Congress is watching the planned merger of Comcast and NBC Universal closely, and members are expected to weigh what it means to consumers and competitors, said Hill and industry figures. “This is one of the larger consolidations in the telecom/media space in history, and it is a matter of public interest, [and] it’s a matter of interest to those of us involved in telecommunications policy,” said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., in an interview. Boucher also outlined his legislative priorities for the new term, including work on a spectrum inventory, Internet privacy and the Universal Service Fund.
Financing broadband projects in rural America is a major challenge and lenders need a stable cost-recovery mechanism and help from the government to see that loans get repaid and networks are expanded, financial companies and organizations said in comments at the FCC. The comments were in response to the 28th public notice for the National Broadband Plan, on deployment financing. They were the last comments due at the commission on a notice for the plan.
Financing broadband projects in rural America is a major challenge and lenders need a stable cost-recovery mechanism and help from the government to see that loans get repaid and networks are expanded, financial companies and organizations said in comments at the FCC. The comments were in response to the 28th public notice for the National Broadband Plan, on deployment financing. They were the last comments due at the commission on a notice for the plan.
Spectrum audit legislation will be a high priority for the House and Senate Commerce Committees when Congress reconvenes next year, industry and Hill sources said. Work likely will start in the House Communications Subcommittee with markup of two bills that address the scope of a spectrum inventory (HR-3125), and strategy for relocating holders of federal agency spectrum, freeing it for commercial use (HR- 3019). The Senate Communications Subcommittee also has an audit bill (S-649). Negotiations are ongoing among congressional staff and the administration on a comprehensive approach, industry sources said. There’s strong bipartisan support for an inventory bill.
The FCC broadband team believes private investment is essential and competition drives innovation and better choices, said Blair Levin, the plan coordinator, at the commission’s meeting Wednesday. The U.S. must make better use of “existing assets” such as the Universal Service Fund, spectrum and rights of way, he said. Chairman Julius Genachowski agreed that USF and spectrum are critical areas and said the government can’t afford to put off a thorough USF overhaul much longer.
The FCC needs to make solving the digital divide a high priority for its broadband plan, Commissioner Michael Copps said at a Practising Law Institute conference Thursday. People are starting to realize that the broadband plan is not just “technospeak from broadband geeks” but can lead to policies that improve peoples’ lives, said Copps, who was introduced at the conference by Chairman Julius Genachowski. But if policymakers don’t get it right, the result could be “more and even wider divides in this country,” Copps said.
The Telecommunications Industry Association asked the FCC to remake the Universal Service Fund into a broadband fund, in comments on National Broadband Plan Public Notice #19, on USF and intercarrier compensation issues. Five mid- sized incumbent telcos offered a proposal for revamping both. Most filers agreed that USF and ICC overhauls should be included in the plan, due to be submitted to Congress in February. Many comments built on those filed in previous comment rounds.
Health care providers and the telecom industry urged changes to universal service rules, as the FCC collected comment Friday on how broadband helps health care delivery. Some urged more spectrum allocation and renewed calls for a national public safety wireless network. All said broadband is key to providing better health care.
CTIA weighed in for the first time on Local Switching Support. The association called for comprehensive changes in the Universal Service Fund and opposed what it called a “backward-looking petition” by the Coalition for Equity in Switching Support. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a draft notice of proposed rulemaking that tentatively concluded incumbent local exchange carriers should get additional universal service support under the LSS mechanism if they lose a significant number of access line customers (CD Oct 13 p8). But the commission asked for more data before it makes a final decision.
Draft universal service reform legislation announced Friday would cover broadband, expand the contribution base and cap high-cost support, said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. This is the third round of legislation the two lawmakers have worked on, and comes after months of negotiations among industry and regional regulators. “The Universal Service Fund is broken,” said Boucher and Terry. Consumers will pay more than 14 percent of long-distance revenue into the fund next year, up from 12 percent in 2009, they said. A hearing on the draft is planned for Nov. 17.