The Competitive Carriers Association has major concerns about an NPRM set for a vote at the April 17 commissioners’ meeting proposing to prevent use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain, President Steve Berry told us Tuesday. “The FCC has injected uncertainty at a time when carriers need certainty most,” as they are getting set for the Connect America Fund Phase II and Mobility Find II auctions and “building out 600 and 700 MHz spectrum,” Berry said. “This will most certainly impact the United States’ efforts to win the global race to 5G.” The Rural Wireless Association and NTCA also expressed concerns (see 1804020054). CCA was preparing for its spring meeting last week when FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the draft NPRM. “CCA and its members care about national security and support prosecution of those who violate known national security policy,” Berry said. “Nevertheless, the FCC’s proposal to prohibit the use of USF to purchase any equipment or services produced or provided by any company posing a national security threat is incredibly broad and could impact every aspect of the communications supply chain with or without ever taking USF or purchased Chinese or Russian equipment and/or services.” Berry conceded the NPRM raises complicated issues. “CCA members care deeply about the security of their customers and the country and are focused on working towards comprehensive solutions,” he said. “I would hope any action taken by the FCC will move our nation to a broad solution and not a half measure that unduly paralyzes consumers in rural America.” Many smaller carriers have cut deals with Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, which worked hard to penetrate the U.S. market (see 1803260037).

The FCC is launching an Honors Engineer Program, similar to its program for recruiting lawyers. The "digital revolution" is changing the FCC’s work, said Chairman Ajit Pai. "Many of the issues we confront today are technically complex.” Recruits will work on “cutting-edge issues in the communications and high-tech arenas." Work on 5G, the IoT and next-generation broadcasting and satellite systems was mentioned. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a 2013 speech called for the creation of the program (see 1312130054).

USF "disbursements from operations" totaled about $8.8 billion in 2017, said Universal Service Administrative Co.'s annual report posted Monday in FCC docket 96-45 (such disbursements are "cash outlays less admin transfer to USAC"). USAC said the disbursements were $4.67 billion for high-cost (most rural) operations, $2.62 billion for E-rate (schools and libraries), $1.27 billion for Lifeline (low-income) and $261 million for rural health care. USAC said its operating expenses were $196.7 million in 2017, compared with $179.5 million in 2016. Radha Sekar, who joined USAC as CEO in January, looks forward "to transforming the organization into a high-performing team while having a watchful eye on fraud waste and abuse."

Russia Today, a news channel funded by the Russian government, went off-air in the Washington market Saturday because its broadcast partner, WNVC Culpeper, Virginia, sold its spectrum in the incentive auction and distributor MHz Networks was unable to find another channel to carry the content, according to a statement on the MHz website and FCC records. “We looked at acquiring another license and to other providers for channel carriage,” said MHz President Frederick Thomas in the statement. “The former ended in too many moving pieces and the latter proved difficult for the cable systems without a must-carry broadcast partner.” The spectrum of WNVC, owned by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting, went for $57 million in the incentive auction, and the station elected to go off air, according to FCC auction results. WTOP radio in Washington reported that Russia Today has said its registration as a foreign agent led to it going off air. Russia Today, Commonwealth Public Broadcasting and MHz Networks didn’t comment.

The FCC released the text of its order, approved 3-2 on March 22, that revises FCC wireless infrastructure rules with the goal of speeding deployment of small cells and 5G. “The record indicates that this reform will make a real difference in promoting this country’s leadership in 5G,” said the Friday order in docket 17-79. “Indeed, our revised approach to small cells could cut the [National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act] regulatory costs of deployment by 80 percent, trim months off of deployment timelines, and incentivize thousands of new wireless deployments -- thus expanding the reach of 5G and other advanced wireless technologies to more Americans.”

An FCC spokesman said preparation of the rule-making proceedings "to determine eligible costs and reimbursement procedures" for new repacking reimbursement funds "is already underway” (see 1803290051).

