FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For September 21st Open Meeting

August 31, 2023 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 21, 2023:

Satellite Application Processing – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on facilitating and expediting application processing for satellite and earth station operators in order to advance opportunities for innovation in the new space age. (IB Docket Nos. 22-411, 22-271)

Updating the 5G Fund for Rural America – The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the implementation of the 5G Fund for Rural America in light of new, precise, and verified mobile coverage data gathered through the Broadband Data Collection. (GN Docket No. 20-32)

Direct Access to Phone Numbers – The Commission will consider a Report and Order to strengthen the Commission’s direct access rules in order to stem the tide of illegal robocalls, protect the nation’s numbering resources from abuse by foreign bad actors, and advance other important public policy objectives tied to the use of numbering resources. The accompanying Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would seek comment on the duties of existing direct access authorization holders. (WC Docket Nos. 13-97, 07-243, 20-67; IB Docket No. 16-155)

Updating Obsolete TV Broadcasting Rules – The Commission will consider a Report and Order which would amend Part 73 of the Commission’s Rules to update Television and Class A Television Broadcast Station Rules as well as certain rules applicable to all broadcast stations. This would ensure the FCC’s rules better reflect the current broadcast TV operating environment including changes related to major developments like the transition from analog to digital-only operations and the post-incentive auction transition to a smaller television band with fewer channels. (MB Docket No. 22-227)

Enforcement Bureau Action – The Commission will consider an enforcement action.

Enforcement Bureau Action – The Commission will consider an enforcement action.

FCC Releases Enhanced A-CAM Offers – Decisions Due September 29th

August 30, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released the offers of model-based Enhanced A-CAM support to existing A-CAM carriers and rate-of-return carriers receiving legacy support. Carriers have until Friday, September 29, 2023 to indicate, on a state-by-state basis, whether they elect to receive Enhanced A-CAM support. Each Enhanced A-CAM offer is available here.

The Enhanced A-CAM offer amounts are “predicated upon carriers receiving support for Enhanced A-CAM required locations calculated using a monthly funding threshold of $63.69, a funding cap per location of $350, and an alternative funding percentage of 80%, except that required locations in Tribal lands are subject to a funding threshold of $47.76 and a funding cap of $365.93.” The calculation of each offer is also based on the following:

• Each offer includes 60% of the carrier’s current A-CAM support level for existing ILEC-only served locations, including those locations for which the ILEC may have received a loan or grant to deploy broadband, but excluding locations for which an unsubsidized competitor is receiving funding (e.g., a loan or grant).

• Each offer includes 33% of the carrier’s current support level for (a) ILEC-only served locations for which a competitor is receiving funding to deploy 100/20 Mbps or faster broadband service, and (b) locations currently served by both the ILEC and a competitor with 100/20 Mbps or faster broadband.

• The locations included in the initial offers are based on location data from the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric v.2 and account for broadband coverage data from the National Broadband Map, as well as federal broadband funding data from the Broadband Funding Map.

The Bureau released four reports which provide data on support amounts and broadband locations. Report 1.1 shows the state-level offer of model-based support for each carrier that is eligible to elect Enhanced A-CAM support. Report 1.2 shows the number of required locations – both above and below the support threshold – to which an electing carrier will be required to deploy 100/20 Mbps service, in total. Report 1.3 shows the amount of support, by year, that a CAF BLS recipient electing Enhanced A-CAM will receive over the term of Enhanced A-CAM. Report 1.4 shows a list of known mixed support carriers (mixed support carriers that elect to participate in the Enhanced A-CAM mechanism, must elect for both their A-CAM and CAF BLS components).

Carriers must email their election letters to the Bureau at ConnectAmerica@fcc.gov on or before September 29, 2023. The Bureau provided the following information on the election process:

If a carrier fails to submit any final election letter by the September 29, 2023 deadline, the carrier will be deemed to have declined the Enhanced A-CAM offer and will continue to receive support under its existing program and be subject to its existing A-CAM I, Revised A-CAM I, A-CAM II, or CAF BLS deployment obligations. Carriers submitting election letters will receive an e mail confirming that their letters have been received and reviewed for completeness and should contact the Bureau no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 2, 2023 if they do not receive such confirmation. Confirmation of receipt does not constitute authorization to receive Enhanced A-CAM support pursuant to the terms of the offer. Carriers electing the Enhanced A-CAM support will not begin receiving such support until the Bureau issues a public notice authorizing the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to disburse the appropriate amounts.

