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FCC Issues 2022 Communications Marketplace Report

December 30, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has released the 2022 Communications Marketplace Report. It assesses the state of competition for delivering voice, video, audio, and data services across the broader communications marketplace. This includes an analysis of services delivered by providers of telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service, multichannel video programming distributors, broadcast stations, providers of satellite communications, Internet service providers (ISPs), and others. To open the Report, the FCC “note[s] that the U.S. communications marketplace is in a substantial state of change and re-examination” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and “considerable developments in the regulatory, technological, and business environment that will likely influence competition in the sector in the coming years.” The FCC has identified “an emerging set of issues and opportunities presented by these changes in the marketplace”: First is the potential for more competitive broadband markets; Second is change in the wireless sector in the 5G era; and Third is the rapid expansion of LEO satellite constellations and the emergence of new players in the commercial satellite industry. The lengthy Report assesses the marketplace for each individual communications service; broadband deployment; entry and expansion in the communications marketplace; connectivity and COVID-19; and FCC actions taken to promote competition and encourage deployment of services.

FCC Announces Opening Of Broadband Data Collection Filing Window For Broadband Data As Of December 31, 2022

December 27, 2022 – The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force has announced that the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window for submitting broadband availability and other data as of December 31, 2022, will open on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 and close on March 1, 2023. According to the Task Force’s Public Notice, the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric that serves as the foundation on which fixed broadband availability data is overlaid has been updated for use in connection with the upcoming BDC filing window. Broadband service providers must file data showing where they make mass-market broadband internet access services available as of December 31, 2022. Other entities who are primarily responsible for mapping or tracking broadband coverage in their jurisdictions must also submit their availability data as of December 31, 2022 no later than March 1, 2023. Data must be filed in the BDC system at https://bdc.fcc.gov/bdc. Information on how to log in, navigate the BDC system, and submit data is available from the BDC System User Guide and related video tutorials, which are available at https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/Help.

Mergers & Acquisitions: Wisper ISP Founder Reacquiring Sole Control Of Company

December 22, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking public comment on a Section 214 application filed by Cable One, Inc., Stephens Wisper, LLC, Wisper ISP, LLC, and Nathan T. Stooke, requesting consent to transfer a controlling interest in Wisper ISP to Mr. Stooke. Comments are due on or before January 5, 2023. Reply comments are due January 12, 2023.

Wisper ISP, Inc., the predecessor-in-interest to Wisper ISP, LLC, was formed in Illinois in 2003 by Nathan Stooke, as the sole owner. Since then, Mr. Stooke has served as the company’s President, in charge of day-to-day operations and strategic vision. In 2020, Wisper ISP, Inc. converted to Wisper ISP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and sold minority interests in the company to: (1) Cable One, Inc. (40.40% ownership), and (2) Stephens Wisper, LLC (18.80% ownership). Mr. Stooke’s ownership interest was reduced to 40.80 percent.

Wisper ISP currently provides fixed wireless or fiber-based broadband and voice services to approximately 19,000 residential and business subscribers in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Wisper ISP won approximately $220 million in Connect America Fund (“CAF”) Phase II auction support in 2018 to deploy service to 80,149 locations in Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. So far, it has deployed voice and broadband service to more than 40 percent of its CAF-supported locations, and satisfied its requirements to reduce its irrevocable letters of credit by 50 percent. Bidding as a consortium, Wisper ISP and Cable One won Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I reverse auction support in 13 states. Wisper ISP ultimately filed the long-form application for RDO support for 1,151 locations in only three states: Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. It was authorized to receive RDOF support in June 2022.

Cable One, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide video, broadband Internet access, and voice services in 24 states. Stephens Wisper, LLC is an Arkansas limited liability company and private equity firm with substantial investments in broadband companies. It is affiliated with Stephens Capital Partners, LLC, an Arkansas limited liability company and investment group based in Arkansas.

Pursuant to the terms of a Membership Interest Redemption Agreement, Cable One and Stephens Wisper will assign and transfer their ownership interests in Wisper ISP, giving Nathan Stooke 100 percent ownership of the company. Bluewater Wisper Ventures LLC, as the agent for lenders and other parties to a loan agreement, will provide or arrange for debt financing for Mr. Stooke to acquire all the ownership interest in Wisper. Remaining loan proceeds will be used to fund accelerated deployment in Wisper’s CAF and RDOF areas. Bluewater Wisper Ventures LLC is owned and controlled by John Gregg and Randall Mays. According to the Section 214 application, the debt financing arrangement may result in Wisper ISP acquiring additional debt, but will not compromise Wisper’s ability to meet its service obligations.

The Wisper Section 214 application has been accepted by the Wireline Competition Bureau for non-streamlined processing, which will allow the Bureau time to sufficiently analyze the exchange and assumption of Universal Service Fund high-cost mechanism obligations.

