News Update - December 2021
FCC Announces Start Of Affordable Connectivity Program
December 31, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission (FC) has announced it has officially launched the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the $14.2 billion successor program to the Emergency Broadband Benefit program. Under the ACP, eligible households may receive up to a $30 per month discount toward internet service and up to $75 per month if located on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. A household is eligible for the ACP if a member of the household meets at least one of following requirements:
Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines;
Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
Participates in Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year;
Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income program.
FCC Extends Covid Waiver Of Certain Lifeline Program Rules Through March 31, 2022
December 30, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has extended prior waivers of certain Lifeline program rules governing documentation requirements for subscribers residing in rural areas on Tribal lands, reverification, recertification, general de-enrollment, and income documentation through March 31, 2022. The prior waivers were set to expire on December 31, 2021. The Bureau once again extended the waivers as a way to provide relief from the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to low-income households to in the U.S. Pursuant to the Bureau’s Order, the following Lifeline program rules are waived through March 31, 2022: 54.405(e)(1); 54.405(e)(4); 54.410(a); 54.410(b)(1)(i)(B); and 54.410(f).
FCC Submits Robocall Report To Congress
December 22, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has submitted a report to Congress on “Robocalls And Transmission Of Misleading Or Inaccurate Caller Identification Information.” The report was prepared by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, and Wireline Competition Bureau, and was conducted pursuant to Sections 3, 11, and 13 of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act). It provides data regarding informal consumer complaints that the FCC received during the preceding five full calendar years (2016-2020), and FCC enforcement actions during the preceding calendar year (2020), as well as additional informal consumer complaint data and information about FCC enforcement actions through November 30, 2021. Also, Sections 11 and 13 of the report address certain FCC and private industry actions with respect to illegal robocalls, including unsolicited calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice message, often referred to as “robocalls.” Information in Sections 11 and 13 covers the period from December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2021.
Consumers’ Research Files Objection To FCC’s First Quarter 2022 USF Contribution Factor
December 21, 2021 –Nonprofit organization Consumers’ Research, communications provider Cause Based Commerce, Inc., and 11 individual consumers have filed comments and objections with the Federal Communications Commission in response to the FCC’s proposed first quarter 2022 Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution factor. On December 13, 2021, the FCC’s Office of Managing Director announced that the proposed USF contribution factor for the first quarter of 2022 will be will be 25.2 percent. In general, Consumers’ Research et al. request that the FC reject the proposed USF contribution factor and instead set it at 0 percent because they claim “it is an unconstitutional tax raised and spent by an unaccountable federal agency.” The group recently filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the proposed fourth quarter 2021 universal service contribution factor, claiming the FCC’s approval of the 4Q 2021 contribution factor (and the proposed contribution factor itself) “exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority and violates the Constitution and other federal laws.”
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize $1.041 Billion In RDOF Support For 7,608 Winning Bids
December 16, 2021 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 7,608 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids. A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice.
This is the fifth set of RDOF winning bids that is ready to be authorized – $1,041,074,000 in ten-year RDOF support for 69 broadband service providers to serve 518,088 locations in 32 states. So far, the FCC has announced over $2.7 billion in funding to RDOF Phase I auction winning bidders for new broadband service deployments. Information on broadband service providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available from the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
For this fifth set of ready-to-be-authorized RDOF winning bids, FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with each winning bid, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 7, 2022. The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices.
FCC Announces Voice & Broadband Benchmarks: Rates & Minimum Usage Allowance
December 16, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced the 2022 reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed voice and broadband services for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are subject to broadband public interest obligations (i.e., incumbent local exchange rate-of-return carriers, incumbent price-cap carriers that are receiving Connect America Fund Phase II support, Rural Broadband Experiment providers, CAF Phase II Auction winners, and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction winners).
Voice Rates. The 2022 urban average monthly rate is $35.05. Therefore, the reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services, two standard deviations above the urban average, is $52.65. Under the FCC’s rules, each ETC, including competitive ETCs providing fixed voice services, must certify in their FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2022, that the pricing of its basic residential voice services is no more than $52.65.
Broadband Rates. The reasonable comparability broadband benchmark varies, depending upon the supported service’s download and upload bandwidths and usage allowance. To facilitate benchmark calculations, broadband providers can utilize an Excel file calculation tool, available at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/urban-rate-survey-data. Recipients of high-cost and Connect America Fund support that are subject to broadband performance obligations are required to offer broadband service at rates that are at or below the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark. Carriers subject to the Alaska Plan are required to meet Alaska specific benchmarks and to certify that they are meeting the relevant reasonable comparability benchmark for their broadband service offering in the FCC Form 481 filed no later than July 1, 2022.
