Citing "extraordinary circumstances," FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Friday released a draft order for the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund. The draft would adopt several proposals sought by education advocates and trade groups but excludes wireless providers' bid to include smartphones (see 2104060042). Rosenworcel thanked Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr's "encouragement to share a draft with the public." Ex parte presentations on ECF are prohibited after Wednesday at 6 p.m. EDT, said a public notice in docket 21-93. Rosenworcel says commissioners will likely vote on the rules by mid-May (see 2104140041). The program would mirror existing E-rate rules for eligibility and includes tribal libraries. Schools and libraries aren't required to be existing E-rate participants to apply, but entities not eligible for E-rate support won't be eligible for ECF. The draft puts Universal Service Administrative Co. in charge of administering funds. USAC will issue funding decision commitment letters for 50% of workable applications within 60 days after the first application window closes, 70% of workable applications within 100 days. Schools that bought services and equipment during the pandemic will be given priority in the first window, with any remaining funds awarded during a second one. USAC would make public pricing data for eligible services and equipment to put applicants in a "better bargaining position." Participating providers wouldn't be required to have eligible telecom carrier designation to contract with a school or library. The draft doesn't exclude providers participating in the emergency broadband benefit program from providing services through ECF. The draft lists Wi-Fi hot spots, modems, routers, combined modem-router devices and connected devices as eligible equipment. The commission defined connected devices as "laptop computers and tablet computers that are capable of connecting to advanced telecommunications and information services." Smartphones were excluded because they "lack the full functionality students, school staff, and library patrons need." There's limited exception for network construction because "in some instances, there is simply no commercially available service for purchase available to reach students, school staff, and library patrons in their homes." The document doesn't set minimum service standards. Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen, while backing the quick turnaround in a statement, was "disappointed that the draft order does not provide schools and libraries more flexibility" and doesn't "grant SHLB's request to waive a rule to let schools and libraries extend service from their buildings to surrounding households."

The FCC announced that the emergency broadband benefit program starts May 12 (see 2102250066). “Help is around the corner” for families that have been “struggling to get online throughout this pandemic,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday. EBB got "off the ground in record time.”

Increasing diversity is good for business, said acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and others told the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment. The virtual event Wednesday was to educate diverse business owners and provide networking opportunities in the communications industry. Diversity also is “a moral imperative,” Rosenworcel said. “Inclusion isn’t expensive, exclusion is,” said Internet Association CEO Dane Snowden. Doing business with minorities is “good for business, good for the economy, and promotes global stability," said Edith McCloud, acting national director of the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). New entrants, minority-owned businesses and smaller businesses face barriers for large government contracts, speakers said. There’s an “upswing” toward consolidation in procurement contracts, said Tony Crescenzo, president of government contractor Intelligent Waves. Smaller companies should align themselves with bigger companies, he said. Increasingly stringent cybersecurity requirements could freeze out smaller businesses, said Major Clark, acting chief counsel at the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. More contracts went to small businesses from companies than from the federal government, said Angela Washington, an MBDA business development specialist. AT&T requires suppliers include diverse businesses in their subcontracting, said Executive Director-Supplier Diversity Jalayna Bolden. Legislation stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on broadband infrastructure could provide an avenue for training, “upskilling” and more money to flow to diverse businesses, said Jonathan Adelstein, president of the Wireless Infrastructure Association: “The industry needs to include diversity as part and parcel of what they do.” Grant programs are available to minority-owned businesses involved in building broadband networks, but they must demonstrate their businesses will remain viable when grant money dries up, said Scott Woods, senior broadband specialist at NTIA’s BroadbandUSA program. The FCC and other federal agencies should "examine existing engagement strategies for including minority business enterprises in current and future procurement opportunities," Washington said in the event chat window.

