Lifeline Minimum Service Standards Increase December 1st

November 28, 2018 – The minimum service standards for the universal service Lifeline program are set to increase on December 1, 2018, to the following:

·       Mobile Broadband Monthly Data Usage: 2 GB per month of 3G mobile technology

·       Mobile Voice: 1,000 minutes per month

·       Fixed Broadband Speeds: 18 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream

·       Fixed Broadband Monthly Data Usage: 1000 GB per month

·       Fixed Voice: No minimum service standard

If a Lifeline service provider does not offer any generally available residential fixed broadband packages at the subscriber’s residence that meet the new 18/2 Mbps minimum standard, the provider can receive Lifeline support for the highest-performing fixed broadband residential offering of at least 4 Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. Lifeline service providers must meet the minimum service standard for the service the Lifeline support is applied to. For example, if a subscriber is receiving a bundled service package, Lifeline providers are advised to apply the Lifeline support to one of the services in the bundle, but only the service the Lifeline support is applied to must meet the minimum standard.

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FCC Reminder: Backup Power Rule Effective February 13, 2019

November 27, 2018 – The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has issued a Public Notice to remind providers of facilities-based fixed residential voice services that are not line-powered that, as of February 13, 2019, they must offer for sale to subscribers “at least one option that provides a minimum of twenty-four hours of standby backup power” for customer premises equipment during a commercial power outage. The backup power requirements, passed by the FCC in August 2015, currently require providers to offer backup power solution that provides 8 hours of standby power. The rule covers providers of facilities-based fixed residential voice services that are not line-powered. Generally, these voice services are VoIP and fixed applications of wireless service offered as a plain old telephone service (POTS) replacement.

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National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier To Launch In Four More States

November 27, 2018 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced the launch of the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) in Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee as of December 4, 2018. Only ETCs will have access to the National Verifier during the soft launch, while consumers will be able to access the National Verifier once the full launch takes place. The National Verifier shifts the responsibility for determining a consumer’s Lifeline eligibility from service providers to the Universal Service Administrative Company. The National Verifier will establish whether a consumer is eligible by electronically querying state and federal data sources, and if necessary, manually reviewing supporting documents. When the system goes live in a state, consumers will be able to use it to check their eligibility for Lifeline using on online portal available at www.CheckLifeline.org. More states and U.S. territories will be added to the National Verifier this year and in 2019. Additional information on the National Verifier is available from USAC.

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FCC Releases Draft USF Rural Broadband Order

November 21, 2018 – The FCC has released a draft rural broadband Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will be considered at the FCC’s December open meeting. The 2018 Draft Rural Broadband Order revises universal service fund (USF) rules that apply to rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers in the following ways:

• Rate-of-return carriers currently receiving Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) support will receive an offer for additional funding if they commit to building out broadband service to additional locations at speeds of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.

• Rate-of-return carriers currently subject to “legacy” cost-based rules will receive an offer to move to A-CAM support and deploy broadband service with speeds of 25/3 Mbps.

• The FCC will adopt a new universal service support budget for rate-of-return carriers that remain subject to legacy cost-based rules that is based on uncapped 2018 claims and will be increased by inflation annually. The increased budget comes will the following condition: support recipients with deployment obligations must provide service at speeds of 25/3 Mbps rather than 10/1 Mbps.

• The FCC will adopt measures to mitigate the regulatory burden on rate-of-return broadband providers and encourage the efficient use of universal service fund (“USF”) support.

In the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC will seek comment on how to implement an auction mechanism for competitive overlapped legacy rate-of-return areas. In the Order on Reconsideration, the FCC will deny three petitions seeking reconsideration of the decision directing the Wireline Competition Bureau to offer additional support up to $146.10 per-location to all rate-of-return carriers that accepted revised offers of A-CAM support.