Minimum Usage Allowance. The Bureau has adopted a minimum monthly usage allowance of 500 GB for 2022. An explanation of the Bureau’s calculations determining the minimum monthly usage allowance is available from the Bureau’s Public Notice. ETCs subject to broadband public interest obligations must provide broadband with usage allowances reasonably comparable to those available through comparable offerings in urban areas.
Data on fixed voice and broadband services data collected in the most recent urban rate survey, and explanatory notes regarding the data, are available on the FCC’s urban rate survey website at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/urban-rate-survey-data.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Announces RDOF Defaulted Bids
December 16, 2021 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced that several Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bidders have notified the FCC that they do not intend to pursue some or all of their RDOF winning bids. The winning bidders and assignees are considered to be in default for these bids and subject to FCC Enforcement Bureau action, including forfeiture penalties. A list showing these defaulted bids is available as Attachment B to the Public Notice. The census blocks associated with the defaulted bids will be potentially eligible for other broadband funding programs. The FCC expects to announce additional RDOF defaults in future public notices.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Denies Hotwire Communications Waiver Petition – Hotwire Defaults On RDOF Winning Bids In Florida
December 16, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics have denied a petition filed by Hotwire Communications, Ltd. (Hotwire) seeking waiver of the FCC rule that prohibits an RDOF winning bidder from making a major modification to its pending long-form application. Consequently, Hotwire has defaulted on its RDOF winning bids in the state of Florida.
When Hotwire filed its short-form application to participate in the RDOF Phase I auction, it listed one direct owner, Michael Karp, as having 100% ownership interest, and did not disclose any pending or prospective changes in ownership. Hotwire then won $5,150,040 in 10-year RDOF support to serve 3,233 locations in Florida. Hotwire’s RDOF long-form application contained the same ownership information as its short-form application.
Hotwire subsequently amended its RDOF long-form application to disclose that on April 22, 2021, Michael Karp consummated a transaction in which he transferred his ownership interest to a new entity, Hotwire Holdings, LLC, and Hotwire became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hotwire Holdings, LLC, resulting in the following ownership breakdown:
Following the transaction, Mr. Karp holds a 40% equity and voting interest in Hotwire Holdings, LLC, while four funds owned by The Blackstone Group, Inc. hold an aggregate equity and voting interest of 50%, and a company owned solely by Mr. Karp’s wife, Kristen Johnson, holds the remaining 10%. Hotwire’s long-form amendment further reports that a single individual, Stephen Schwarzman, ultimately controls 50% of Hotwire Holdings, LLC, through a chain of Blackstone holding companies. The amendment further explains that Hotwire Holdings, LLC, is controlled by a board of managers comprised of Mr. Karp, Ms. Johnson, and two Blackstone executives.
Concurrently with its RDOF long-form amendment, Hotwire fired a petition for waiver of the major modification prohibition, and argued the transaction was pro forma transfer. The FCC denied the waiver petition. First, the FCC determined the transaction was not a pro forma transfer because “[s]ixty percent of the voting stock and equity ownership of Hotwire…changed hands, with 50% of the equity and voting stock now being controlled by Blackstone.” Second, the FCC “conclude[d] that Hotwire has not demonstrated good cause to grant its requested waiver.” The FCC determined that Hotwire presented a situation that the rule prohibiting major modifications to a long-form application is intended to address:
The purpose of the rule is to foster participation and competition in the auction by ensuring that an auction applicant’s ownership information, real parties in interest, and financial condition can be fully assessed prior to the start of bidding, resulting in a pre-auction process that is transparent for the Commission, auction participants, and other interested parties and that enhances auction competition by leveling the informational playing field. The rule also promotes transparency and competition by limiting the extent to which after the close of bidding and prior to authorization of the award a winning bidder can turn around and “shop” its winning bids to others. Among other things, the prohibition deters bidders from participating with an expectation that, post-auction, they may be able to leverage their winning bids in a late effort to gain financing, and it avoids unfairness to other bidders that comply with the auction rules. Furthermore, the rule promotes competition within the auction by encouraging interested entities to participate in the bidding directly and compete for the desired offered items, rather than subsequently combining their resources with a winning bidder after the auction.
FCC Issues Notice Of Inquiry On The Future Of The Universal Service Fund – Comments Due January 18, 2022
December 15, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Notice Of Inquiry (NOI) on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF). Comments are due on or before January 18, 2022. Reply comments are due January 31, 2022.