NTIA Awards $5.69 Million In Broadband Planning Grants to Kansas

December 22, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that $5,692,606.99 in broadband planning grants has been awarded to the state of Kansas. The award consists of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding for broadband deployment planning and Digital Equity Act funding for digital equity planning.

Kansas will receive $4,999,942.61 in BEAD funding for the following: Development of a 5-year action plan; Identification of unserved and underserved locations; and Capacity building of the Kansas Office of Broadband Development programming.

Kansas will receive $692,664.38 in digital equity planning funds for the following: Development of a statewide digital equity plan to support closing the digital equity gap; Recruit staff and contractual expertise to aid in plan development; and Conducting digital inclusion asset mapping and stakeholder engagement.

FCC Broadband Label Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Comments Due January 17, 2023

December 19, 2022 – Comment deadlines have been announced for the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the FCC’s broadband label requirements. Comments are due on or before January 17, 2023. Reply comments are due February 14, 2023. On November 17, 2022 the FCC approved a Report And Order requiring ISPs to display labels that disclose terms and conditions of their broadband services. In the accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC is seeking comment on further steps to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make informed broadband service purchasing decisions. More specifically, further comment is requested on general issues related to the following: accessibility and languages; performance characteristics; service reliability; cybersecurity; network management and privacy; formatting; and whether ISPs should submit label information to the FCC.

FCC Broadband Label Order Published In Federal Register; Compliance Delayed Indefinitely

December 16, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) broadband label Report And Order has been published in the Federal Register. In the Report And Order, the FCC adopted rules requiring “ISPs to display, at the point of sale, labels that disclose certain information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds, and to include links to information about their network management practices, privacy policies, and the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).” The Report And Order amends Section 8.1(a) of the FCC’s rules by adding new paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(7). Sections 8.1(a)(1) through (a)(6) contain the substantive rules for the broadband labels. Section 8.1(a)(7) provides an explanation of the compliance deadlines for the new substantive rules.

The Federal Register publication makes the final rule (Report And Order) effective on January 17, 2023. However, the Federal Register publication states that “compliance with the amendments to 47 CFR 8.1(a)(1) through (6) of the Commission’s rules are delayed indefinitely. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the compliance dates.”

As explained in new Section 8.1(a)(7), compliance dates for the new broadband label rules will not be announced until after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes a review of requirements 8.1(a)(1) through (a)(6) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act or until after the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau determines that such review is not required. Even after an effective date is announced, the compliance date will be one year after the effective date for providers with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines, and six months after the effective date for all other providers, except that the compliance date for Section 8.1(a)(3) of will be one year after effective date for all providers. The compliance date for the requirement in 8.1(a)(2) to make broadband labels accessible in online account portals will be one year after the effective date for all providers.

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize 1,764 RDOF Winning Bids (Hughes Network Systems, LLC and Resound Networks, LLC)

December 16, 2022 – 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 1,764 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids. This is the thirteenth set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized.

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. The 1,764 winning bids belong to Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Rhode Island) and Resound Networks, LLC (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas).

Attachment B contains a list of winning bids associated with winning bidders or their assignees that are in default. They belong to Resound Networks, LLC (Texas) and Xiber LLC (Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio). RDOF support will not be authorized for these default bids, and the bidders are subject to FCC enforcement action.

To be authorized to receive the support amounts listed for each of the 1,764 bids, Hughes and Resound 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 January 9, 2023. 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. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website.

FCC Announces 2023 Reasonable Comparability Benchmarks For Fixed Voice & Broadband Services

December 16, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics have announced the 2023 reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed voice and broadband services, and the minimum usage allowance for fixed broadband services, for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are subject to  broadband public interest obligations. The ETCs that are subject to the reasonable comparability benchmarks are rate-of-return ILECs, incumbent price-cap carriers receiving Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II support, Rural Broadband Experiment providers, CAF Phase II Auction winners, and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Auction winners. Data collected in the most recent urban rate survey, upon which the benchmarks are based, are available online. The reasonable comparability benchmarks for 2023 are as follows:

Voice Service Reasonable Comparability Benchmark – $59.62

The 2023 urban average monthly rate is $36.73. This makes the reasonable comparability benchmark for voice services, which is two standard deviations above the urban average, $59.62. Each ETC providing fixed voice services must certify, using FCC Form 481, no later than July 1, 2023, that the pricing of its basic residential voice services is no more than $59.62.

Broadband Service Reasonable Comparability Benchmark – Variable

The reasonable comparability benchmark for broadband services varies depending upon the service’s download and upload bandwidths and usage allowance. There are separate benchmarks for Alaska and the rest of the U.S. To provide an example, for broadband service with 100/20 Mbps speeds and an unlimited monthly usage allowance, the reasonable comparability benchmark for the U.S. is $105.03, and the benchmark for Alaska is $124.06. The Wireline Bureau has created a tool that service providers can use to calculate benchmarks for specific service characteristics.

