A California Senate panel is expected to hear net neutrality legislation by Sen. Scott Wiener (D) in early April, his office said Wednesday. Wiener summarized amendments to SB-822 in a fact sheet. The amended bill would prohibit “blocking or speeding up or slowing down of favored data, paid prioritization, charging services (whether businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, advocacy organizations, etc.) access fees to reach certain consumers, and economic discrimination practices that distort consumer choice,” including zero rating. The bill would charge the state attorney general authority with enforcement. SB-822 would prohibit public entities in California from contracting with ISPs that don’t follow net neutrality rules; restrict USF infrastructure funding under California’s Advanced Services Fund to net neutral ISPs; and condition video franchise agreements on compliance. The Senate earlier passed SB-460 by Democratic Senate President Kevin de León (D). The Electronic Frontier Foundation saidSB-460 is legally vulnerable and supports Wiener’s bill (see 1802010013).
Lifeline USF providers endorsed a request that program providers be reimbursed during a subscriber non-usage grace period. The National Lifeline Association recently petitioned the FCC to rule that Lifeline eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) be "permitted to seek reimbursement for all Lifeline eligible subscribers served as of the first day of the month ... including those subscribers that are in an applicable 15-day cure period following 30 days of non-usage." Universal Service Administrative Co. had reversed guidance that let Lifeline ETCs be reimbursed during the cure (grace) period, providers said in comments posted Monday and Tuesday in docket 11-42. "FCC rules require ETCs to provide Lifeline customers with service during the cure period (Section 54.405(e)(3)), and mandate provision of Lifeline support to eligible Lifeline subscribers served on the first day of the month (Section 54.407(a))," Sprint said. "The reasonable and logical import of these rules is that Lifeline support is due for Lifeline customers who are in the cure period as of the first of the month." It said providers incur "significant" costs for accounts during the cure period, and said if USAC's reversal is upheld, it should be applied only prospectively. Q Link Wireless and Smith Bagley filed supportive comments (here and here). Smith Bagley discussed with FCC staffers an upcoming transition to a national verifier of Lifeline eligibility and "ways to mitigate potential impacts on Tribal areas," said another filing. Tribal representatives affiliated with the National Congress of American Indians also voiced support for Lifeline on tribal lands, in discussions with Chairman Ajit Pai, other commissioners and staffers in conjunction with NCAI's meeting Feb. 15 (see 1803130057). Chickasaw Nation Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel "expressed concern about changes to the geographic scope of the enhanced Tribal subsidy," filed Barbara Esbin, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau deputy chief. "Teresa Hopkins, Navajo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, expressed concern about the loss of one-on-one relationships between providers and Lifeline recipients in the move to the National Eligibility Verifier, which have proven particularly important to those serving and living on Tribal lands, where many rely on mobile wireless and Smartphones as their only source of communications services." It said tribal leaders urged the FCC to act on a February 2017 draft order to exempt carriers primarily serving tribal lands from operating-expense limitations (see 1802020058), and supported a tribal broadband factor proposed by a recently circulated draft NPRM and order (see 1801160040).
A Tuesday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing on broadband provisions in President Donald Trump's infrastructure legislative proposal discussed how the plan would deal with streamlining broadband-related regulations and funding to encourage deployments. Senators reserved their strongest criticisms for the state of connectivity data collection and mapping. All three issues were among those expected to be covered (see 1803120054). Secretaries of Transportation Elaine Chao, Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Commerce Wilbur Ross are among those expected to testify at a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing that also could involve broadband provisions in Trump's plan.
The FCC proposed a USF contribution factor for Q2 of 18.4 percent of carrier revenue from interstate and international telecom service end users, said an Office of Managing Director public notice in docket 96-45 in Monday's Daily Digest, as a consultant projected (see 1803020057). The decline from Q1's 19.5 percent will take effect March 23 absent further action.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is back from a four-day visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, a spokeswoman confirmed Monday. Pai viewed hurricane damage and recovery efforts (see 1803070054, 1803080048 and 1803090062), and explained his plan to provide USF support for telecom networks (see 1803060039). Pai retweeted (here) FCC tweets on his meetings and visits with officials and people in the Virgin Islands Friday and Saturday. U.S. Virgin Island government officials, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security "and unified telecommunications industry leaders met for two hours and recounted the impacts to the U.S. Virgin Islands infrastructure from the two ... CAT 5 hurricanes, focusing on communications and how government, industry, the private sector and other organizations all worked together to deal with the crisis," emailed U.S. Virgin Islands Public Service Commissioner Johann Clendenin. "From impacts, to response and recovery, the participants related their stories, sharing personal perspectives of the challenges, successes, work arounds, important lessons learned and recommendations for the FCC to shorten recovery and increase infrastructure resiliency in the future." Members of a Hurricane Integrated Telecommunications Team discussed various recommendations with Pai, including "the need for overall unified Telecommunications jurisdiction during Disaster response by States and Territories," which can "support relief ... hot spots, roaming, infrastructure support, debris removal, permits, equipment -- cranes, dozers, etc.," he said.