The National Capital Region is “blanketing social media” and doing a flurry of local media interviews before Thursday’s regional test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Rodriguez, said in a Friday interview. The District will join 19 other nearby jurisdictions in a test from 10 to 11 a.m. (see 1803280055). “Our job as homeland security professionals is to provide lifesaving information to the public in an actual emergency,” he said. “We take that responsibility and that duty very seriously, and we need to practice that capability, because the last thing we want to do is in a real emergency be using this capability for the first time.” Users in the District will get an alert saying it’s a WEA test and no further action is required, he said. “We’re not going to do the Hawaii thing,” said Rodriguez, referring to the false alarm about a missile headed for the Pacific island state (see 1803160042). The District has about six or seven layers of review before a message is sent, he said. “No one person can send out a wireless emergency alert,” but the process still takes under a minute, he said. “We want to make sure that when the public hears from us, the public knows that it’s an emergency.” While HSEMA tests WEA every month internally, Thursday will be “the first coordinated regional test” of WEA to the general public, Rodriguez said. Success will be to “very quickly disseminate wireless emergency alerts to the public,” he said. Alerts will go out in phases over a half-hour period, with each jurisdiction taking turns hitting "send" about every 15 seconds, Rodriguez said. Alerts will go to anyone with a phone in the area, including out-of-town visitors, because WEA is based on proximity rather than area code, he said. HSEMA is coordinating with Destination D.C. to help get word out about the upcoming test through hotels and tourism organizations, a HSEMA spokeswoman added. Some users may get multiple alerts because the 20 jurisdictions overlap in some places, the director said. After the test, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments will gauge public reaction with an online survey, he said.

Local governments can protect consumers online with municipal broadband networks, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday, releasing a report on benefits of public internet projects. With the Republican-led FCC rescinding net neutrality and ISP privacy rules, “Americans need an internet provider that they can trust and is accountable to the public, not profits,” ACLU said. “Municipal governments can provide this by offering broadband service themselves and implementing the net neutrality and privacy protections that are no longer required of private companies by federal policies.” Municipal broadband often provides faster and cheaper service than private networks, ACLU added. Local governments with public broadband networks “should make sure that access is consistent with free speech values and respects net neutrality principles,” ACLU said. “That means enacting strict anti-censorship rules and establishing clear oversight processes to enforce these principles.”

A draft NPRM on rules potentially barring the use of the USF to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain wouldn’t necessarily mean a blanket ban. Smaller wireless carriers said they must buy equipment from Chinese providers Huawei and ZTE and don’t have good alternatives (see 1803260037). “One bright-line approach would be to prohibit use of USF funds on any purchases whatsoever from companies that have been identified as raising national security risks,” the FCC says in the draft. “Would such a rule be most appropriate here? Another approach would be to limit the scope of the proposed rule to equipment and services that relate to the management of a network, data about the management of a network, or any system the compromise or failure of which could disrupt the confidentiality, availability, or integrity of a network.” The FCC asks about a phased-in schedule for the ban and whether an effective date should be later for smaller USF recipients. The FCC also asks about potential waivers. “Should we establish a separate process from our general waiver provision for waivers of our proposed rule?” it asks. “If we provide such a waiver process, how should it function? Should we require a higher standard than good cause for granting waivers, such as ‘extraordinary circumstances?’”

Neustar said the FCC can't force it to accept a manual contingency rollback to its existing local number portability administrator system if a cutover to incoming LNPA iconectiv (Telcordia) fails. If the FCC is inclined to act, it should delay a planned initial April 8 cutover from Neustar to iconectiv in the Southeast region, said the incumbent's filing posted Tuesday in docket 09-109. The FCC didn't comment Wednesday, but the Wireline Bureau issued a public notice on a webcast set for next Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT to be hosted by LNPA transition oversight manager PwC; it will focus on preparations for the planned Southeast region cutover. Neustar said the FCC would be acting "unlawfully" if it or the Wireline Bureau "were to interfere with or circumvent negotiations on a contingency rollback solution," which are ongoing. Neustar believes an automated contingency rollback is the only solution and "sufficient testing" is needed, but North American Portability Management and others believe "a manual rollback will suffice and insist that only limited testing is necessary," the filing said. "To the extent the Commission is inclined to take some action, it should extend the April 8, 2018 cutover deadline, which is an arbitrary date selected by the NAPM and Telcordia and blessed by the FCC. A reasonable extension of this deadline would allow the parties to continue negotiating an acceptable resolution that will safeguard all interested parties and protect the public from the catastrophic interruption to our nation's telecommunications system that could occur should the cutover to the new LNPA not go as smoothly as is hoped. However, what the Commission cannot do is inject itself into or otherwise short-circuit the parties' negotiations by, for example, purporting to require Neustar to facilitate a manual rollback or declaring that Neustar's failure to do so would implicate [its Master Services Agreement]." Neustar said such an FCC action would violate FCC rules and decades of precedent, contravene the Federal Arbitration Act due to an MSA arbitration clause and exceed the agency's authority.