Fixed Broadband Service Minimum Usage Allowance – 600 GB

For 2023, the fixed broadband service minimum monthly usage allowance is 600 GB. However, the minimum usage allowance for carriers receiving support from the RDOF is the greater of 250 GB or the average usage calculated by the Wireline Bureau for the Minimum and Baseline tiers and 2 Terabytes (TB) for the Above-Baseline and Gigabit tiers. Additional information on how the minimum usage allowance benchmarks were created is available from the Public Notice.

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 80 Winning Bids (16th RDOF Authorization)

December 15, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 80 winning bids. This is the sixteenth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of the authorized winning bids, which belong to GigaBeam Networks, LLC (West Virginia), and Pear Networks LLC (Vermont).

The 80 winning bid 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 2022. The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.

Final Agenda For FCC Open Meeting On December 21st

December 14, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has released the final agenda for its next open meeting, set for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 21, 2022:

• Implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Prevention and Elimination of Digital Discrimination – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would take the next step in the Commission’s efforts to promote equal access to broadband by seeking comment on potential rules to address digital discrimination of access to broadband, consistent with Congress’s direction in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. (GN Docket No. 22-69)

• Expediting Initial Processing of Satellite and Earth Station Applications; Space Innovation  – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on changes to its rules, policies, or practices to facilitate the acceptance for filing of satellite and earth station applications under Part 25 to help Commission processing stay apace with the number of innovative satellite applications in the new space age. (IB Docket No. 22-411, 22-271)

• Location-Based Routing for Wireless 911 Calls – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding a proposal to require wireless carriers and covered text providers to implement location-based routing on their networks in order to reduce misrouting of wireless 911 calls and texts and improve emergency response times. (PS Docket No. 18-64)

• Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service Compensation; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration to propose Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund compensation for Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), propose a technical amendment to the compensation formula for Internet Protocol Relay Service (IP Relay), and resolve petitions for reconsideration of a prior order setting IP CTS compensation. (CG Docket Nos. 22-408, 03-123, 13-24)

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

FCC Launches CALEA Electronic Filing System

December 12, 2022 – The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has announced that the new Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) Electronic Filing System (CEFS) has launched. It is now available for use by entities subject to CALEA’s requirements to file System Security and Integrity (SSI) Plans electronically. A CEFS Manual containing guidance on electronic filing is available online at https://www.fcc.gov/cefs/user-manual. Additional information about  the new CEFS is available on the FCC’s CALEA website at: www.fcc.gov/calea.

USF Contribution Factor For First Quarter Of 2023 -  32.6 Percent

December 9, 2022 – The FCC’s Office of Managing Director (OMD) has announced that the proposed universal service fund (USF) contribution factor for the first quarter of 2023 will be 32.6 percent. If the FCC takes no action on the proposed USF contribution factor within 14 days, it will be declared approved.

For the first quarter of 2023, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects $8.749750 billion in total interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues will be collected. (The 4Q 2022 total was $8.624083 billion; the 3Q 2022 total was $8.285056 billion; the 2Q 2022 total was $8.751403 billion, and the 1Q 2022 total was $9.235846 billion.)

USAC estimates that $2.130060 billion is needed to cover the total demand and expenses for all Federal universal service support mechanisms (revenue requirement) in the first quarter of 2023. (The 4Q 2022 demand was $1.914030 billion; the 3Q 2022 demand was $2.036310 billion; the 2Q 2022 demand was $1.664020 billion; and the 1Q 2022 demand was $1.84091 billion.)

Total first quarter 2023 demand includes projected program support, administrative expenses, and true-ups and adjustments, which breaks out among the USF support mechanisms as follows:

• E-Rate Schools & Libraries:  $697.13 million  (4Q 2022 was $609.07 million)

• Rural Health Care:  $70.79 million  (4Q 2022 was $0.11 million)

• High-Cost:  $1.15243 billion  (4Q 2022 was $1.08506 billion)

• Lifeline:  $201.21 million  (4Q 2022 was $211.43 million)

• Connected Care:  $8.50 million  (4Q 2022 was $8.36 million)

The 32.6 percent contribution factor for 1Q 2023 is an increase of 3.7 from the 28.9 percent contribution factor that was used for 4Q 2022. For comparison purposes, the USF contribution factors used in 2021 and 2022 were as follows:

Mergers & Acquisitions: Private Equity Acquiring Control Of Kansas Broadband Provider Ideatek Telcom, LLC

December 9, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking public comment on a Section 214 application filed by Daniel P. Friesen and IdeaTek Telcom, LLC, requesting consent to transfer control of IdeaTek. The transaction triggering the transfer of control involves Peppertree Capital Fund IX QP, LP’s conversion of a prior significant debt investment into equity ownership. Peppertree Capital Fund IX will acquire 47.3% of the membership units of IdeaTek, resulting in the majority member, Mr. Friesen, being reduced to a 24.46% ownership of the company. Comments are due on or before December 23, 2022. Reply comments are due December 30, 2022.