FCC Order On Reconsideration Clarifies Certain Broadband Label Rules

August 29, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an Order on Reconsideration that addresses three petitions that requested clarification and reconsideration of the FCC’s new broadband label rules. For the most part, the Order on Reconsideration affirms the rules, while making a few minor clarifications and changes.

First, the FCC affirmed its determination that “enterprise service offerings or special access services are not ‘mass-market retail services,’ and therefore, not covered by [the] label requirement.” The FCC has clarified that, “regardless of how the provider names or defines its offering, the manner in which the service is offered is dispositive of whether the labeling requirements apply.” The enterprise/special access “exemption” typically applies when the broadband service offering “is customized for the beneficiary through individually negotiated agreements.” Accordingly, “a broadband label is only required in E-Rate and Rural Health Care (RHC) Program competitive bids for standard mass-market broadband Internet services requested by a school, library, or health care provider, and that E-Rate and RHC service providers need not include a label for enterprise and special access services provided through those programs.”

Second, the FCC has reconsidered “the requirement that a provider must document each instance when it directs a consumer to a label at an alternative sales channel (e.g., retail stores, kiosks, and over the phone) and retain such documentation for two years.” Accordingly, the FCC has revised Section 8.1(a)(2) of its rules to clarify that the requirement will be deemed satisfied if the broadband provider: (1) establishes the business practices and processes it will follow in distributing the label through alternative sales channels; (2) retains training materials and related business practice documentation for two years; and (3) provides such information to the FCC upon request, within 30 days.

Finally, the has clarified that wireless providers have the flexibility to state “taxes included” or add similar language to the broadband label template when the provider has chosen to include taxes as part of its base price. Providers may only add this language when they have included all taxes in their monthly base price, and may not rely on general statements that taxes may apply if such taxes are not included in the base price.

The FCC has made the compliance dates for the amended rules in the Order on Reconsideration consistent with those for the other broadband label rules. Broadband providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers have a compliance deadline of one year, and all other providers have a compliance deadline of six months. The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will release a future Public Notice announcing all compliance dates for the broadband label rules.

Kansas Submits BEAD Program 5-Year Action Plan To NTIA

August 24, 2023 – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced that the Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) has submitted the state’s comprehensive Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Five-Year Action Plan (FYAP) to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Kansas’ 5-year action plan details how the state plans to use the $451 million in BEAD funding NTIA has allocated to the state. The plan outlines KOBD’s “vision to provide universal access to quality broadband, with specific goals and objectives aimed at broadband coverage, adoption rates, and economic growth,” and “identifies existing programs and assets to reduce overlap and to leverage resources.” Additionally, Kansas’ plan “identifies challenges such as supply chain constraints, labor shortages, digital skill gaps, and how to overcome these obstacles,” and includes “a projected timeline, costs and strategies to close gaps in broadband service and ways to ensure fair digital access.” More information on the 5-year plan is available here.

FCC Opens Permit-But-Disclose Ex Parte Docket For Challenge To Fox Broadcast License Renewal

August 23, 2023 – The FCC’s Media Bureau has announced it has opened a permit-but-disclose ex parte docket (MB Docket No. 23-293) for Fox Television Stations, LLC’s (FTS) application to renew the broadcast license of station WTXF-TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Facility ID No. 51568). In July 2023, the Media and Democracy Project filed a petition to deny the license, arguing that Fox’s “broadcasting of knowingly false narratives about the 2020 election” violated its obligations to “broadcast in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” Applications for renewal of broadcast licenses are typically subject to treatment as restricted proceedings for ex parte purposes under the FCC’s rules. The Media Bureau opened the docket after concluding that classifying the proceeding “as permit-but-disclose would, in this case, permit broader public participation and thereby serve the public interest.”

