Participation in BEAD bidding could vary widely among states, officials at broadband trade groups, state telecommunications organizations and other entities tell us. For example, some states, including Pennsylvania, could face low participation rates owing to onerous bidder requirements. In other instances, local rules facilitate BEAD participation.
Challenges remain for industry in its efforts remove and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment within carrier networks, even though Congress finally allocated $3.08 billion, closing the funding shortfall in the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412240036), Summit Ridge Group President Armand Musey said in an interview. Musey's firm advises several carriers in the program.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the FCC’s latest net neutrality order, reclassifying broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act. A three-judge panel handed down the decision two months after hearing oral argument (see 2410310041).
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a warning to a Piqua, Ohio, property owner for allegedly hosting a pirate radio broadcast, said a notice posted Monday. Property owner John Scarbrough could face a penalty of more than $2.3 million, it said. The notice was sent concerning illegal broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and 100.3 MHz. The Columbia, Ohio, EB field office, on May 21 and June 11, found radio signals on those frequencies were emanating from the Piqua property, the notice said. Scarbrough has 10 business days to respond.
A November FCC order establishing the Alaska Connect Fund (see 2411050002) is effective Jan. 30, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. “While the original Alaska Plan and other Alaska support mechanisms have helped make significant progress in Alaska, many areas in the state remain unserved or underserved,” the notice said: “An estimated 51,000 Alaskans still receive 3G service -- an outdated technological standard -- or worse.”
The latest Numbering Utilization Report shows that 54.7% of U.S. telephone numbers were assigned to end users as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to a Monday release from the FCC's Office of Economics and Analytics. The previous report, released in 2022, showed 52.2% were assigned to end users as of the end of 2019. The Numbering Utilization Report summarizes “an ongoing, systematic collection of comprehensive data on the utilization of telephone numbering resources within the United States” using data from carriers and VoIP providers. The latest report shows mostly small changes in number utilization rates from the 2022 version, although utilization for competitive local exchange carriers is up, from 46% to 53.1%, and the utilization rate for VoIP providers has risen from 19.8% to 32.7%. Monday's report shows more than 855 million numbers ported since wireless porting began in 2003, up 165 million from the 2022 report. OEA analyzed the report's data “as part of our ongoing assessment of the efficacy of numbering resource optimization measures prescribed by the Commission’s Numbering Resource Optimization (NRO) Orders,” the report said.
A New York state bill would prevent junk fees for consumers by requiring "clear and conspicuous pricing practices" (see 2407310031). Five Democratic state senators prefiled the bill, SB-363, this week for the next legislative session. The measure would consider ISPs in compliance if they provide proof of compliance with the FCC's broadband consumer label rules.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau on Monday imposed a $10,000 fine against Western Iowa Wireless for allegedly failing to file FCC Form 477 16 times and filing the form late five times. The FCC uses the form to collect data on broadband deployment and local telephone competition. The Enforcement Bureau noted that it initially proposed a $10,000 forfeiture in 2021 “consisting of a $3,000 base forfeiture for the one violation that occurred within the one-year statute of limitations and a $7,000 upward adjustment for the company’s history of noncompliance.” The amount “comports” with fines imposed “in substantially similar cases.”
Consolidated Communications notified the FCC on Monday that the transfer of indirect ownership and control of its local subsidiaries to Condor Holdings is complete. Consolidated also delisted on NASDAQ and is now privately held. Affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment Management acquired its assets, Consolidated noted. The deal faced scrutiny from state regulators, including those in Maine (see 2407110027) and New Hampshire (see 2406210040).
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Monday issued an order that gives certain carriers additional six-month extensions on deadlines to remove Huawei and ZTE components from their networks to comply with the rip-and-replace program. Congress recently provided additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, providing $3.08 billion to close the funding gap (see 2412240036). The order highlights problems providers face beyond funding. Gogo Business Aviation, which in October updated the commission on its struggles to complete work (see 2410040028), received an extension from Jan. 21 to July 21. The bureau said it found Gogo’s complaints persuasive. “Rather than rely on commercial off-the-shelf parts and equipment, Gogo states that much of its replacement ground network will rely on newly developed software and hardware that require lab testing and FCC equipment authorization,” the order said: “However, Gogo’s ground-based equipment vendor is continuing to face delays from component manufacturers due to long lead times, which affects the delivery of replacement network equipment at scale.” Northern Michigan University (NMU) received an extension from Jan. 20 to July 20. “NMU states it has experienced significant delays in replacing customer premises equipment units because multiple deliveries of those units contained a high percentage of defective equipment and therefore had to be re-shipped months later.” The units also “require software updates from the manufacturer before NMU can begin mass testing and deployment.” Alaska’s Copper Valley Wireless received an extension from Jan. 21 to July 21 after complaining about the lack of tower construction crews in the state. Copper Valley “adds that delivery of equipment to Alaska requires the use of long and multiple modes of transport to reach remote sites, which further delays progress when construction seasons are so short,” the order said. The extension for Flat Wireless is from Jan. 14 to July 14. It told the FCC the funding shortfall “limited its deployment efforts, which has resulted in delays and additional costs that have necessarily extended its project timeline beyond the current term expiration date.” Hargray Communications was granted an extension from Jan. 13 to July 13 after complaining of problems obtaining nondefective gear and accessing private property to install it. LigTel Communications got an extension from Jan. 22 to July 22 after complaining of supply chain issues, and Pine Belt Cellular, an extension from Jan. 17 to July 17. Pine Belt cited “delays involving key hardware needed to replace the core of its network, as well as delays in obtaining the experienced skilled labor necessary to work on both the core and the radio access network.” Other carriers getting extensions, and the revised deadlines were: Nemont Telephone Co-op (Aug. 26), Santel Communications Co-op (July 25), Union Telephone (July 6-15 for parts of its network) and Windy City Cellular (July 27).