Delays for repacking broadcasters worsened during Phase 2, representatives from tower companies, antenna manufacturers and broadcasters told the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force Jan. 31, they recounted. The meeting followed up on the representatives' concerns in October (see 1811160037). Repacking delays were worse “primarily because of the unusually poor weather throughout the country that has put tower crews and riggers even further behind schedule than was expected last October,” they wrote, posted Friday. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the National Association of Tower Erectors last week the repacking is "ahead of schedule" (see 1902060037). Tower crews “are extremely concerned” about meeting commitments, “let alone taking the new orders” expected in 2019, the filing said. “There are insufficient competent, safe tower and rigging crews available to install the main antennas in accordance with the prescribed Commission repack schedule ... weather delays, permitting delays, and crew availability delays continue to hinder the repack process.” The IATF should increase outreach to broadcasters and increase flexibility on requests for special temporary authority and allowing interim facilities, participants said. A successful repacking could come down to either missing phase deadlines or letting broadcasters shift to temporary interim facilities that are ”less than ideal,” they said. The FCC didn't comment.

Two federal-state joint boards plan to meet Monday during NARUC's conference in Washington, Universal Service State Chair Chris Nelson and Jurisdictional Separations State Chair Sarah Hofmann told us Friday. The FCC named new Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to both joint boards, which Commissioner Mike O'Rielly chairs on the federal side. Being a commissioner also makes Starks a member of a federal-state joint conference on advanced services, said an FCC order released Friday on dockets 96-45 and others. Starks met with reporters Friday (see 1902080056). States have two vacancies on the Separations panel because former Montana Commissioner Travis Kavulla left for the R Street Institute and Wendy Moser wasn’t reappointed to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The FCC didn’t comment.

“It ain’t easy” but Google Fiber is leaving Louisville, Google blogged Thursday. Google won’t charge for the next two months' service before turning off the network April 15, it said. “We’ll work with our customers and partners to minimize disruption, and we’re committed to doing right by the community.” Google placed fiber in shallow trenches in Louisville but “encountered challenges that have been disruptive to residents and caused service issues,” said the company, citing an August WDRB.com article about exposed fiber lines. “We would need to essentially rebuild our entire network in Louisville to provide the great service that Google Fiber is known for, and that's just not the right business decision.” Google Fiber said it continues to add customers in other cities. Google Fiber’s entrance added competition that led to other ISPs enhancing service, a Louisville spokesperson said in a statement: “AT&T, Spectrum, and others have stepped up and increased investment in Louisville.” AT&T and Charter Communications (Spectrum) had filed lawsuits against Louisville over a one-touch, make-ready law that Google Fiber supported. A federal court in 2017 rejected AT&T’s lawsuit against the policy (see 1708210045). Last month, the Louisville Metro Council floated proposed changes to the OTMR law that were expected to resolve the Charter suit (see 1810310045).

Industry and local governments are backing rival Maryland bills meant to speed wireless infrastructure deployment. Maryland Economic Matters Committee Chair Dereck Davis (D) Wednesday introduced HB-654 to pre-empt local governments in the right of way. It includes a “deemed granted” provision on a 60-day shot clock for local authorities to act on a collocation application and a 90-day clock for installing, modifying or replacing a pole. It would limit application fees to $500 for a single application including up to five facilities, plus $100 per each additional facility on that form. Annual ROW occupancy rates couldn't exceed $20 yearly per facility, and collocation “shall be set” at $100 annually per facility. Industry and local government spent months negotiating, but Davis introduced what industry initially had proposed, said ultraMontgomery Program Director Mitsuko Herrera in a Thursday interview. She said Montgomery County is “firmly opposed” to HB-654 but supports an alternative, SB-713, drafted by municipal and county groups and introduced Monday by Sen. Pamela Beidle (D). The Senate Finance panel Wednesday scheduled a hearing on it for Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. Localities’ bill doesn’t set limits on rental fees because Maryland already requires cost-based fees, Herrera said. It would uphold local zoning regulations, require public hearings, consider community needs including aesthetics and ensure enhanced connections to the unserved, she said. CTIA didn’t comment. Meanwhile, Georgia's SB-66, the expected result of autumn talks between industry and local governments (see 1901070045), entered the Senate hopper Wednesday. It would limit application fees to $100 per facility on existing poles, $250 for each replacement pole and $1,000 for each new pole. Annual ROW couldn't exceed $100 annually for each small cell on an existing or replacement pole or $200 for each new pole, and annual collocation rates couldn’t exceed $40 yearly. If the application is “an eligible facilities request, the authority shall not deny the application” and must approve it within 60 days, the bill said. Mississippi's SB-2003 died Tuesday in committee.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai named 37 members to the Disability Advisory Committee for the term ending Dec. 21, 2020. They represent "individuals with disabilities, the communications and video programming industries, the public safety industry, trade associations, academia, researchers, and other stakeholders," said a public notice Thursday. The DAC is expected to have at least three one-day plenary meetings per year, with subcommittees working between meetings on accessibility issues, including communications transitions, telecom relay services, emergency access, and video programming, the PN said. Will Schell, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Disability Rights Office attorney, will again be the designated FCC officer. DAC co-chairs will be Brian Scarpelli, senior policy counsel of ACT|the App Association, and Isidore Niyongabo, director-advocacy and public engagement, National Association of Black Deaf Advocates. (For other members, see personals section.)