UFC, NBA, & NFL Suggest Ways To Stop Illegal Live Streams Of Sporting Events

August 23, 2023 – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), NBA, and NFL have submitted comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) suggesting ways to stop illegal live streams of sporting events. In May 2023, the USPTO solicited public comment from interested parties regarding their observations and insights into the future of anticounterfeiting and antipiracy strategies. In their joint comments, the three sporting leagues provided the following depiction of illegal live streams of sporting events:

Like so many purveyors of live content, however, UFC, NBAP and NFLP all face the growing and pervasive challenge of piracy. Specifically, bad actors create unauthorized and illegal livestreams of live UFC, NBA and NFL sports events, and distribute those streams on social media and other platforms for viewers to access at no or little cost, thereby depriving UFC, NBAP and NFL of significant revenue. Live piracy sometimes takes the form of rudimentary “screen-capturing” where someone uses their phone to record live content while it is playing on another screen, and livestreams it from their cell phone. In recent years, however, pirates have shown increasing sophistication in terms of the quality of their livestreams and now display livestreams in a way that often renders the final product indistinguishable from the legitimate feed. To garner maximum viewership of the pirated content, enterprising pirates will post “advertisements” on major social media platforms that drive traffic to off-platform sites where people can watch unlawful livestreams of live sports event content without paying a dime. Pirates will even target sports fans by setting up sophisticated websites dedicated to providing fans of a particular sport access to live sporting events featuring that sport, then generate revenue by charging a subscription fee and/or selling advertising.

When online service providers (OSPs) are notified of an illegal stream, the UFC, NBA and NFL claim “that many OSPs frequently take hours or even days to remove content in response to takedown notices—thus allowing infringing live content to remain online during the most anticipated moments, or even the entirety, of a UFC event or an NBA or NFL game.” Ultimately, the leagues want a revision to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) notice-and-takedown provisions “to establish that, in the case of live content, the requirement to ‘expeditiously’ remove infringing content means that content must be removed ‘instantaneously or near-instantaneously’ in response to a takedown request.” They provided the following in support of this suggestion:

This would be a relatively modest and non-controversial update to the DMCA that could be included in the broader reforms being considered by Congress or could be addressed separately. OSPs also should be required to impose particular verification measures before a user is permitted to livestream. Those include limiting livestream capabilities to users that have cleared certain verification measures; limiting the ability of newly created accounts to livestream; restricting viewership of livestreams posted by newly created accounts or accounts with few subscribers; and/or limiting livestream capabilities to users with a certain number of subscribers. Certain OSPs already impose measures like these, demonstrating that the measures are feasible, practical and important tools to reduce livestream piracy. Both of these reforms are needed.

NTCA Suggests NTIA Modify BEAD Program’s Letter Of Credit Requirement

August 23, 2023 – NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association has asked the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to consider alternatives to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program’s irrevocable standby Letter of Credit (LOC) requirements for subrecipients. Under BEAD, subrecipients must obtain a LOC issued by an FDIC-insured U.S. bank that has a Weiss rating of B- or better for 25% of the subaward amount. NTCA says that some of its members are concerned that the LOC requirement may hinder their ability to participate in the BEAD program. NTCA recommends two narrowly tailored alternatives to the LOC requirement:

Performance bond. Typically issued by a bank or an insurance company for construction projects, a performance bond is issued against the failure of one party to the contract to meet its contractual obligations. Bond issuers have every incentive to ensure that applicants are financially viable and qualified to perform their duties. Permitting grant subrecipients the ability to obtain performance bonds and/or leverage the performance bonds of their contractors and operators as an alternative to a LOC would protect the government’s interest, while allowing smaller qualified broadband providers greater opportunity to participate in the BEAD program.

Local government guarantee. Similar to a performance bond, a local government could guarantee the subrecipient’s obligation to fulfill its contract. A local government is likely to have, or to obtain, sufficient information about an applicant such that it can assess the applicant’s qualifications and determine its risk tolerance.

FCC Universal Service Notice Of Inquiry Comment Deadlines Announced – Comments Due October 23rd

August 23, 2023 – The FCC’s Notice Of Inquiry concerning high-cost universal service fund (USF) support has been published in the Federal Register. As a result, comments are due on or before October 23, 2023, and reply comments are due on or before November 21, 2023. The Notice Of Inquiry seeks comment on “methods for modifying the Universal Service Fund’s high-cost program to support ongoing expenses for broadband networks in light of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other recent federal and state efforts.”

