President Barack Obama is leaning on finances from industry and other groups to launch a pilot project the administration is calling ConnectHome, promising to help to connect to the Internet for 275,000 low-income households and just under 200,000 children. The White House will coordinate with industry players including CenturyLink, Cox Communications and Google Fiber to focus on 28 communities -- 27 cities and the Choctaw tribal nation -- to deliver broadband access for free or at heavily subsidized rates.
A bitterly divided FCC voted 3-2 Thursday to approve a package of proposals and actions to move the Lifeline USF program toward broadband coverage and move to improve oversight and counter abuses. The FCC's Democratic majority said the NPRM and orders would reboot Lifeline for the 21st century by helping low-income consumers gain broadband access and by undertaking further administrative restructuring to ensure program efficiency and integrity. But the Republican minority said Democratic refusal to impose or even propose a Lifeline budgetary cap was fiscally irresponsible and invited further waste, fraud and abuse.
A bitterly divided FCC voted 3-2 Thursday to approve a package of proposals and actions to move the Lifeline USF program toward broadband coverage and move to improve oversight and counter abuses. The FCC's Democratic majority said the NPRM and orders would reboot Lifeline for the 21st century by helping low-income consumers gain broadband access and by undertaking further administrative restructuring to ensure program efficiency and integrity. But the Republican minority said Democratic refusal to impose or even propose a Lifeline budgetary cap was fiscally irresponsible and invited further waste, fraud and abuse.
AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon expressed concerns about a possible FCC requirement that telecom carriers providing Lifeline-supported service retain sensitive consumer documentation that's submitted to demonstrate eligibility for the USF program. The large telcos said the FCC shouldn't move forward with the proposal or should consider it further in a Lifeline NPRM the FCC is planning to vote on along with a Lifeline order at its June 18 meeting. Meanwhile, wireless Lifeline providers and others continue to lobby the FCC, backing the possible expansion of traditional Lifeline voice support to broadband access.
Senators from both parties questioned the effectiveness of the Lifeline program Tuesday during a Communications Subcommittee hearing. Some Democrats strongly praised FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s move to expand the program for broadband service, while Republicans emphasized deeper fiscal concerns. Both Republicans and Democrats weighed the possible need for capping the Lifeline fund.
The FCC voted to approve a draft order that would make cable effective competition a rebuttable presumption nationwide, with both Democratic commissioners dissenting in part and approving in part and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the Republican commissioners supporting the item, an FCC official told us Tuesday, the deadline for congressionally mandated changes to the rule to be approved.
Senators from both parties questioned the effectiveness of the Lifeline program Tuesday during a Communications Subcommittee hearing. Some Democrats strongly praised FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s move to expand the program for broadband service, while Republicans emphasized deeper fiscal concerns. Both Republicans and Democrats weighed the possible need for capping the Lifeline fund.
Four House leaders have begun what are likely to be ongoing meetings with the Department of Transportation, the FCC and NTIA on how to best share spectrum, if at all, in the upper 5 GHz band. The bipartisan heads of the House Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee announced interest in such meetings April 20 and schedules finally aligned to allow the first meeting to happen last week. The crux of the upper 5 GHz band debate involves automotive interests that hold the spectrum for intelligent transportation systems and others who want to use that spectrum for unlicensed purposes, an occasionally contentious source of debate for years that has led to testing efforts now.
Four House leaders have begun what are likely to be ongoing meetings with the Department of Transportation, the FCC and NTIA on how to best share spectrum, if at all, in the upper 5 GHz band. The bipartisan heads of the House Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee announced interest in such meetings April 20 and schedules finally aligned to allow the first meeting to happen last week. The crux of the upper 5 GHz band debate involves automotive interests that hold the spectrum for intelligent transportation systems and others who want to use that spectrum for unlicensed purposes, an occasionally contentious source of debate for years that has led to testing efforts now.
The House Commerce Committee leadership of both parties will begin “a series of meetings to explore the feasibility of expanding access to unlicensed spectrum for consumer use,” the committee said in a news release Monday. Committee leadership planned for meetings with the FCC, NTIA and the Department of Transportation to talk about possible unlicensed spectrum use in the 5 GHz band. “We will examine the FCC and administration’s efforts to safely increase unlicensed access to the 5.9 GHz band without harming the existing work being done to improve auto safety through Intelligent Transportation Systems,” said Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., in a joint statement. The automotive industry has resisted the idea of opening the band to unlicensed use, emphasizing the intelligent transportation technology use in this part of the spectrum. Thomas Kern, interim president of Intelligent Transportation Society of America, praised the lawmakers for “their thoughtful, collaborative approach to spectrum policy and for their efforts to increase unlicensed spectrum without putting life-saving connected vehicle technologies at risk,” he told us in a statement. Kern called both Wi-Fi and vehicle-to-vehicle communication “revolutionary innovations” and said the ITSA wants to “advance solutions to expand Wi-Fi while also accelerating the adoption of next-generation crash avoidance technologies on our nation's roads.” FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O'Rielly issued a joint statement commending the news. The commissioners "enthusiastically support these efforts to facilitate allowing safe, unlicensed access to the 5.9 GHz band," they said. "More than a decade and a half after this spectrum was set aside for vehicle and roadside systems, we agree it is time to take a modern look at the possibilities for wireless services in these airwaves, to allow a broader range of uses. We believe by taking steps right now, we can support automobile safety, increase spectrum for Wi-Fi, and grow our wireless economy."