Parties disagreed on terrain-based models, such as the Longley-Rice irregular terrain model (ITM), to determine available TV channels for white space devices, in replies on an October Further NPRM (see 2010290051), due Monday in FCC docket 20-36. The Wireless ISP Association sought the change. “By now, the Commission should feel confident that it can permit white space database administrators to utilize the point-to-point Longley-Rice irregular terrain model for determining white space channel availability for fixed white space devices without increasing the risk to incumbent operations,” Microsoft said. NAB still disagrees (see 2103290052). Don’t “adopt additional changes that threaten television reception, particularly considering this unlicensed technology has produced few tangible results in the thirteen years since the Commission first authorized [white spaces] operations,” NAB said. BitPath agreed further revisions are “wholly inappropriate” now. The FCC just made “sweeping changes” to the rules, including a 60% increase in power levels and a doubling of antenna height for some fixed devices, “as well as substantial power increases for mobile devices, and authorized a new class of narrowband IoT” devices, BitPath said: “Making further changes to the … rules without the benefit of knowing the real world impact of the recent changes would be imprudent.” But NAB’s initial comments “overstate the potential for harmful interference to protected TV broadcast stations, understate the public interest benefits of using the ITM, and are outweighed by the record,” WISPA said: “The Commission should require the TV white space administrator to add the ITM as an option for TV white space users following Commission testing to confirm the ability of the database to implement the ITM without causing harmful interference to protected TV station facilities.”

Free Press urged the FCC to “comprehensively reexamine the sufficiency” of the wireless resiliency cooperative framework and whether it should remain voluntary, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 11-60. Wireless commenters defended the framework. The FCC has the opportunity to better understand communications failures after disasters by asking questions now, Free Press said: “The agency must fill in the massive gaps in its knowledge of the impact of the hurricanes and the underlying causes of outages in Puerto Rico in 2017, and trace those same kinds of failures through several devastating California wildfire seasons and other disasters." A "flexible, voluntary approach remains the best paradigm for advancing wireless network resiliency,” CTIA countered: “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to resiliency, and there should be no one-size-fits-all mandate or metric to assess the efficacy of efforts.” Voluntary efforts are working, said the ATIS. American Tower said: “Improving network resiliency requires evaluation of individual communications sites and collaboration between industry stakeholders and policymakers.” That networks performed well during the pandemic shows their resilience, AT&T said, citing its "substantial investments in network resiliency” and work with stakeholders. Each disaster “is unique in terms of cause, geography, consumer and network impact, and severity,” Verizon said: “Providers’ networks themselves vary based on geography, technology choice, and available resources.” T-Mobile commented: “Although wireless networks are not immune from the destructive effects” of natural disasters, “wireless carriers continuously are taking steps to prevent outages and ensure ... reliability and resiliency.”

Education advocates and industry groups disagreed whether the FCC should allow retroactive reimbursements and set technology standards for schools and libraries in the $7.1 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (see 2104140041). Replies were due Friday in docket 21-93. Schools that "made the decision earlier on to invest in connectivity for remote learning" should be reimbursed for purchases since the pandemic's onset, said Incompas. AT&T said retroactive payments would put schools that couldn't afford that at the "back of the line," a view echoed by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Prioritizing retroactive reimbursements would help "most likely more well-off schools and libraries," said ACA Connects (see 2104120052): It "should only be allowed for eligible purchases that have not been funded by any other source." USTelecom and NTCA agreed. Reject calls to allow ECF funding for self-provisioning, said Verizon: "Because self-provisioning requires large upfront expenditures, the schools receiving" that support "would consume a disproportionate share of the ECF and leave too little support for other schools." WTA agreed: This would lead to "substantial delays in the availability of eligible services that are needed immediately." Self-provisioned networks are the "most cost-effective" for students without residential broadband, said groups including New America’s Open Technology Institute, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Center for Rural Strategies and Public Knowledge. Avoid minimum service standards because "there is no consensus on the appropriate capacity needed for remote learning," said the Wireless ISP Association: "To narrow the fund’s scope to include only those services offering certain broadband speeds could have the unintended consequence of penalizing students who live in areas" with slower speeds. NCTA and GCI Communication agreed. CTIA said questions about "adequacy of mobile broadband for remote learning are unsupported by the record and flatly contrary to the experience of millions of students during the pandemic." The Competitive Carriers Association, T-Mobile and UScellular said similar. Defining "connected device" should be done in a "flexible, technologically neutral way," said Apple.