IdeaTek, a Kansas LLC and Kansas CLEC, provides competitive voice and broadband services via fiber and fixed wireless to approximately 15,000 subscribers in Kansas. IdeaTek has been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in areas where it receives Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II support (6,186,881.60 to serve 2,490 locations in Kansas) and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I support ($23,590.60 to serve 89 locations in Kansas). IdeaTek has completed its CAF Phase II network deployment to 76% of the 2,490 required locations.

Daniel Friesen, a U.S. citizen, currently owns 51.25% of IdeaTek through IdeaTek Equity Group, LLC and 1.96% individually (53.21% total). He is the sole manager of the LLC. Jerrod Reimer, a U.S. citizen, owns 13.15% of IdeaTek through IdeaTek Equity Group and 0.38% individually (13.54% total).

Pursuant to a Convertible Secured Promissory Note and a Convertible Note Purchase Agreement, Peppertree Capital Fund IX, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, Peppertree Capital Fund IX QP, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, and Peppertree Capital FIX Co-Investors, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company, made a significant debt investment in IdeaTek and acquired the right to convert its debt into ownership of up to a total of 49.5% in IdeaTek, subject to FCC prior consent to a transfer of control of IdeaTek’s domestic Section 214 authorization and wireless licenses. The Peppertree Funds are managed by Peppertree Capital Management, Inc., an Ohio corporation.

Upon consummation, the Convertible Note will convert to equity in IdeaTek, and Mr. Friesen’s ownership interest in IdeaTek will be reduced from 53.21% to 24.46% – triggering a transfer of control of IdeaTek under the FCC’s rules. Mr. Reimer’s interest will fall below 10%. Once the transaction goes through, company management will change. After consummation, the company will be managed by a five-person board consisting of Mr. Friesen, Mr. Reimer, and Mr. Daniel Solomon, the company’s CFO, along with two members appointed by Peppertree Capital Management.

FCC Sunsets Collection Of Broadband Deployment Data Using FCC Form 477 Process

December 9, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued an Order sunsetting the collection of broadband deployment data through FCC Form 477. The decision is effective upon publication of the Order in the Federal Register. Broadband and voice subscription data will continue to be collected using FCC Form 477, but service providers will file their data using the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) system. Accordingly, beginning with data as of December 31, 2022, service providers are required to submit the following data using the BDC filing system: fixed and mobile broadband and voice Form 477 subscription data, fixed and mobile BDC broadband availability data, and BDC mobile voice availability data. The Form 477 filing system will no longer be used to collect new Form 477 submissions, but will remain open, for some time, only for filers to make corrections to existing Form 477 filings for data as of June 30, 2022 and earlier.

Additionally, the FCC has delegated authority to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) to determine other changes needed for the submission of broadband deployment data related to participants in the Alaska Plan, the Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund, and the Connect USVI Fund. Authority also has been designated to determine other changes needed to use BDC data for the Business Data Services competitive market tests, broadband deployment obligations for Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support recipients, and the triennial competitive market tests beginning with the 2026 update.

Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act Introduced In House

December 7, 2022 – Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) have introduced the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (H.R. 9449) in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude certain broadband grants from taxable gross income. Broadband infrastructure grants provided by programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan would not be considered taxable income under the bill. Identical legislation (S. 5021) was introduced in the U.S. Senate at the end of September 2022.

Senator Thune Announces Nationwide Oversight Of Broadband Grants

December 6, 2022 – Senator John Thune (R-SD) has announced he is “launching a nationwide oversight effort that will review numerous broadband programs spanning several federal agencies.” To kick off the oversight campaign, Senator Thune is sending a letter to “a diverse group of stakeholders, including broadband associations, public interest groups, and free market think tanks,” requesting comment on broadband funding issues.

Initially, the letter explains that a recent Government Accountability Office report on broadband found that “Federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies.” The letter notes that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) provide funding for broadband through various prior, current, and forthcoming programs.

Senator Thune is the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband and a longtime member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over U.S. telecommunications services. Without proper oversight of upcoming broadband grant programs, Senator Thune believes the federal government risks wasting billions of dollars and creating network overbuilds.

Senator Thune’s letter asks for: comments on the current broadband regulatory structure; responses to six Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act-specific questions related NTIA’s 42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program; and responses to 13 questions related to general broadband issues. Responses to the specific questions are requested no later than Friday, January 6, 2023.