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Rural Broadband Order Tentatively Set For FCC December Meeting

November 21, 2018 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced a tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting on December 12, 2018. It contains the following items:

• Spectrum Frontiers Fourth Report and Order – The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would adopt service rule changes for the Upper 37 GHz (37.6-38.6 GHz), 39 GHz (38.6-40 GHz), and 47 GHz (47.2-48.2 GHz) bands, and would provide for an incentive auction mechanism that would offer contiguous blocks of spectrum in the Upper 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands and additional spectrum in the 47 GHz band. (GN Docket No. 14-177)

• Rural Broadband Universal Service Support – The FCC will consider a Report and Order, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Order on Reconsideration. The Report and Order would offer additional funding to carriers that currently receive model-based universal service support in exchange for deploying broadband at increased speeds, provide an opportunity for legacy carriers to transition to model-based support, and authorize additional support for carriers remaining on the legacy rate-of-return support mechanism in exchange for targeting higher broadband speeds.  The FNPRM would seek comment on implementing an auction mechanism for support in legacy areas that are overlapped or almost entirely overlapped by an unsubsidized competitor, and on addressing budgetary impacts as carriers transition to broadband-only lines.  The Order on Reconsideration would deny three petitions for reconsideration. (WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14-58, 07-135, 01-92)

• Reassigned Numbers Database – The FCC will consider a Second Report and Order that would create a comprehensive database to enable callers to verify whether a telephone number has been permanently disconnected, and is therefore eligible for reassignment, before calling that number, thereby helping to protect consumers with reassigned numbers from receiving unwanted robocalls. (CG Docket No. 17-59)

• Text Messaging Classification – The FCC will consider a Declaratory Ruling that would classify two forms of wireless messaging, Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), as information services under the Communications Act, and help prevent consumers from receiving spam robotexts. (WT Docket No. 08-7)

• 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would initiate the 2018 Quadrennial Review of certain broadcast ownership rules. (MB Docket No. 18-349)

• Elimination of Broadcast Station License Posting Requirement – The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would eliminate certain rules which require local posting and maintenance of broadcast licenses and related information in specific locations. (MB Docket Nos. 18-121, 17-105)

• Communications Marketplace Report – The FCC will consider a Report that would consolidate several previously separate FCC reports into a single report on the state of the broader communications market in the U.S.  It would assess the state of all forms of competition in the communications marketplace and the state of deployment of communications capabilities, describe the actions taken by the FCC in the previous two years to address challenges and opportunities in the communications marketplace, and discuss the FCC agenda for continuing to address those challenges and opportunities over the next two years.  (GN Docket No 18-231; WT Docket No. 18-203; MB Docket Nos. 17-214, 18-227; IB Docket No. 18-251)

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NTIA Privacy Comments Now Available Online

November 13, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has posted the responses it received to its request for comment on ways to advance consumer privacy while protecting prosperity and innovation. Comments were due November 9, 2018. NTIA requested comments from interested parties as part of an effort to begin developing comprehensive Federal privacy regulations to protect consumers and their data.

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FCC To Hold Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Nov. 30th

November 7, 2018 – FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced that the FCC will hold a Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on November 30, 2018. The event will include a discussion on the future of AI and machine learning and their affect on the communications marketplace and a public demonstration of both technologies. More information is available online from the FCC.

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American Cable Association Asks DOJ To Investigate Comcast

November 6, 2018 – The American Cable Association (ACA), a trade group representing over 700 small video and broadband providers, has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging the Antitrust Division to open a formal investigation of Comcast’s alleged anticompetitive behavior. In January 2011, the FCC and DOJ approved the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, subject to a number of targeted, transaction-related conditions and voluntary commitments to address potential harms raised by the transaction. Now that those conditions have expired, ACA argues that a vertically-integrated Comcast poses a threat to consumers and competition. In its letter, ACA explains that Comcast owns significant must-have local programming, including 11 NBC local television stations and seven NBC Regional Sports Network, and is the dominant multichannel video programming distributor in many local markets with market shares above 60 percent. ACA argues that Comcast has the ability to restrict access to programming and to “disadvantage rival distributors by raising the prices it charges these rivals for programming.”

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FCC Issues Sixth Mobility Fund Challenge Process Update

November 2, 2018 – The FCC has given the sixth update about the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) challenge process showing that as of October 31, 2018, a total of 106 entities have access to the Universal Service Administrator Company’s MF-II Challenge Process Portal to participate. Of the 106 that have access, 38 are mobile service providers; 19 are state government entities; 27 are local government entities; 16 are Tribal government entities; and six are other entities. The update also states that over 8 million speed tests have been submitted during the course of challenge process.