Department Of Commerce Proposes Limited Waiver Of Buy America Requirements For BEAD Program

August 22, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Commerce has released a proposed “limited, general applicability, nonavailability waiver of the Buy America Domestic Content Procurement Preference (Buy America Preference)” under the Build America, Buy America Act. The waiver would apply to awards made under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD Program). As summarized in the notice and request for comment, the waiver:

(1) incentivizes the domestic production of specific manufactured products based on strategic prioritization criteria, including network and data security, which will directly expand American job opportunities;

(2) promotes broad participation in the BEAD Program;

(3) ensures that BEAD Program subrecipients will have access to the manufactured products necessary to fulfill their obligations under the program;

(4) allows funding recipients to continue to provide economic opportunity through timely deployment of broadband infrastructure, which is recognized to expand job opportunities; and

(5) supports the timely development of critical domestic infrastructure that delivers broadband internet services to all Americans.

There is a 30-day public comment period for the waiver. Comments must be received by September 21st, 2023. Electronic comment submissions can be emailed to BABA@ntia.gov with the subject “BEAD Program Nonavailability Waiver.” The Department of Commerce will determine whether to modify or finalize the proposed waiver after the comment period.

FCC 911 Reliability Certifications Due October 16th

August 22, 2023 – The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has announced that the FCC’s 911 Reliability Certification System is now open for filing certifications for 2023. The FCC’s 911 Reliability Certifications are due annually on October 15. This year, the 15th falls on a Sunday, extending the due date to the next business day, which is October 16, 2023. Covered 911 service providers must file their certifications electronically using the FCC’s online portal at https://apps2.fcc.gov/rcs911/. The annual 911 Reliability Certification requirements – circuit auditing, backup power, and network monitoring – are found in Section 9.19(c) of the FCC’s rules.

FCC Announces Cuba City Telephone Exchange Co. & Cal-Ore Communications RDOF Defaults

August 22, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released a Public Notice announcing that Cuba City Telephone Exchange Co. (Cuba City) and Cal-Ore Communications, Inc. (Cal-Ore) have notified the FCC of their decisions to withdraw from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support program. Cuba City was authorized to receive $540,329 in RDOF support over a 10-year term to offer voice and broadband service to 302 locations in Wisconsin, and Cal-Ore was authorized to receive $1,063,513.10 in RDOF support over a 10-year term to offer voice and broadband service to 235 locations in California. Following a Cuba City and Cal-Ore letter notifying the FCC of the companies’ withdrawal from the RDOF program, the Bureau directed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to suspend future RDOF support payments. The Bureau has now directed USAC to recover RDOF support from Cuba City and Cal-Ore pursuant to the FCC’s rules.

RUS Announces $667 Million In ReConnect Program Awards

August 21, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service has announced it has awarded $667 million in grants and loans under the fourth round of the ReConnect Program. Funding will be used to cover the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in rural areas. The $667 million has been awarded to 38 broadband projects in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Marshall Islands. Additionally, RUS announced that Hood Canal Telephone Co. Inc. will receive a $3.8 million loan through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan & Loan Guarantee Program to help construct 16 miles of fiber that will provide high-speed internet access to 800 households and 10 businesses in Union, Washington.

FCC Universal Service Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Comment Deadlines Announced – Comments Due September 18th

August 18, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Report And Order creating an Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program has been published in the Federal Register. The accompanying Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking also has been published, which establishes the comment deadlines. Comments are due on or before September 18, 2023. Reply comments are due on or before October 2, 2023. The Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on further reforms to the legacy rate-of-return universal service system.

Mergers & Acquisitions: Communications Network, Inc. Acquiring Farmers & Merchants Mutual Telephone Company of Wayland, Iowa

August 17, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 transfer of control application filed by The Farmers & Merchants Mutual Telephone Company of Wayland, Iowa (Farmers) and Communications Network, Inc. (CNI), requesting consent to transfer control of Farmers to CNI. Comments are due on or before August 31, 2023. Reply comments are due September 7, 2023.

Farmers is a privately held Iowa corporation that provides telecommunications services as an incumbent local exchange carrier in Iowa. Farmers receives high-cost universal service fund (USF) support through Connect American Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS), Connect America Fund Intercarrier Compensation (CAF-ICC) support, and High-Cost Loop Support (HCLS).

