The Universal Service Administrative Co. is “planning a comprehensive redesign” of LifelineSupport.org, said FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Her letters, posted Friday, went to Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Steve Womack, R-Ark., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and James Comer, R-Ky., and Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio. The redesign will include “changes to navigational elements and content, informed by user feedback,” Rosenworcel said, and the FCC and USAC are also “determining technical development work” and other steps needed to transition checklifeline.org to the FCC.gov subdomain.
The FCC posted mobile coverage maps Friday, based on information from providers. The maps show different coverage levels among the three major carriers and UScellular, with Verizon’s data coverage appearing to surpass AT&T and T-Mobile's. An FCC spokesperson said the maps are preliminary. “This preview of a mobile broadband and voice coverage map is the first produced under the criteria established by the Broadband DATA Act and reflects data voluntarily provided to the FCC,” a spokesperson emailed. “As the FCC builds its systems and continues to develop these maps, it will integrate into the process consumer and other stakeholder feedback intended to challenge and eventually verify the coverage.” Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel acknowledged “much work remains.” The maps, by the Broadband Data Task Force, are available here. “Using improved systems and data, we can provide better information about where broadband service is and is not,” Rosenworcel said. Spokespersons for consumer groups said they were studying the materials. “Coverage maps are an endless battle that never seems to get solved,” said Summit Ridge Group’s Armand Musey. The coverage likely reflects areas with line of sight to a tower and are only preliminary, he said. Rural Wireless Association counsel Carri Bennet told us it’s not clear why the maps used data from only four providers. The FCC didn’t “share how the data was developed or what underlying formulas were used,” she said: The agency says it’s based on theoretical propagation modeling and not “real world coverage.” It's “a helpful first step towards generating more reliable coverage maps,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry: “We look forward to reviewing the maps to assess whether they improve the reliability of the coverage predictions.” Detailed, granular maps "are critical to accurately identifying where there are gaps in broadband service and efficiently targeting public and private investment dollars,” emailed Joan Marsh, AT&T executive vice president-federal regulatory relations. “The LTE voice and data maps that Verizon provided and that the FCC published today are a first step toward better understanding the state of wireless broadband coverage in the country,” a Verizon spokesperson emailed. "As the wireless industry invested $30 billion in 2020 alone to deploy the infrastructure that powered our networks through the pandemic, CTIA and our member companies are continuing to work with our federal partners to help close the digital divide," the group said in a statement.
The FCC posted mobile coverage maps Friday, based on information from providers. The maps show different coverage levels among the three major carriers and UScellular, with Verizon’s data coverage appearing to surpass AT&T and T-Mobile's. An FCC spokesperson said the maps are preliminary. “This preview of a mobile broadband and voice coverage map is the first produced under the criteria established by the Broadband DATA Act and reflects data voluntarily provided to the FCC,” a spokesperson emailed. “As the FCC builds its systems and continues to develop these maps, it will integrate into the process consumer and other stakeholder feedback intended to challenge and eventually verify the coverage.” Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel acknowledged “much work remains.” The maps, by the Broadband Data Task Force, are available here. “Using improved systems and data, we can provide better information about where broadband service is and is not,” Rosenworcel said. Spokespersons for consumer groups said they were studying the materials. “Coverage maps are an endless battle that never seems to get solved,” said Summit Ridge Group’s Armand Musey. The coverage likely reflects areas with line of sight to a tower and are only preliminary, he said. Rural Wireless Association counsel Carri Bennet told us it’s not clear why the maps used data from only four providers. The FCC didn’t “share how the data was developed or what underlying formulas were used,” she said: The agency says it’s based on theoretical propagation modeling and not “real world coverage.” It's “a helpful first step towards generating more reliable coverage maps,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry: “We look forward to reviewing the maps to assess whether they improve the reliability of the coverage predictions.” Detailed, granular maps "are critical to accurately identifying where there are gaps in broadband service and efficiently targeting public and private investment dollars,” emailed Joan Marsh, AT&T executive vice president-federal regulatory relations. “The LTE voice and data maps that Verizon provided and that the FCC published today are a first step toward better understanding the state of wireless broadband coverage in the country,” a Verizon spokesperson emailed. "As the wireless industry invested $30 billion in 2020 alone to deploy the infrastructure that powered our networks through the pandemic, CTIA and our member companies are continuing to work with our federal partners to help close the digital divide," the group said in a statement.
Commissioners 4-0 OK'd a public notice Thursday designating innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston, while expanding New York City's, as expected (see 2108030052). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged the FCC to provide licensed spectrum for drones. The Raleigh zone is focused on unmanned aircraft systems.
Commissioners 4-0 OK'd a public notice Thursday designating innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston, while expanding New York City's, as expected (see 2108030052). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged the FCC to provide licensed spectrum for drones. The Raleigh zone is focused on unmanned aircraft systems.
Commissioners 4-0 OK'd a public notice Thursday designating innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston, while expanding New York City's, as expected (see 2108030052). Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged the FCC to provide licensed spectrum for drones. The Raleigh zone is focused on unmanned aircraft systems.
Some FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction bidders that received letters allowing them to withdraw certain bids without penalties said in recent interviews they plan to keep their provisionally won bids (see 2107260044). One big RDOF winner, LTD Broadband, told us it may take up the agency on its request. Experts said RDOF Phase II may not start for months as a result.
The FCC Wireline Bureau Lifeline report (see 2107060056) highlights the need for commissioners to consider pausing increases in standards, stakeholders said in recent interviews. Some said the agency should delay the phase-down in voice-only support and consider increasing the subsidy amount, particularly amid the pandemic. The report released about two weeks ago said the formula for updating minimum service standards will "continue to yield increasingly high results." MSS increases have sparked concerns.
The FCC released an order and Further NPRM Tuesday requiring the disabling of contraband wireless devices detected in correctional facilities. The order addresses oversight, carrier liability and how 911 calls are handled. It was OK’d 4-0 Monday. It establishes a two-phase process for authorizing contraband interdiction systems (CISs) to detect contraband devices and establishes a “rule-based process” for disabling contraband devices. “Although wireless providers continue to prefer a court order process, more recently they acknowledged certain jurisdictions don't have the time or resources to issue court orders and that a rule-based framework could be designed in a way that is efficient, straightforward, and that replicates the accuracy and accountability of the court order process,” the order said. The framework provides rules for certifying CIS providers and for testing systems. The FCC said it decided against reporting requirements for stakeholders: “The two-step certification process we adopt … will provide the Commission with a substantial amount of information on the general operating design of CISs as well as the specific deployment plans for particular correctional facilities.” The FCC said carriers won't be reimbursed for disabling devices, as had been urged by T-Mobile, saying the costs should be minimal. The FNPRM asked about “quiet zones” in and around prisons “in which wireless communications are not authorized such that contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities would not receive service.” It asked about geofencing. It asked about the efficacy of using beacon systems to disable contraband devices. “Addressing this problem is not easy,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “The incentive to bring these devices into prisons and jails will not simply go away with better contraband interdiction." Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters he witnessed “truckloads” of contraband devices pulled out of one prison. “Any time we’re making even any progress," he said, "it’s something that gets my support.” The wireless industry "has a longstanding commitment to collaborating with all stakeholders to find effective solutions," a CTIA spokesperson emailed. "An FCC process for terminating service to contraband phones can further that goal.”
The bulk of FCC staff won’t return to the office until the FCC completes negotiations with its employee union, but talks haven’t been scheduled, per the National Treasury Employees Union and an Office of Personnel Management memo. Other agencies said they're trying to figure out their own return to their headquarters.