USAC Files Data On 1st Quarter 2023 USF Contribution Base: $8,749,749,511

December 2, 2022 – 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 2023. USAC has determined that the total projected collected interstate and international end user revenue base to be used in determining the contribution factor for the Universal Service support mechanisms for the first quarter of 2023 is $8,749,749,511. This is a slight increase in the USF base from the fourth quarter of 2022 ($8.624 billion). The contribution base data was calculated using projected revenue amounts for January through March 2023 reported by telecommunications service providers on their FCC Forms 499-Q which were due November 1, 2022. To provide a historical comparison, USAC’s total projected USF contribution base amounts for the past 12 quarters were as follows:

• Fourth Quarter 2022  –  $8,624,083,282

• Third Quarter 2022  –  $8,285,056,307

• Second Quarter 2022  –  $8,751,403,396

• First Quarter 2022  –  $9,235,845,776

• 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

For the first quarter of 2023, USAC received projected revenue data from 3,290 USF contributors who filed the November 2022 Form 499-Q. USAC estimated revenue data for 164 non-de minimis service providers that had previously submitted Form 499-Q information to USAC, but failed to make the latest filing. 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 2023. The new contribution factor will be announced by an FCC Public Notice. USAC will then bill USF contributors on a monthly basis for their individual obligations based on the approved contribution factor.

Auction 108: FCC Grants 51 Long-Form Applications & Issues 650 Spectrum Licenses

December 1, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has announced the grant of 51 long-form applications and issuance of 650 licenses for Auction 108. Attachment A to the Public Notice lists the granted licenses sorted by licensee. Attachment B lists the granted licenses sorted by market.

The Wireless Bureau announced the results of Auction 108, the auction of new flexible-use geographic overlay spectrum licenses in the 2.5 GHz band, on September 1, 2022. The auction resulted in a total of $419,133,261 in net bids and $427,789,670 in gross bids. A total of 63 bidders won 7,872 of the 8,017 offered licenses, or 98% of the total inventory. Of the 63 winning bidders, 77% qualified as small businesses or as entities serving rural communities. The five bidders that won the largest number of licenses are as follows:

• T-Mobile License LLC – 7,156

• North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation – 107

• Evergy Kansas Central – 54

• LICT Wireless Broadband Company, LLC – 46

• Broadband One of the Midwest, Inc. – 42

FCC Releases Tentative Agenda For December 21st Open Meeting

December 1, 2022 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 21, 2022:

Preventing Digital Discrimination – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would take the next step in the Commission’s efforts to promote equal access to broadband by seeking comment on potential rules to address digital discrimination of access to broadband, consistent with Congress’s direction in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. (GN Docket No. 22-69)

Satellite Application Processing – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on changes to its rules, policies, or practices to facilitate the acceptance for filing of satellite and earth station applications under Part 25 to help Commission processing stay apace with the number of innovative satellite applications in the new space age. (IB Docket No. 22-411, 22-271)

Improving Wireless 911 Call Routing – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding a proposal to require wireless carriers and covered text providers to implement location-based routing on their networks in order to reduce misrouting of wireless 911 calls and texts and improve emergency response times. (PS Docket No. 18-64)

Improving Accessible Phone Services – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration to propose Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund compensation for Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), propose a technical amendment to the compensation formula for Internet Protocol Relay Service (IP Relay), and resolve petitions for reconsideration of a prior order setting IP CTS compensation. (CG Docket Nos. 22-408, 03-123, 13-24)

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

November 2022

FCC Prohibits New Authorizations Of Covered List Equipment

November 25, 2022 – In a Report And Order, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules prohibiting the future authorization, marketing, and importation of equipment that has been identified on the FCC’s “Covered List” as posing an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. In an accompanying Further Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC seeks comment on further revisions to the equipment authorization program and proposes a new national security rule related to spectrum auctions.

Pursuant to the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, the FCC maintains a list of covered communications equipment and services that have been determined to pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or the security and safety of U.S. persons. Currently, the Covered List contains five equipment producers (and their subsidiaries and affiliates), all of which were added in March 2021: Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Dahua Technology.

Among other things, the Report And Order revises the FCC’s Part 2 rules concerning equipment authorization processes, including the following:

• Prohibits any entity that has been identified on the Covered List as producing “covered” equipment from obtaining equipment authorization through the Commission’s SDoC procedures, requiring such entities instead to use the certification procedures;

• No longer exempts any “covered” equipment from the need for an equipment authorization, and requires that any entity identified on the Covered List as producing “covered” equipment to obtain an equipment certification;

• Requires each applicant for equipment certification designate a U.S. agent for services of process (regardless of whether the applicant is domestic or foreign);

• With respect to potential revocation of equipment authorizations, (1) establishes streamlined procedures for revoking authorizations granted after adoption of the prohibition on authorization of “covered” equipment if the application has included false statement or representation relating to “covered” equipment and (2) concludes that the Commission has authority to revoke, in the future, authorizations of “covered” equipment that had been authorized prior to adoption of this Report and Order;

• Prohibits authorization of all telecommunications and video surveillance equipment produced by Huawei and ZTE (and that of their subsidiaries and affiliates);

• Prohibits authorization of telecommunications equipment and video surveillance equipment produced by Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua (and their respective subsidiaries or affiliates) until such time as the Commission approves these entities’ plans and measures that will to ensure the such equipment will not be marketed and sold to for “the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure, or other national security purpose;”

• Requires entities named on the Covered List as producing “covered” equipment to provide the Commission information on other entities (such as their subsidiaries and affiliates) also identified on the Covered List but are not specifically named; and

• Addresses various other issues raised in the proceeding (e.g., the cost effectiveness of the rules, challenges on constitutional grounds, consistency with trade obligations, enforcement).