In the NOI, the FCC seeks comment on issues related to the future of the USF “in light of the broadband investments in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” which provides “the largest ever federal investment in broadband, totaling approximately $65 billion.” The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the FCC to: (1) report to Congress on the FCC’s options for improving its effectiveness in achieving universal service goals for broadband; and (2) commence a proceeding to evaluate the implications of the Jobs Act on how the FCC should achieve broadband universal service goals.
First, the FCC is seeking comment on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impact on: (1) the FCC’s existing universal service programs; (2) the FCC’s universal service goals; and (3) other federal broadband programs.
Second, the FCC is seeking comment on: (1) potential recommendations for future FCC action related to the USF programs (High-Cost, Lifeline and The Affordable Connectivity Program, E-Rate and The Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, and Rural Health Care); and (2) sustaining the USF programs.
Third, the FCC is seeking comment on potential FCC recommendations for future congressional action related to universal service.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 2,008 Winning Bids (4th RDOF Authorization)
December 14, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced it has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 2,008 winning bids. This is the fourth RDOF support authorization. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of December 2021.
First Quarter 2022 USF Contribution Factor: 25.2 Percent
December 13, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Managing Director has announced that the proposed universal service fund (USF) contribution factor for the first quarter of 2022 will be will be 25.2 percent. This is a decrease from the 29.1 percent factor that was used in the fourth quarter of 2021.
For the first quarter of 2022, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects $9.235846 billion in total interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues will be collected. (The 4Q 2021 total was $9.517295 billion.)
USAC estimates that $1.84091 billion is needed to cover the total demand and expenses for all Federal universal service support mechanisms in the first quarter of 2022. (The 4Q 2021 demand was $2.123870 billion.) Total first quarter 2022 demand includes projected program support, administrative expenses, and true-ups and adjustments, and breaks out as follows:
E-Rate Schools & Libraries: $637.95 million
Rural Health Care: $11.72 million
High-Cost: $1.04452 billion
Lifeline: $137.51 million
Connected Care: $9.21 million
If the FCC takes no action on the proposed USF contribution factor within 14 days, it will be declared approved. Historical information on quarterly universal service fund contribution factors is available online from the FCC.
Robocall Prevention: FCC Imposes June 30, 2022 STIR/SHAKEN Deadline For Small “Non-Facilities-Based” Voice Providers
December 10, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission has approved a Fourth Report And Order which revises the FCC’s robocall prevention rules for small non-facilities-based voice providers. Specifically, “[t]o better protect Americans from illegally spoofed calls,” non-facilities-based small voice providers are now required to implement STIR/SHAKEN in the Internet Protocol (IP) portions of their voice networks by June 30, 2022.
Accordingly, non-facilities-based small voice service providers also must update their filings in the Robocall Mitigation Database within 10 business days of the effective date of the Fourth Report And Order to indicate they are no longer subject to a two-year extension and must implement STIR/SHAKEN by June 30, 2022 in the IP portions of their voice networks.
The existing June 30, 2023, STIR/SHAKEN extension for facilities-based small voice service providers remains in place. Non-facilities-based small voice service providers, as well as other voice service providers, must also update their certifications and associated filings in the Robocall Mitigation Database within 10 business days of completion of STIR/SHAKEN implementation. The FCC also revised Section 64.6305(b)(5) of its rules to require voice service providers to update, within 10 business days of any change, all information originally submitted with its Robocall STIR/SHAKEN certification.
Additionally, the FCC has adopted a new Robocall prevention tool for the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau that applies to small voice service providers:
Any small voice service provider that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau suspects of originating illegal robocalls and that fails to mitigate such traffic upon Bureau notice or otherwise fails to meet its burden under section 64.1200(n)(2) of the FCC’s rules, must implement STIR/SHAKEN within 90 days of that determination unless sooner implementation is otherwise required.
FCC Announces Re-Chartered Precision Agriculture Task Force Members
December 9, 2021 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has appointed members to serve on the re-chartered Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. A list of the Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force members is available on the FCC’s Public Notice. The group’s first meeting is set for Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 10:00 am EST. The re-chartered Task Force will continue to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on accelerating the deployment of broadband service on unserved agricultural land to promote precision agriculture, and will rely on four working groups to carry out its mission: (1) Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands; (2) Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture; (3) Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Jobs on Connected Farms; and (4) Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands.