CNI is an Iowa corporation that provides wireless telecommunications services in Iowa. CNI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kalona Cooperative Telephone Company (KCTC), an Iowa cooperative association that provides local exchange service and other services in Iowa. CNI does not receive any USF high-cost support. CNI’s parent company, KCTC, receives CAF BLS, CAF-ICC support, and HCLS.

Pursuant to a reverse triangular merger, outstanding shares of Farmers stock will be converted into the right to receive a cash amount per share, and outstanding shares of Merger Sub, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNI created for the purposes of the transaction, will be converted into shares of Farmers. Thereafter, Merger Sub will cease to exist and Farmers will remain in existence as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNI.

Reid Consulting Files Evidence For Challenges To Fixed Wireless Broadband Coverage Claims In Missouri

August 15, 2023 – The Reid Consulting Group LLC has submitted evidence on behalf of the Missouri Association of Councils of Government for bulk challenges to broadband availability coverage by Licensed Fixed Wireless Access (LFWA) providers in Missouri. In the filing, submitted in the FCC’s Digital Opportunity Data Collection docket (WC Docket No. 19-195), Reid Consulting claims that LFWA broadband service is below 25/3 Mbps at 93,343 locations. At 63,848 of the locations, Reid Consulting claims the ISP has reported speeds of 100/20 Mbps or higher. It wants “the FCC to reverse the burden of proof, requiring that ISPs substantiate their claims rather than saddling communities with the near impossibility of proving a negative across such a wide geographic area.”

FCC Releases Additional Information For Enhanced A-CAM Illustrative Results

August 14, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released additional location information for the illustrative results for the new Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program. The Wireline Bureau has also released an informational document describing the methodology and data sources that FCC staff used to calculate Enhanced A-CAM) illustrative offers. The illustrative results are available for download in PDF format.

FCC Releases Funding Data For New Enhanced A-CAM Program

August 7, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has released the illustrative results for the new Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) program. These results utilize three different combinations of per-location funding caps for unserved locations and funding percentages for locations already deployed by the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC), and are based on Version 2 of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric which incorporates currently served locations from Version 2 of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection. The illustrative results are available for download in an excel spreadsheet format. Information on the data sources and funding calculations used to produce the illustrative results are available here.

On July 24, 2023, the FCC released a Report And Order creating an Enhanced A-CAM program. Rural rate-of-return carriers that opt in to the Enhanced A-CAM program will receive model based funding for a 15-year term in exchange for deploying 100/20 Mbps or faster broadband service and voice service to all locations in their service areas by the end of 2028. Current A-CAM I and A-CAM II participants, as well as rate-of-return carriers receiving legacy support are eligible to enter the Enhanced A-CAM program. The 15-year term of support will begin in 2024. Accompanying the Report And Order is a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on further reforms to the legacy rate-of-return universal service system. Also included is a Notice Of Inquiry that seeks comment on “methods for modifying the Universal Service Fund’s high cost program to support ongoing expenses for broadband networks in light of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other recent federal and state efforts.”

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Actions To Strengthen Cybersecurity In K-12 Schools

August 7, 2023 – The Biden-Harris Administration has announced new actions and private commitments intended to strengthen cybersecurity at K-12 schools. The new Federal government cybersecurity actions include the following:

• The U.S. Department of Education will establish a Government Coordinating Council (GCC) that will coordinate activities, policy, and communications between, and amongst, federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial education leaders to strengthen the cyber defenses and resilience of K-12 schools.

• The U.S. Department of Education and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) jointly released K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Defensible & Resilient, the second in a series of guidance documents to assist educational leaders in building and sustaining core digital infrastructure for learning. Additional briefs released by the U.S. Department of Education include Adequate and Future-Proof and Privacy-Enhancing, Interoperable and Useful.

• CISA is committing to providing tailored assessments, facilitating exercises, and delivering cybersecurity training for 300 new K-12 entities over the coming school year.

• The FBI and the National Guard Bureau are releasing updated resource guides to ensure state government and education officials know how to report cybersecurity incidents and can leverage the federal government’s cyber defense capabilities.