In an accompanying Further Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC seeks comment on the following general topics: whether component parts should be considered “covered” equipment; whether the FCC should revoke any previously authorized Covered List equipment; whether all equipment certification applicants should have a U.S.-based responsible party to help ensure compliance with FCC’s equipment authorization rules; and whether to require spectrum license auction applicants to certify that their bids do not and will not rely on financial support from any entity that the FCC has designated a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks or the communications supply chain.

FCC Removes Global UC Inc. From Robocall Mitigation Database; Orders Intermediate & Terminating Voice Service Providers To Cease Accepting Global UC Traffic

November 22 2022 – The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued an Removal Order removing Global UC Inc. from the Robocall Mitigation Database. Concurrent with the Order, the Enforcement Bureau has released a Public Notice directing all intermediate providers and terminating voice service providers to immediately cease accepting traffic from Global UC Inc within two business days.

On July 1, 2021, Global UC filed a Robocall Mitigation Database certification stating it had implemented STIR/SHAKEN on part of its network, and that the remainder of the calls originating on its network were subject to a robocall mitigation program. However, the certification did not include a description of specific reasonable steps it was taking to avoid origination of illegal robocall traffic. The Enforcement Bureau removed Global UC from the Robocall Mitigation Database after the company failed to correct its deficient certification or demonstrate why its certification should not be removed following the Bureau’s October 3, 2022 order directing the company to do so.

Global UC is the first company to be removed from the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. The FCC is actively reviewing other responses to “show cause” orders from service providers detailing concrete steps taken to protect consumer from scam robocalls and malicious caller ID spoofing.

FCC Unveils New National Broadband Map

November 18, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an initial version of its new national broadband map that shows location-level information about broadband services available throughout the U.S. The map, publicly available online at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home, shows where fixed and mobile internet services are available as of June 30, 2022. Users can enter their address and review information about fixed and mobile broadband services that are available at their location. Fixed and mobile broadband availability data shown on the map were submitted by internet service providers through the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC). Consumers, state, local, and Tribal governments, service providers, and other entities can file challenges to the fixed and mobile broadband availability data directly through the map interface to correct the information. Users also can correct information about their location or add their location to the map if it is missing. Location data comes from the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, which is a common dataset of all locations in the U.S. where fixed broadband internet access service can be installed. Additional information on the availability and location challenge processes is available from the FCC’s Public Notice. A fact sheet about the national broadband map was also released.

FCC Requires Fixed & Mobile ISPs To Display Broadband Labels

November 17, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a Report And Order that requires “ISPs to display, at the point of sale, labels that disclose certain information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds, and to include links to information about their network management practices, privacy policies, and the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).” Among other things, the FCC has adopted the following requirements for the broadband label rule:

• The FCC has adopted one label requiring the same information and in the same format for both fixed and mobile broadband service offerings;

• ISPs must display the label for each stand-alone broadband Internet access service they currently offer for purchase;

• ISPs must display the label – not simply an icon or link to the label – in close proximity to an associated plan advertisement;

• ISPs must make each customer’s label easily accessible to the customer in their online account portal, as well as to provide the label to an existing customer upon request;

• The label must link to other important information such as network management practices, privacy policies, and other educational materials;

• The label must be accessible for people with disabilities and for non-English speakers;

• ISPs must make the label content available in a machine-readable format;

• The label requirement applies to broadband Internet access service – “a mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the communications service, but excluding dial-up internet access service”; and

• Enterprise service offerings or special access services are not “mass-market retail services,” and therefore, not covered by the label requirement.

In an accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC seeks “comment on further steps [it] can take to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make informed broadband service purchasing decisions.” More specifically, further comment is requested on general issues related to the following: accessibility and languages; performance characteristics; service reliability; cybersecurity; network management and privacy; formatting; and whether ISPs should submit label information to the FCC. Comments are due on or before 30 days after the further notice is published in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 60 days after publication.

NTIA Awards Two Broadband Planning Grants: $4.9 Million To Idaho & $5.5 Million To Nebraska

November 16, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that broadband planning grants have been awarded to Idaho and Nebraska. The grants consist of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding for broadband deployment planning and Digital Equity Act funding for digital equity planning. Idaho receives $4.9 million and Nebraska receives $5.5 million.

Idaho will receive $4,376,087.09 in BEAD funding for the following: Identification of unserved and underserved locations; Outreach to diverse stakeholders across all entities and geographies within the state; Increase capacity to implement BEAD grants and build infrastructure throughout Idaho; Build a broadband infrastructure map for the State of Idaho; Asset mapping across the Eligible Entity to catalog broadband adoption, affordability, access, and deployment activities; Surveys of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to adoption; and Efforts to support local coordination including capacity building at the local and regional levels. Idaho will receive $564,706.00 in digital equity planning funds for the following: Development of a Statewide Digital Access Plan; Community and stakeholder engagement; and Data collection and analysis of barriers to high-speed Internet adoption.

