TeleGuam Holdings asked the FCC to approve its requests for "an eight-month advancement of frozen high-cost support," one-year waiver of the Connect America Fund broadband loop support cap on recoverable operating expenses, and a four-month extension of "eligibility and permissible use" of Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program support for qualifying subscribers. The company said in a letter posted Monday in docket 10-90 that Super Typhoon Mawar caused "unprecedented and devastating damage" to its network in May (see 2307200046). The damage "produced considerable and unforeseen costs," TeleGuam said.
The Biden administration is expected to seek about $4 billion in additional money for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program as part of a second part of the supplemental federal funding request it will send to Congress this week, communications sector lobbyists told us. House Democratic leaders are already highlighting the to-be-announced money as a priority alongside the stalled regular FY 2024 appropriations process once the chamber can elect someone to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Rework proposed rules for a $750 million broadband program to “meaningfully prioritize unserved communities,” the California Broadband and Video Association (CalBroadband) urged the California Public Utilities Commission in comments Wednesday. The California Public Utilities Commission could vote Nov. 2 on a proposed decision for the broadband loan loss reserve fund (BLLRF). The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) and Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) applauded proposed rules.
House Commerce Committee Republicans renewed their concerns Tuesday with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s draft net neutrality NPRM reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service (see 2309280084), but no one is expecting GOP members of that panel or elsewhere on Capitol Hill to make a strong push for now on legislation to halt the expected rewrite. Net neutrality legislation would be even more unlikely to pass now amid divided control of Congress than it was last year when Democrats had majorities in both chambers (see 2207280063), lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Lawmakers are less enthusiastic about even pushing a pure messaging bill on the issue amid the current stasis, lobbyists said.
The Wisconsin Assembly will weigh broadband law changes (AB-303) Tuesday, the Rules Committee decided Thursday. Earlier that day, the Energy Committee voted 16-0 to amend and advance AB-303. The bill would refocus the state’s broadband expansion grant program on unserved rather than underserved areas. It would update the definition of unserved to include areas with less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds, allowing the PSC to consider updating that definition every two years. Current state law considers areas with less than 5 Mbps down and 600 Kbps up unserved. Among other new rules, AB-303 would require applicants to participate in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program or a successor program.
Broadband experts raised concerns about the future of the FCC's affordable connectivity program Wednesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar (see 2310040072). With more than 20 million households enrolled in the program to date, panelists urged policymakers to replenish the generally popular program. Some also urged the FCC and Congress to consider longer term solutions to address broadband affordability and adoption.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Affordable Connectivity Program enjoys general bipartisan support in Congress, but it's soft support, with ACP's looming lack of funds still not rising to the level of lawmakers' top priority, said Angelina Panettieri, National League of Cities legislative director-technology and communications, at NATOA’s annual conference Thursday. Several speakers urged localities to be active in weighing in on states' broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program plans, especially with advocacy on the challenge process design. "This is a zero sum game” since an inappropriately targeted BEAD subsidy means less money for areas with real needs, said Brian Roberts, policy analyst-city and county of San Francisco.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The growing gray area of streaming services being delivered by cable providers needs to be addressed by local franchise authorities (LFA), speakers urged at NATOA’s annual conference Wednesday. Keller & Heckman localities lawyer Sean Stokes said since states' broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program funding proposals need to show steps carriers will take to reduce costs and barriers to deployment, carriers will likely use this as an invitation to look for more limits on municipal authority over the management of rights of way or pole attachments. He called it “a rerun” of the same pushes made for deployment reforms to aid 5G rollouts.
The Senate confirmed FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to new five-year terms Saturday, providing stability for the agency and assuring a 3-2 Democratic-controlled commission through the end of the current administration. Two big, contentious items are already in the pipeline -- a net neutrality NPRM at the commissioners' Oct. 19 open meeting and a Nov. 15 statutory deadline to issue digital discrimination rules, with a commission meeting also scheduled for that day. If the Senate hadn't acted, Starks would have had to leave in January and the FCC would have been back to a 2-2 split between Democrats and Republicans.
Broadband experts raised concerns about the affordability requirements for middle-income households through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program, speaking during an American Enterprise Institute event Monday. Some said imposing pricing requirements and the FCC's efforts to reclassify broadband as a Title II service could hurt the BEAD program's deployment goals (see 2309280084).