As for private industry actions, the White House has announced that technology companies are committing the following free and low-cost resources to school districts:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committing the following: $20 million for a K-12 cyber grant program available to all school districts and state departments of education; free security training offerings tailored to K-12 IT staff delivered through AWS Skill Builder; and no-cost cyber incident response assistance through its Customer Incident Response Team in the event a school district experiences a cyberattack. AWS will also provide free well-architected security reviews to U.S. education technology companies providing mission-critical applications to the K-12 community.

• Cloudflare, through its Project Cybersafe Schools, will offer a suite of free Zero Trust cybersecurity solutions to public school districts under 2,500 students, to give small school districts faster, safer Internet browsing and email security.

• PowerSchool, a provider of cloud-based K-12 software in the United States for 80% of school districts, will provide new free and subsidized “security as a service” courses, training, tools and resources to all U.S. schools and districts.

• Google released an updated “K-12 Cybersecurity Guidebook” for schools on the most effective and impactful steps education systems can take to ensure the security of their Google hardware and software applications.

• D2L, a learning platform company, is committing to: providing access to new cybersecurity courses in collaboration with trusted third-parties; extending its information security review for the core D2L integration partners; and pursuing additional third-party validation of D2L compliance with security standards.

FCC Approves Up-To-$75 Monthly ACP Broadband Benefit In High-Cost Areas

August 4, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved new rules that establish enhanced discounts – an up-to-$75 monthly broadband benefit – for broadband services provided in high-cost areas by participants in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the FCC to establish the increase because “the $75 monthly benefit would support providers that can demonstrate that the standard $30 monthly benefit would cause them to experience ‘particularized economic hardship’ such that they would be unable to maintain part or all of their broadband network in a high-cost area.” In the Sixth Report And Order, the FCC takes the following actions to implement the increased ACP benefit:

• Adopts rules to implement the up-to-$75 monthly ACP benefit in high-cost areas, as defined by NTIA and as required by the Infrastructure Act;

• Defines “particularized economic hardship” and establishes the showing that ACP providers must make to demonstrate they are experiencing a particularized economic hardship in a high-cost area;

• Sets the processes for reviewing and making determinations on providers’ economic hardship submissions, and appealing those determinations;

• Creates a requirement for providers that are approved to offer the high-cost area benefit to annually resubmit an economic hardship showing to continue offering the high-cost area benefit; and

• Outlines the steps providers must take to provide advance notice and a transition path for ACP consumers if the provider no longer qualifies to offer the high-cost area benefit.

FCC Issues $300 Million Robocall Fine Against International Network Of Companies

August 3, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Forfeiture Order against Sumco Panama SA, Sumco Panama USA, Virtual Telecom kft, Virtual Telecom Inc., Davis Telecom Inc., Geist Telecom LLC, Fugle Telecom LLC, Tech Direct LLC, Mobi Telecom LLC, and Posting Express Inc. jointly and severally, for placing “over five billion auto warranty robocalls to consumers between January 2021 and March 2021 in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Truth in Caller ID Act.” The international network of companies was involved in the largest illegal robocall operation the FCC has ever investigated. The Forfeiture Order imposes a penalty of $299,997,000 against the companies. Payment of the forfeiture is due within 30 days. If it is not paid within 30 days, the case may be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement of the forfeiture pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Communications Act.

Consumers’ Research Files Comments And Objections To USAC’s 4Q 2023 USF Fund Size Projections

August 3, 2023 – Consumers’ Research, Cause Based Commerce, Inc., and 12 individual consumers have filed comments and objections in response to the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) Federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms Fund Size Projections for the fourth quarter of 2023. USAC’s filing details the USF’s total projected funding requirements for 4Q 2023, which includes costs that can be directly attributed to the High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, and Schools and Libraries Support Mechanisms, as well as Connected Care Pilot Program costs, and projected administrative expenditures of each mechanism. The FCC will use the data in its calculation of the quarterly USF contribution factor. The Consumers’ Research group claims the universal service fund (USF) “is an unconstitutional tax raised and spent by an unaccountable federal agency.”

