All in Broadband
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly has asked the Universal Service Administrative Company to provide information on the use of E-Rate funding to overbuild existing USF-supported fiber networks. Commissioner O’Rielly has asked USAC to respond to his request no later than April 1, 2019.
This article is a summary of news from February 2019.
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced revised offers of Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) support and associated revised deployment obligations for the 262 carriers that have already been authorized to receive A-CAM. These carriers have until March 27, 2019, to notify the FCC whether they accept the revised amount of model-based support.
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on two separate petitions for designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier filed by CAF Phase II auction winners Redwire, Inc. and Viasat Carrier Services, Inc.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft of the 2019 Broadband Progress Report to his fellow commissioners. It is the second such report under the Pai administration, and for the second consecutive year, the report concludes that advanced telecommunications capability (broadband service) is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. The FCC is expected to vote on the report in the coming weeks.
The Federal Communications Commission has approved and released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that revises many universal service fund rules that apply to rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers. Among other things, in the order the FCC replaces the existing overlap process that applies to legacy rate-of-return service areas that are served by unsubsidized competitors with competitive auctions.
The Federal Communications Commission has approved and released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that revises many universal service fund (USF) rules that apply to rate-of-return incumbent local exchange carriers. Among other things, the FCC’s order eliminates the capital investment allowance; simplifies the budget control mechanism calculation and eliminates the per-line reduction calculation that is part of the budget control mechanism; and reduces the monthly per-line limit on universal service support to $225 and then to $200.
