriers. Wireless CETCs have concerns, but believe Boucher and Terry listened hard to all stakeholders and came up with a “solid compromise,” said Rural Telecommunication Group General Counsel Carri Bennet.
The FCC concludes in its sixth broadband deployment report that 14-24 million Americans still can’t get high-speed access, and the immediate prospect for deployment to the unserved Americans is “bleak.” As expected (CD July 19 p1), commission Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker issued vigorous dissents from the report and its finding that the FCC can’t conclude that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a “reasonable and timely” manner.
The FCC concludes in its sixth broadband deployment report that 14-24 million Americans still can’t get high-speed access, and the immediate prospect for deployment to the unserved Americans is “bleak.” As expected, commission Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker issued vigorous dissents from the report and its finding that the FCC can’t conclude that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a “reasonable and timely” manner.
Internet disabilities legislation in the House “is well-intentioned but would create enormous burdens on innovators seeking to introduce new products and features,” CEA President Gary Shapiro said after the House Communications Subcommittee approved an amended HR-3101 on Wednesday. Shapiro and HR-3101 sponsor Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., clashed over the bill at a hearing last month (CED June 11 p4).
The House Communications Subcommittee approved Internet accessibility legislation in a voice vote Wednesday afternoon, with a manager’s amendment by Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher said he hoped to offer another manager’s amendment later to address “remaining points of difference,” including those related to video description rules. Meanwhile, disabilities rights advocates were upset after learning the amendment cut out a provision that would subsidize broadband services and equipment for people with disabilities.
The House Communications Subcommittee approved Internet accessibility legislation in a voice vote Wednesday afternoon, with a manager’s amendment by Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher said he hoped to offer another manager’s amendment later to address “remaining points of difference,” including those related to video description rules. Meanwhile, disabilities rights advocates were upset after learning the amendment cut out a provision that would subsidize broadband services and equipment for people with disabilities.
How universal service fits into Congress’ planned rewrite of the Telecom Act is expected to come up at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thursday on the Universal Service Fund, industry lobbyists said Monday. The Senate hearing opens a new avenue of Hill dialog on USF, an issue that lately has been mainly the domain of the House. House and Senate Commerce Committee staff meetings on the telecom law revamp start Friday (CD June 21 p8).
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, who was recently in New York to meet with analysts and investors, said the message emanating from Wall Street was clear: Chairman Julius Genachowski’s “third way” broadband reclassification proposal is already having a chilling effect on investment. A divided commission is to take up the Genachowski proposal Thursday. McDowell also said in an interview Wednesday that the FCC should complete action on the stalled white spaces proceeding quickly, so devices can be on store shelves in time for the 2011 holiday buying season.
The ongoing fight over whether broadband should be reclassified as a more heavily regulated “telecom” service has resulted in chaos for the broadband industry, FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker said Thursday at the annual Broadband Policy Summit, sponsored by Pike & Fischer. Baker also said work on the “third way” reclassification plan by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has distracted attention from the National Broadband Plan. Another danger is that increased FCC regulation of the Internet could lead to more government control of the Internet in other nations, she warned.
Cable operators large and small largely are unified on many issues that affect the industry, some of them high profile, that are pending before the FCC, our survey of executives found. Retransmission consent deals, where pay-TV operators contend broadcasters force them to pay unfair carriage fees, are the latest example of a unified message across operators of all sizes (CD May 20 p4) and the NCTA, representing big operators and programmers, and the small-operator lobbying group American Cable Association (ACA). Concern about FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan to reclassify broadband transport under parts of Title II and a desire to use cheap HD set-top boxes with integrated navigation and security features are shared by many cable system owners.