USAC Submits Estimated Fourth Quarter 2023 Universal Service Funding Requirements

August 2, 2023 – The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has filed the Federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms Fund Size Projections for the fourth quarter of 2023. The filing details the universal service fund’s (USF) total projected funding requirements for 4Q 2023, which includes costs that can be directly attributed to the High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, and Schools and Libraries Support Mechanisms, as well as Connected Care Pilot Program costs, and projected administrative expenditures of each mechanism. All of USAC’s filings to the FCC are available here. USAC’s data shows the following total projected 4Q 2023 funding requirements for each USF support mechanism:

High Cost Support Mechanism – $1.06688 billion  (the 3Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $1.044 billion; 2Q 2023 was $972.91 million; 1Q 2023 was $1.152 billion). USAC initially calculated the high cost funding requirement as $1.06760 billion, but the amount was decreased by prior period adjustments of $18.86 million, and increased by administrative costs of $18.14 million.

Low Income Support Mechanism – $262.71 million  (the 3Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $206.97 million; 2Q 2023 was $202.05 million; 1Q 2023 was $201.21 million). USAC initially estimated funding requirements of 302.14 million for Lifeline and $0.06 million for Link-Up, resulting in a total funding requirement of $302.20 million. This amount was decreased by prior period adjustment of $63.57 million, and increased by $24.08 million for administrative costs.

Rural Health Care Support Mechanism – $170.98 million  (the 3Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $170.57 million; 2Q 2023 was $159.36 million; 1Q 2023 was $70.79 million).

Connected Care Pilot Program – -$0.02 million  (the 3Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $8.38 million; 2Q 2023 was $8.43 million; 1Q 2023 was $8.5 million). Based on collections of $8.33 million over the past 12 quarters, the remaining collection requirement for the Connected Care Pilot Program in 4Q2023 is $0.04 million. The collection requirement of $0.04 million was adjusted as follows: decreased by prior period adjustment of $0.14 million and increased by $0.08 million for administrative expenses, resulting in a 4Q2023 funding requirement of -$0.02 million.

E-Rate Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism – $652.04 million  (the 3Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $586.77 million; 2Q 2023 was $609.15 million; 1Q 2023 was $697.13 million).

USAC projects a consolidated budget of $68.50 million for 4Q 2023. This breaks out to $35.29 million in direct costs for all four support mechanisms, and $33.21 million in joint and common costs which include costs associated with billing, collection, and disbursement of universal service funds. (USAC projected a consolidated budget of $68.04 million for 3Q 2023. It was $71.91 million for 2Q 2023, and $67.28 million for 1Q 2023.) The FCC will use the of the quarterly funding requirements for the four USF Support Mechanisms, the projected administrative expenses, and the USF contribution base amount to calculate the quarterly USF contribution factor. Copies of USAC’s historical USF filings are available on its website.

Mergers & Acquisitions: LICT To Spin Off Michigan Broadband

August 2, 2023 – LICT Corporation has announced the approval of its previous decision to spin off the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Michigan Broadband. The separation will be effectuated through a pro-rata distribution of stock in the new company MachTen, Inc. Thereafter, “LICT and MachTen will be independent, publicly traded companies with distinct business operations, customers and geographic markets.”

So-Called Coalition Of RDOF Winners Ask FCC For More RDOF Support

August 1, 2023 – A group of communications providers that won Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction support have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for supplementary RDOF support. The “Coalition of RDOF winners” say additional funding is needed “to address the massive and unprecedented increases in broadband deployment construction costs RDOF winners are facing.” They further claim these increased costs “could never have been anticipated at the time RDOF winners placed reverse bids during the RDOF auction.” In the ex parte filing, the group has laid out the following potential forms of relief that the FCC could provide:

1. Supplementary funding to RDOF winners that have affirmatively requested such funding;

2. A short “amnesty window” that allows RDOF winners to relinquish all or part of their RDOF winning areas without forfeitures or other penalties if the Commission chooses not to make supplemental funds available or if the amount of supplemental funds the Commission does make available does not cover an RDOF Winner’s costs that exceed reasonable inflation, so that such unserved areas are in included in the BEAD program;

3. RDOF payments in years 7-10 in earlier years;

4. An extra year of funding;

5. Relief from all, or certain aspects of, the letter of credit requirements on an expedited basis; and/or

6. Realignment of RDOF support provided to an RDOF winner that relinquishes certain areas pursuant to an amnesty window, so that RDOF funding in such areas is redirected to RDOF areas that the RDOF winner keeps so as to offset the significant broadband deployment construction cost increases in such areas.