FCC Releases Further Guidance On Transitioning From Emergency Broadband Benefit Program To New Affordable Connectivity Program
December 8, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released an Order which waives certain Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program rules and provides guidance on transitioning from the EBB Program to the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
First, the Bureau has waived Sections 54.1600(n) and (s) of the FCC’s rules which requires EBB Program internet service offerings and accompanying standard rates to be offered on the same manner and terms as offerings available on December 1, 2020. This will allow broadband service providers to offer EBB discounts on any of their internet service offerings to participating households (similar to how the ACP will require participating broadband providers to offer the ACP discount on any internet service offering). The waiver is in force until the FCC enacts final rules governing the ACP.
Second, the Bureau has waived Section 54.1601(c)(2) of the FCC’s rules which requires broadband service providers that are participating in the EBB Program to provide the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) with a “statement that, in each state or territory, the provider was a ‘broadband provider’ as of December 1, 2020.” This is consistent with the ACP’s statutory language which does not contain the December 1, 2020, restriction.
Finally, the Bureau’s Order provides the following guidance on transitioning from the EBB Program to the new ACP: (1) the transition of EBB providers to the Affordable Connectivity Program; (2) the timing of the enrollment freeze for the EBB Program and the start of enrollments for the Affordable Connectivity Program; (3) the continued access to the paper and online EBB Program applications; (4) the treatment of pending applications for the EBB Program on and after December 31, 2021; (5) the households that qualify for the 60-day transition period; (6) the reverification process for certain households enrolled in the EBB Program; and (7) the service provider consumer notification responsibilities about the upcoming program changes.
NTIA Announces Virtual Listening Sessions On New Federal Broadband Grant Programs
December 6, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced it will hold broadband grant program public virtual listening sessions for the following broadband grant programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD)
The Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program
The Digital Equity Act Programs (State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, and Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program)
The listening sessions will help collect stakeholder input and inform each program’s development and implementation. Registration information will be available on NTIA’s BroadbandUSA website. NTIA has released the following schedule for the public virtual listening sessions:
1. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session #1: Wednesday, December 15, 2021, from 2:30–4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET);
2. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session #2: Wednesday, January 12, 2022, from 2:30–4 p.m. ET;
3. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session #3: Wednesday, January 26, 2022, from 2:30–4 p.m. ET;
4. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session #4: Wednesday, February 9, 2022, from 2:30–4 p.m. ET; and
5. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session #5: Wednesday, February 23, 2022, from 2:30–4 p.m. ET.
FCC Releases Updated Responses To Frequently Asked Questions For The Secure And Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program
December 3, 2021 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has published an updated version of responses to Frequently Asked Questions for the $1.9 billion Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The updated FAQs are included as an attachment to the Bureau’s Public Notice announcement. The updated FAQs address how the FCC will handle funding allocations among affiliated Reimbursement Program participants; whether third-party network equipment that is not compatible with replacement equipment can be reimbursable; and provide additional explanation for other pending questions. Other important information and documents related to the Reimbursement Program are available on the FCC’s supply chain website.
LTD Broadband Files Lawsuit Against Iowa Utilities Board To Reverse Decision Denying Expanded ETC Designation
December 3, 2021 – LTD Broadband, LLC has filed a Petition for Judicial Review with the District Court for Polk County, Iowa seeking review of the Iowa Utilities Board’s November 5, 2021 denial of LTD’s amendment to its existing Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designation. In its Petition, LTD requests that the Court reverse the decision of the Board.
LTD Broadband, one of the biggest winners in the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction, was awarded $23,184,786.30 in ten-year RDOF support to serve 12,916 locations in Iowa. Pursuant to the FCC’s rules, LTD Broadband was required to demonstrate, by June 7, 2021, that it had been designated as an ETC in each of the geographic areas for which it won RDOF support. LTD Broadband previously had been designated as an ETC by the Iowa Utilities Board in 2019 for areas in Iowa where it won support in the FCC’s Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction. In May 2021, LTD filed an application with the Iowa Utilities Board to expand its ETC service area to cover where it won RDOF support. However, in a November 5, 2021, order, the Iowa Utilities Board denied LTD’s application. (In October 2021, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau issued an Order denying LTD Broadband’s petition for waiver of the ETC requirement, which resulted in the loss of RDOF support LTD was awarded in Iowa.)
In its Petition For Judicial Review, LTD ultimately requests that the Court reverse the decision of the Board, and makes the following claims for relief:
The Board’s delay and denial of LTD’s request to amend its ETC territory was arbitrary and capricious, and inconsistent with how the Board treated applicants making similar application.
