Chairman Ajit Pai has canceled most of the meetings she had scheduled with him since she returned to the FCC last year, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday during a news conference. Earlier in the week, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who's leaving, said she was unable to regularly schedule meetings with Pai (see 1805070036).
The FCC approved 4-0 an NPRM on ways to spark interest in the 2.5 GHz band. The item was changed while on the eighth floor to ask additional questions about how to make better use of the band, for example, holding an incentive auction like the one held for broadcast TV, officials said Thursday. Few carriers are expected to pursue the band, which is largely controlled by Sprint, despite the push (see 1805040036). The band, once dedicated to use by schools through the instructional television fixed service starting in 1963, was made available for other uses through the educational broadband service (EBS) launched by the FCC 2004.
Chairman Ajit Pai has canceled most of the meetings she had scheduled with him since she returned to the FCC last year, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday during a news conference. Earlier in the week, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who's leaving, said she was unable to regularly schedule meetings with Pai (see 1805070036).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai could be close to gaining majority support for his proposals to provide additional USF support to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in response to last year's hurricanes. Commissioner Brendan Carr said this week he voted for an order, and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's office told us Thursday he's optimistic his concerns will be resolved and he will soon be able to vote on the item. Pai circulated a draft order and NPRM in March seeking to provide $256 million in additional USF support and repurpose another $698 million to help restore and upgrade storm-damaged communications networks, with $750 million for Puerto Rico and $204 million for the U.S. Virgin Islands (see 1803060039 and 1803160051).
The federal USF shift to the U.S. Treasury is moving ahead, with changes to the contribution and distribution processes happening Tuesday, Universal Service Administrative Co. emailed Monday. "Effective immediately, as of May 2018, USAC will accept payments to and distribute funds from the U.S. Treasury," said a USAC announcement on a web page where it said further transition updates will be posted. "We are taking this step to safeguard USF funds consistent with guidance from GAO and OMB. And we have made clear for months that the funds were going to be moved to the Treasury,” emailed an FCC spokesman.
The Trump administration is developing a national spectrum strategy, NTIA Administrator David Redl said at a Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday. The Obama administration took an active role on spectrum policy, promoting sharing over exclusive use licenses in many cases, but the Trump administration has been relatively quiet (see 1712270032). Redl said NTIA is working with the administration on a plan. FCC and industry officials welcomed the administration’s long-awaited deep dive.
The Trump administration is developing a national spectrum strategy, NTIA Administrator David Redl said at a Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday. The Obama administration took an active role on spectrum policy, promoting sharing over exclusive use licenses in many cases, but the Trump administration has been relatively quiet (see 1712270032). Redl said NTIA is working with the administration on a plan. FCC and industry officials welcomed the administration’s long-awaited deep dive.
The FCC unanimously approved rural calling and business data service items at its commissioners' meeting Tuesday. An order and Further NPRM seek to improve rural call completion (RCC) by making originating long-distance providers accountable for intermediate carrier performance and by launching a rulemaking to implement a new rural call quality law. A separate NPRM looks at allowing certain rural telcos to shift their BDS offerings from rate-of-return regulation to incentive-based price caps. Commissioners cited some changes made to drafts (here and here) circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1803280046). Commissioner Mike O'Rielly again backed an extended jurisdictional separations freeze (see 1802230019).
Dissents from the two FCC Democrats appear unlikely when commissioners vote Tuesday on an NPRM proposing to bar use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain. Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel appear unlikely to dissent, despite concerns raised by small carriers, industry and agency officials said.
The FCC unanimously voted to combine the Emergency Alert System (EAS) Test Reporting System with an online filing system for state EAS plans, said an order released Tuesday in docket 15-94. The new system, called the Alert Reporting System (ARS), will “improve the mechanics of filing state plans at this agency” and “is a step forward,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement released with the order. ARS will replace paper filing requirements, lower the burdens on State Emergency Communications Committees and make it easier for entities such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access state plans, the order said. The ARS order also requires state EAS plans to be more uniform to make them easier to access and upload to an online system. “State EAS Plans currently lack consistent structure and content,” the order said. “An online filing system using uniform and consistent terminology will facilitate the input, analysis, and related uses of the Plan information.” A lack of uniformity among state EAS plans complicated the results of the first nationwide EAS test, the order said. Rosenworcel praised the order for giving EAS “some needed care and attention” but said it doesn't go far enough. “The FCC can do more by acting as a convening force to report and incentivize best practices for emergency alerting,” Rosenworcel said. She also said the agency should address other outstanding EAS issues such as false alerts “with dispatch.” After “the false emergency alert earlier this year in Hawaii, this work should be our priority,” Rosenworcel said.