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai encouraged tower companies to work with broadcasters as both move forward on the repacking that followed the TV incentive auction. Pai spoke to the National Association of Tower Erectors Wednesday. “We’ve made great progress since the close of the incentive auction and the start of the transition period in April 2017,” but work remains, he said. “We’ve heard concerns from both tower companies and broadcasters that limited tower crew availability and weather delays may make it difficult to meet deadlines in future phases,” he said. “I encourage tower companies to be proactive. Coordination with stations and equipment manufacturers will be key.” Pai said of the repack, "not only are we ahead of schedule, we have the resources to do the job." Pai said this was his first speech to NATE but he understands the issues members face: “I’ve seen you on your turf and understand the challenge of what you do.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called for further action on wireless emergency alerts Wednesday, especially from carriers, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. Pai noted a 3GPP working group last month approved technical specifications set for a vote during 3GPP’s quarterly plenary meeting in March. Also in March, ATIS is expected to wrap up standards for improved geo-targeting, he said. “Recognizing that there is still more work to be done, I urge all principals … to remain vigilant in their work to ensure that the benefits of enhanced wireless emergency alerts are made available by November,” Pai said. “The American people want, expect, and deserve the best possible public safety services -- including the most precise targeting available for wireless alerts.” Commissioners a year ago approved an order 5-0 imposing a Nov. 30 deadline for carriers to more accurately “geo-target” wireless emergency alerts (see 1801300027). The order requires participating carriers to deliver WEAs to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot. “I agree with my colleague,” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told us. “The American people deserve the best possible public safety services and it’s important that the FCC do everything within its power to make this a reality. We may not know where or when the next disaster will strike, but we can be prepared with tools to respond quickly and effectively.” The wireless industry shares Pai’s goal of enhancing the WEA system’s “proven lifesaving capabilities through more granular geographic targeting,” said Matt Gerst, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs: “CTIA’s member companies will continue to work diligently and collaboratively to meet this goal as expeditiously as possible.”

Comments are due March 7 on an FCC matching program to verify Lifeline eligibility of low-income consumers under the 1974 Privacy Act, said Tuesday's Federal Register. The computer program to be established with four nonfederal agencies is to begin March 7 -- unless comments are received by that date requiring a contrary determination -- and conclude Aug. 5, 2020. The FCC mandated Universal Service Administrative Co. implement a national verifier of eligibility through proof of income or participation in qualifying programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, and housing, veterans, tribal and supplemental income programs. Paperwork Reduction Act comments are due at the FCC April 8 on telecom forbearance petition filing requirements (notice) and on certain access charge pool reporting duties associated with payphones (notice). The FCC later Tuesday set new soft and hard launches of the Lifeline national verifier in a dozen states and jurisdictions (see 1902050039). The agency's proposed Lifeline reseller ban is likely "dead" after court reversal of limits on enhanced tribal support, including a reseller ban, said an American Enterprise Institute scholar (see 1902050010).

Chairman Ajit Pai called the FCC's USF rate floor policy "crazy" philosophically, and cited plans for remedial actions. The idea that government forces rural telco phone rates up to reflect a national average, or lose high-cost USF support, doesn't make sense, he said in Q&A with NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield webcast from a rural telecom show in New Orleans. He hopes to "move with dispatch" to get fellow commissioners to agree with him on near-term relief and a longer-term solution. He recently criticized the rate floor and told lawmakers he planned to seek action in coming months (see 1901310036). Separately, Pai said he's seeking a "balance" on broadband performance testing that holds USF-backed providers accountable for their data-speed commitments while streamlining the process as much as possible to ease industry burdens. He said the FCC is focused on coordinating with the Agriculture and Commerce departments on broadband infrastructure efforts to ensure "we speak with one voice" so parties "aren't running over each other" and "we get the most bang for our buck." He said the commission wants to encourage more rural fiber deployment to feed nascent 5G wireless systems, which he believes have much potential in rural areas, though he recognized the business plan is difficult. It's important to create small geographic license sizes in spectrum auctions to "incentivize" bidding by small as well as big providers, he said: "Stay tuned." He spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities broadband can create in rural America through remote healthcare and other applications, noting when he was growing up in rural Kansas, his doctor father used to drive 45 miles to visit patients. His overall focus remains on ensuring every American is "empowered" in the digital age: "That requires broadband."

FCC staff announced new soft and hard launches of the Lifeline national verifier (NV) of consumer low-income eligibility in a dozen states and other U.S. jurisdictions. The Wireline Bureau said a soft launch, allowing Lifeline providers voluntarily to use the NV to test their enrollment systems and processes, begins Wednesday in Alaska, American Samoa, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, the Northern Mariana Islands, Rhode Island and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A hard launch, when all parties must use the NV to determine consumer eligibility, begins March 5 in Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 11-42. Those states had a soft launch Dec. 4 (see 1811280008). Lifeline providers and advocates voiced concerns (see 1901230036) about consumer enrollment difficulties and de-enrollment of existing users under the NV's systems -- which lack an application programming interface for carriers and full access to national low-income program databases -- starting with less-populated states in the first two batches to undergo hard launches. They fear the March 5 hard launch of four more-heavily-populated states could greatly increase the magnitude of the problems. Comments on privacy in NV use of computer matching programs are due March 7 (see 1902050008). An American Enterprise Institute scholar said the FCC's proposed Lifeline reseller ban was likely "dead" after court reversal of limits on enhanced tribal support, including a reseller ban (see 1902050010).