Leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' proposals for major broadband funding likely signal a definitive end to hopes for enacting a long-sought infrastructure package before the next election, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. But focus on the issue is a net positive for the ongoing policy debate, they said. Experts question, though, whether attention to broadband as part of rural-focused campaign platforms will translate into a shift in support among those voters who moved away from Democrats in the 2016 election.

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly walked back accusations that the U.S. Virgin Islands diverted 911 fees in 2017, in a letter to U.S. Virgin Islands legislator Donna Frett-Gregory Wednesday. O’Rielly said in a July letter (see 1907180030) to the governor that because over $1.2 million in 911 fees were diverted in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2017 he wouldn’t back additional USF funds for USVI without changes to how 911 fees were handled there. “[T]aking all the facts into consideration, it does not appear that 9-1-1 fees collected by the USVI were diverted for calendar year 2017,” O’Rielly conceded, praising Frett-Gregory’s willingness to consider legislative changes to 911 fee collection. He said additional staff review showed the Virgin Islands’ 2018 filings didn’t provide a complete picture of how the fees were collected and allocated. “I appreciate the opportunity to clear-up this situation,” O’Rielly said. “I expect that the USVI will remain in compliance with the non-diversionary provisions contained in U.S. federal law,” he said.

CenturyLink asked the FCC to tell states and localities they must not discriminate against interconnected VoIP services when they adopt 911 charge regimes, said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-44 (see 1906100039). It responded to Alabama 911 districts on a petition about the meaning of interconnected VoIP and the prohibition of 911 charges on VoIP customers. The company said the FCC need not resolve all questions of 911 service implementation, such as prioritization between VoIP and TDM lines and the ability to increase capacity to temporarily deal with high call volume, "to conclude that states cannot discriminate" by charging more for 911 service on VoIP lines.

Puerto Rico told FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly it enacted a law June 21 prohibiting transfer of 9-1-1 Emergency System Bureau and other telecom funds for purposes other than ensuring the rendering and stability of the 911 and telecom services, the territory's Telecom Bureau said, posted Tuesday in docket 09-14. O'Rielly says the territory was ending such fee diversion (see 1811290047).

2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee proposed requiring “Big Tech companies to pay into" USF as part of a rural economic policy plan Wednesday. “Big Tech companies have benefited from USF-financed broadband networks but have not been legally obligated to pay into the fund.” Democratic FCC members have been pushing the commission to advance discussions on USF contribution revisions (see 1907110020). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly don’t support including a fee on broadband access or usage in the USF contribution factor (see 1906250011). Adding major tech companies to the USF contribution pool will help fund “massive new investments in rural broadband connectivity,” said the plan. Inslee proposes $80 billion in direct federal broadband deployment funding, including $5 billion in “subsidies to low-income rural Americans to make sure internet is affordable even in these hard-to-serve areas.” Five other Democratic presidential candidates have proposed substantial broadband funding plans. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts seeks $85 billion, while South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg wants $80 billion (see 1908070070). Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York proposed $60 billion, and former Vice President Joe Biden seeks $20 billion. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has plans for $1 trillion in overall infrastructure funding, including rural broadband. Inslee backed increased funding for the USF E-rate program, additional funding for local 911 call center upgrades in association with FirstNet and “billions” of dollars “to guarantee that every tribal nation has access to quality internet.” He'd only appoint "FCC commissioners that support” restoring the commission’s rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules, noting his support for the Washington state law that restored protections there (see 1802280027).

Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Tuesday they filed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (HR-4194), endorsing the FCC's recommendation that 988 be designated as the national three-digit suicide hotline (see 1908150008). The bill would officially designate 988 as the hotline code and gives the FCC a one-year deadline to finish the nationwide upgrade of the legacy switches to support the new code. It aso “empowers states to collect a small fee, similar to what is already in place for 911, to enhance and support local crisis call centers affiliated within the 988 national network,” the lawmakers said in a Washington Post opinion piece. “Last year, only 79 percent of all lifeline calls were answered in the state in which they were placed. In most cases, unanswered calls are rolled over to a neighboring state. But with an ever-rising call volume, this patchwork system is not sustainable.” Stewart had previously pushed for the FCC to recommend 611 as the suicide hotline code (1812110033). Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, both R, endorsed HR-4194 in a letter to Stewart.

Faced with divisions whether to repurpose 611 for a national three-digit suicide hotline or add that to 211 (see 1812110033), the FCC is recommending to Congress 988 be used instead. That route may not become a compromise solution all stakeholders rally behind, interviews show.

BALTIMORE -- FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told APCO it's time to ensure 911 call-center operators are classified as first responders. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also backed (see 1904090078) the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (Saves) Act, which would change the federal government's classification of public safety call-takers and dispatchers to “protective service occupations" rather than administrative or clerical occupations (see 1902280072).

BALTIMORE -- Chairman Ajit Pai said the FCC expects major carriers to meet a Nov. 30 deadline for more targeted wireless emergency alerts. “I am re-emphasizing my call to all stakeholders to continue working cooperatively and expeditiously to meet the Nov. 30 deadline,” Pai told APCO Tuesday. He stopped short of discussing what the agency will do if carriers are unable to meet the deadline. His remarks were later posted.

The Commerce and Transportation departments announced more than $109 million in grants to 33 states, Washington, D.C., and two tribal nations to help 911 call centers upgrade to next-generation 911 capabilities. “These grants will boost public safety through 911 systems enhanced with new capabilities such as text message, image and video processing, advanced mapping and other improvements,” said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a Friday news release. Grants range from $13,191 for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma to $11.4 million for California, it said.