Nebraska will receive $4,999,817.07 in BEAD funding for the following: Identification of unserved and underserved locations; Capacity building of the state's broadband office; Creating a framework through which grants are distributed to subgrantees based on the structure in place for the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program (NBBP) grant program; Improved understanding of the specific areas of need for high-speed Internet service; and Outreach to communities throughout Nebraska. Nebraska will receive $598,745.97 in digital equity planning funds for the following: Developing Nebraska's Digital Equity Plan; Community outreach and engagement through public comments, regional or tribal digital equity planning committees, site visits and regional listening sessions; Surveying for digital equity assets to understand barriers to high-speed Internet adoption; and Subawards to Nebraska's eight economic development districts to develop seven regional digital equity plans.

FCC Announces Process For Entities That Are Not Broadband Service Providers Or Governments To Obtain License To Utilize The Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric

November 15, 2022 – The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced that entities that are not broadband service providers or governments can now access the FCC’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) under a new  license agreement established by the FCC and its Fabric contractor, CostQuest. These parties may obtain a license for purposes of preparing and submitting challenges through the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC). The Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric is a common dataset of all locations in the U.S. where fixed broadband internet access service can be installed, and is the underlying foundation of the FCC’s new BDC broadband availability maps. The process for obtaining a license is generally described as follows:

To access the Fabric data, each entity must register in the Commission Registration System (CORES), log into the BDC system, and execute a limited end-user license agreement for the Fabric. Depending on your organization type, you may need to provide a brief description of how your use of the Fabric data aligns with BDC purposes and how your organization is involved in issues around broadband availability.

NTIA Provides Progress Report On Internet For All Initiative

November 15, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released a report on its progress with implementing the Internet For All initiative. The Biden Administration’s Internet for All initiative is comprised of the following three broadband funding programs authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021: Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program ($42.5 billion); Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program ($1 billion); and, State Digital Equity Act programs ($1.5 billion). NTIA lists the following as accomplishments in the first year of the Internet For All initiative:

• Crafting Notices of Funding Opportunity – ahead of Congress’ deadline – for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD); Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure; and State Digital Equity Planning Grant programs explaining how funding will be awarded and establishing application deadlines for states and territories.

• Obtaining applications from all eligible states and territories—56 in total—to participate in Internet For All.

• Securing 247 applications for Middle Mile program grants, which will reduce the cost of bringing high-speed Internet service to unserved and underserved communities.

• Awarding more than $1.5 billion in grants to Tribal entities and minority-serving institutions—including more than $300 million from the Infrastructure Act—to ensure communities that are often the hardest to reach can deploy high-speed Internet service.

• Calling more than 2,500 Internet service providers to encourage them to provide data for the forthcoming map of high-speed Internet availability from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on which NTIA will base its state budget allocations for the BEAD program.

• Hiring Federal Program Officers to cover every state and territory participating in Internet For All to ensure each has a point of contact within NTIA for help with their broadband funding needs.

• Co-hosting local coordination events in six states—and counting!

• Holding 20 listening sessions and office hours as well as 22 webinars to address concerns and questions from applicants.

• Hosting seven consultations with hundreds of Tribal leaders to solicit their input on program rules.

• Conducting more than 70 one-on-one technical assistance sessions for applicants of non-competitive programs.

• Responding to more than 360 inquiries across the BEAD, Digital Equity, and Middle Mile programs.

• Addressing state and local government stakeholder groups such as the African American Mayors Association, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the National Governors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women.

NTIA To Announce BEAD Program Allocation Levels By June 30, 2023

November 10, 2022 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced it will communicate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program allocation levels to eligible entities by June 30, 2023. NTIA made the announcement via a press release shortly after the FCC announced it will release a pre-production draft of its new broadband availability map on Friday, November 18, 2022. The BEAD Program will provide $42.45 billion in grants to expand high-speed broadband internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories. Each U.S. state, DC, and Puerto Rico will receive an initial allocation of $100 million to support planning efforts, including building capacity in state broadband offices and outreach and coordination with local communities, while another $100 million will be divided among the remaining U.S. territories for the same purposes. Remaining BEAD Program funding will then eventually be distributed using a statutorily defined formula that considers the number of unserved and high-cost locations in a state, based on the FCC’s new broadband availability maps. NTIA’s announcement included the following timeline:

FCC To Release Draft Version Of New Broadband Availability Map On November 18

November 10, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has announced it will release a pre-production draft of its new broadband availability map on Friday, November 18, 2022. This will be the first map based on data submitted by broadband providers under the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection. It will show the availability of broadband services at the location level throughout the country, as of June 30, 2022. The map will be interactive. Users will be able “to search for their address, and review and dispute the services reported by providers at their location.” Users also will be able to submit challenges and corrections to location information contained in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric directly through the map’s interface. Additional information about the new broadband availability map, submitting challenges to Fabric locations, and challenging fixed broadband availability data is available on the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection website.