Starlink urged the FCC to reject the Ensuring RDOF Integrity Coalition's objection to its petition for designation as an eligible telecom carrier, in a filing posted Friday in docket 09-197. The designation is required in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction (see 2102040058). ERIC's arguments are a "baseless attempt to obstruct the ETC process as part of larger efforts to hamstring a new, highly competitive entrant to the broadband marketplace, to obtain proprietary and competitively sensitive network information, and to commandeer valuable spectrum already being used," the company said. "Hopefully, this mystery filer, which purportedly aims to 'ensure integrity' while directly parroting the arguments of others, will dish out the truth about its funding and membership." The coalition couldn't be reached for comment.

The FCC wants until May 26 to respond to cities asking the Supreme Court to stop federal preemption on small cells, acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote Thursday in case 20-1354. “This extension is requested to complete preparation of the government’s response, which was delayed because of the heavy press of earlier assigned cases to the attorneys.” Portland, Oregon, and 35 other municipalities filed the petition for writ of certiorari last month, asking SCOTUS to hear the appeal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' upholding much of 2018 FCC small-cell orders (see 2103230052).

The FCC asked for comment by May 21, replies June 7 on connecting via Wi-Fi to 211, the dialing code for community information and referral services. Use of Wi-Fi and 211 increased during the pandemic, said Wednesday's notice in docket 92-105. It asked for "comments on the opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging Wi-Fi calling technologies to support access to 211 and other essential community services, and we seek comment on the public interest benefits.” The Wireless and Wireline bureaus "seek to better understand the public’s ability to connect to these essential community services using Wi-Fi calling."

With T-Mobile coming on strong and competition intensifying, Verizon lost 178,000 postpaid wireless phone subscribers in Q1. Verizon was the first of the big three to report, with AT&T set for Thursday. Verizon’s buy of Tracfone will likely close in Q3, CEO Hans Vestberg told analysts Wednesday: “Everything we said from the beginning is holding true. The process is continuing as expected.” The FCC asked both companies last week for more data, including the deal's implications for Lifeline customers (see 2104140064). Vestberg defended the company’s $52.9 billion in bids in the C-band auction. “The combination of C band and our millimeter wave places us in a unique position of strength to execute on all 5G opportunities,” he said. Verizon ordered half the gear it needs to deploy in the C band this year, he said. Verizon is feeling effects from the pandemic, Vestberg said. “While we see significant progress in vaccinations, customer sentiment and recovery of our economy, there is still a lot to go before we are back to normal.” Asked if Verizon planned to apply for emergency broadband funds from the FCC, Vestberg said companies should take the lead, with government focusing on “affordability.” Profit was $5.4 billion, up from $4.3 billion a year ago and better than any quarter last year. Revenue was $32.9 billion, up from $31.6 billion. Verizon added a net 98,000 Fios customers but lost 82,000 pay-TV subscribers, citing "the ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top offerings." Verizon’s advantages in the 4G era are slipping away, MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett told investors. “In 5G, Verizon looks destined to be a fast-follower, at best,” he said. “Verizon is quick to argue that T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz spectrum won’t translate into a coverage advantage (they argue that their newly-won 3.7 GHz spectrum will propagate just as far given allowable power level differences). Good try. But T-Mobile has more spectrum, they have it sooner, and they’re already far down the road of building out their network.” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said he’s watching long-term trends for Verizon more than quarterly results. “We were surprised by long-term guidance of flat margins amid improving revenue growth; wireless has always been a business with operating leverage,” he told investors: “We suspect the investment in infrastructure to deploy C-Band is driving up fixed costs.”