Here is an update on news related to the FCC’s CAF Phase II auction.
All in Universal Service
FCC Announces Precision Agriculture Connectivity Task Force – Nominations For Working Groups Due December 3rd
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the appointment of members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Monday, December 9, 2019, at 9:30am. Nominations for membership on one of the Task Force’s four working groups should be submitted to the FCC no later than December 3, 2019.
GAO Says FCC Should Make A-CAM Mandatory For All Rate-Of-Return Carriers As Part Of Antifraud Strategy
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on its investigation of potential fraud risk in the FCC’s universal service high-cost program that supports rate-of-return carriers. Among other things, the GAO report recommends that the FCC assess the A-CAM support mechanism to determine the extent to which it produces reliable cost estimates and consider making its use mandatory all for rate-of-return carriers.
OneWeb – Low Earth Orbit, High-Speed Satellite Broadband Service
In July 2019, OneWeb reported the tests of six of its LEO satellites – download speeds of 400 Mbps with latency under 40 milliseconds, which enabled the fastest real-time video streaming in Full HD from Space. OneWeb plans to blanket the entire world with unsubsidized competitive broadband service.
Update On Broadband Funding: FCC Programs, Federal Funding, State Funding
This article contains recent news about broadband funding: FCC Universal Service Programs, Federal Funding, and State Funding.
November 2019 News Update
Here is an update on important news from November 2019.
Slaying The Dragon - FCC Will Blacklist Huawei & ZTE Equipment And Services
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft Report and Order that would prohibit companies from using Universal Service Fund money to purchase equipment or services from any company that poses a national security threat. The draft Report and Order initially blacklists two Chinese companies – Huawei and ZTE Corporation – as national security threats. The FCC will vote on the item at its November 19th open meeting.
State Members Of Universal Service Joint Board Recommend Changes To USF Contribution Mechanism – Assess Broadband Revenue & Move To Connections-Based Assessment On Residential Services
The state members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service have submitted a Recommended Decision that proposes changing the existing contribution mechanism for federal universal service programs. Among other things, the state members want the FCC to assess broadband revenue and move to connections-based assessment on residential services
FCC Releases Draft Broadband Performance Testing Order On Reconsideration
The FCC has released a draft of the broadband network performance testing Order On Reconsideration that will be voted on at the FCC’s October 25th open meeting. The draft Order On Reconsideration revises and clarifies the July 2018 Performance Measures Order, which sets a testing framework for measuring speed and latency performance that applies to fixed broadband service providers receiving high-cost universal service fund support.
News Update - September 2019
An update on news stories from September 2019.