A federal court rejected a Consolidated Communications challenge to an FCC order denying SureWest Telephone (now a Consolidated unit) a waiver from a federally mandated USF state certification deadline the telco missed in 2012. "Consolidated fails to show that 'special circumstances' required the FCC to grant a waiver here," said a judgment (in Pacer) Friday of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Consolidated Communications v. FCC, No. 16-1431. "SureWest’s mere 'confusion' about its new regulatory classification after the acquisition is insufficient to justify a waiver. ... And the long delay before filing the missing certification -- nearly four months -- further weighs against granting a waiver." The panel rejected other Consolidated arguments and made the decision on the basis of briefs and official documents, without hearing oral argument (see 1801290029). Consolidated didn't comment.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was on his way to the U.S. Virgin Islands Friday after finishing his trip to Puerto Rico (see 1803070054 and 1803080048). "Leaving #PuertoRico grateful to the countless people in the public and private sectors who are doing their best to bring back communications services. @FCC stands ready to work with them in Uniendo a Puerto Rico ! Now on to the U.S. Virgin Islands," he tweeted. Pai was on a four-day swing through the islands to survey hurricane damage and recovery efforts and to explain his plan to send additional USF support to providers for telecom network restoration and improvement efforts (see 1803060039). He was scheduled to conclude the trip Saturday.
About half of South Carolina phone companies said they suspended recovery of state USF fees from customers in December, as directed by the Public Service Commission, South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff reported Wednesday in PSC docket 2017-334-C. ORS requested the suspension “to avoid a situation of over-collection and the subsequent need for repayment,” it said. The staff said 71 companies suspended USF fee recovery, but 61 companies didn’t respond and seven other companies reported collecting the money anyway. The companies that collected fees claimed “there is a lag between the reporting period and the collection period” that “causes companies to under-recover support from their customers,” ORS said. "No data was provided to support this claim.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai viewed hurricane damage and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico Thursday, a day after consulting with the island's leadership and outlining his proposal to help the commonwealth and the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 1803070054 and 1803060039). On day two of his four-day visit to the islands, Pai had "informative visits in Utuado," a county "hard-hit" by Hurricane Maria with some parts that "still lack connectivity and basic infrastructure. Much work to do," he tweeted. That was one of his many tweets and retweets (here) of his site visits and meetings with Puerto Rican officials, including Gov. Ricardo Rossello (New Progressive Party). At a news conference Wednesday, Pai discussed his plan to provide $954 million in USF support for telecom networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including $256 million in new funding and other "repurposed" funding. The aim would be to give short-term funding to providers to restore networks and longer-term funding "to improve them and hopefully harden them in the case of future disasters," he said. "We want to be able to make the business case as easy as possible, in this case by providing additional federal funding, an increase over what Puerto Rico would have gotten in the absence of the plan." He said his plan's "lead proposal" is to invite companies to submit competitive proposals for a geographic area, with Puerto Rico's 78 or so "municipios" the suggested unit for the commonwealth. "Let's figure out which [proposal] gets us the biggest bang for the buck," he said, noting other alternatives included a subsidy auction. Funding recipients would have to use the money for its intended purpose and meet buildout and reporting requirements, he said. Rossello said his government is taking actions to speed and streamline the permitting process for telecom construction and other efforts. Pai met with broadcasters during his trip to Puerto Rico, an FCC spokeswoman said. Broadcasters aren’t eligible for new USF money targeting carriers affected by the storm but still need assistance, said International Broadcasting Corp. Legal Adviser Jean Paul Vissepo in an interview. Broadcasters need funds to repair damaged stations and equipment, but Puerto Rico’s damaged economy is also affecting them, he said.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, led Thursday filing of the Inmate Calling Technical Corrections Act, which would update rules for inmate calling services rate settings and clarify FCC authority to adjust the rules in the future. Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, along with Capitol Hill Democrats and others, meanwhile, voiced concerns during a Thursday Voices for Internet Freedom Coalition event about FCC policy direction on ICS, net neutrality and changes to the USF Lifeline program.