The Board’s delay and denial failed to take into account the magnitude of the loss of potential investment in Iowa’s underserved communities and the public policy interests in timely action to facilitate the implementation of RDOF and the FCC’s decision to award LTD additional territories.
The Board’s apparent application of standards closer to those for an initial ETC application misinterprets the Board’s own rules, and used standards that were wholly subjective in violation of LTD’s due process. Moreover, if the FCC or the Iowa Legislature allowed and intended for the Board to use unclear, subjective standards without notice, such delegation of authority is an unconstitutional delegation beyond the scope of an administrative agency.
LTD Broadband, LLC respectfully requests that the Court reverse the decision of the Board, and enter such other relief as it finds proper on the facts and law before it
NTCA Asks For Waiver Of Broadband Performance Testing Obligations
December 3, 2021 – NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association has filed a petition requesting a waiver of certain aspects of the FCC’s broadband performance testing obligations. NTCA has requested that the FCC extend the relief granted in the Wireline Competition Bureau’s December 2020 waiver Order. In that Order, the Bureau provided a waiver allowing broadband providers that receive Alternative Connect America Cost Model I (A-CAM I) support, Rural Broadband Experiment support, and Alaska Plan support to pre-test only 70% of their random sample of subscribers during the four quarters of pre-testing in 2021. NTCA is asking for “an additional six months for pre-testing at 70% of the locations that would otherwise be required, with the understanding that if supply chain conditions do not ease sufficiently a further extension may be warranted.” In support of its waiver request, NTCA maintains that broadband provides continue to face challenges to deploying new testing compatible equipment at user locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions continue to interfere with providers’ abilities to source and purchase equipment needed to carry out performance testing.
USAC Files First Quarter 2022 USF Contribution Base Data: $9.235 Billion
December 2, 2021 – The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has filed projected universal service fund (USF) contribution base data which will be used to determine the USF contribution factor for the first quarter of calendar year 2022. USAC has determined that the total projected interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenue base for the first quarter of 2022 is $9,235,845,776. To provide a comparison, the total USF contribution base amounts for the past eight quarters were as follows:
Fourth Quarter 2021: $9,517,295,012
Third Quarter 2021: $9,665,944,070
Second Quarter 2021: $9,905,669,690
First Quarter 2021: $10,068,712,553
Fourth Quarter 2020: $10,428,377,862
Third Quarter 2020: $10,219,123,520
Second Quarter 2020: $10,865,131,593
First Quarter 2020: $11,129,976,956
USAC’s estimated revenue base for the first quarter of 2022 was derived from projected collected revenue for January to March 2022 reported by telecommunications service providers using FCC Form 499-Q submitted in November 2021 – 4,775 reporting providers, of which 3,112 are USF contributors and 1,663 are non-contributing de minimis service providers. As of November 19, 2021, USAC has yet to receive information from 132 non-de minimis telecommunications service providers that had previously submitted Form 499-Q revenue information to USAC.
After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approves the total USF contribution base, the quarterly funding requirements for USF support mechanisms, and projected USF administrative costs, the FCC will establish a USF contribution factor for the first quarter of 2022. The new contribution factor will be announced by a Public Notice. USAC will then bill USF contributors on a monthly basis for their individual obligations based on the approved contribution factor.
Members Of The Blackfeet Tribe File Class Action Lawsuit Against 3 Rivers Telephone Cooperative To Recover $8.88 Million In Capital Credits
December 1, 2021 – Native American members of the Blackfeet Tribe have filed a class action lawsuit, on behalf of themselves and all others situated, against 3 Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc. to recover patronage capital credits that allegedly belong to the plaintiffs and the class.
In the Class Action Complaint And Demand For Jury Trial, the plaintiffs allege that after 3 Rivers sold its Browning Exchange to Siyeh Communications in December 2020, “3 Rivers failed to retire the capital credits belonging to the Browning Exchange members.” The plaintiffs allege that 3 Rivers retained the capital credits “even though the Browning Exchange members are no longer members of 3 Rivers by virtue of the sale.”
3 Rivers is incorporated and operates as a non-profit entity. Customers that purchase services from the cooperative are considered member-owners. Each year, a cooperative will allocate a percentage of its revenues earned above operating expenses to each member-owner on a pro-rata basis according to the total amount paid or produced for services. These allocations are known as capital credits. They are refunded to cooperative patrons pursuant to individual company policies.
The plaintiffs estimate that “the total membership of 3 Rivers’ Browning Exchange is approximately 2,000, most of whom are Native American.” They estimate that the amount of capital credits that 3 Rivers has retained from the former Browning Exchange members is approximately 8.88 million dollars.