FCC To Hold November 30th Workshop On Bulk Challenges To Fixed Broadband Availability Map

November 10, 2022 – The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force has announced it will hold a virtual technical workshop on November 30, 2022, at 4:00 pm EDT, to assist entities in preparing to file bulk challenges to fixed broadband availability data shown on the FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection (BDC) maps. Interested parties can register online to attend the virtual workshop. Questions about bulk fixed availability challenges may be submitted in advance of or during the workshop to BDCWebinar@fcc.gov.

On Friday, November 18, 2022, the FCC will release a pre-production draft of its new broadband availability map, which will be based on data submitted by broadband providers under the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection. It will show the availability of broadband services at the location level throughout the country, as of June 30, 2022. The initial draft version of the map will not reflect any challenges to location or availability data. It will serve “as the starting point for an ongoing and iterative challenge process designed to help the FCC assure the accuracy of the map.”

To help state, local, and Tribal governments, ISPs, and other entities file challenges, the FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force has released two video tutorials, available on YouTube. The first video provides an overview of the fixed bulk availability challenge process, and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKL_p8ieFDo. The second video walks filers through the process of submitting bulk fixed availability challenge data in the BDC system, and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaOlwJN_1RY. Additional information about the new broadband availability map, submitting challenges to Fabric locations, and challenging fixed broadband availability data is available on the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection website.

FCC Enforcement Bureau Issues Robocall Enforcement / Call Blocking Notice For Urth Access, LLC For Apparent Origination Of Student Loan-Related Robocalls

November 10, 2022 – The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued a Public Notice which advises U.S.-based voice service providers about substantial amounts of apparently unlawful student loan-related robocalls originating from Urth Access, LLC. Furthermore, the Enforcement Bureau’s notice informs “all U.S.-based voice service providers that they may block voice calls or cease to accept traffic from certain originating/intermediate providers listed in this Notice, without liability under the Communications Act or the Commission’s rules.” The USTelecom Industry Traceback Group identified Urth Access as the originator for substantial volumes of apparently unlawful student loan-related robocalls, which resulted in the Enforcement Bureau sending a cease-and-desist letter to the company.

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 497 Winning Bids (15th RDOF Authorization)

November 10, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 497 winning bids. This is the fifteenth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of the authorized winning bids. One authorized winning bid belongs to Shenandoah Cable Television, LLC in Virginia, while the other bids belong to California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks in Arizona and Nevada. Attachment B to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of winning bids associated with winning bidders or their assignees that have notified the Bureau that they do not intend to pursue all or some of their winning bids in a state. They belong to Peoples Communication, LLC in Texas, and Shenandoah Cable Television, LLC in Virginia.

The 497 winning bid 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 November 2022. The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.

FCC Final Agenda For November 17 Open Meeting

November 10, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued the following final agenda for its next open meeting on November 17, 2022:

Improving 911 Reliability – Amendments to Part 4 of the Commission’s Rules Concerning Disruptions to Communications (PS Docket Nos. 13-75); Improving 911 Reliability (PS Docket No. 15-80); and New Part 4 of Commission’s Rules Concerning Disruptions to Communications (ET Docket No. 04-35) – The Commission will consider a Report and Order to promote public safety by ensuring that 911 call centers receive timely and useful notifications of disruptions to 911 service.

Updating Resources Used to Determine Local TV Markets – Updating Resources Used to Determine Local TV Markets (MB Docket No. 22-239) – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would update its rules to use the most up-to-date market information for determining a television station’s local market for carriage purposes.

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

Kansas Capital Project Funds Broadband Grant Program Awards $15.7 Million To Seven Broadband Providers

November 4, 2022 – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced that $15.7 million is being awarded under the Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Grant Program to deploy high-speed broadband service to underserved, economically distressed, and low-population areas of Kansas. Seven broadband providers are receiving the funding to “connect more than 1,900 homes, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and other public institutions to fast, reliable internet in the next 24 months.” This is the first of three rounds of awards under Kansas’ CPF Broadband Grant Program, which is funded by an $83.5 million allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. A total of 141 applications requesting $693 million in CPF funding were submitted. Additional information on the program is available from the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. The seven broadband providers receiving awards under the first round include:

• Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative (Anderson and Allen counties) – $4,584,590 to connect 385 premises,

• Giant Communications (Jackson County) – $895,295 to connect 163 premises,

• MT Networks LLC (Coffey County) – $2,581,932 to connect 326 premises,

• Nex-Tech (Thomas County) – $541,320 to connect 64 premises,

• Pioneer Communications (Hamilton County) – $202,484 to connect 54 premises,

• S&A Telephone (Lyon County) – $3,746,870 to connect 421 premises, and

• Totah Communications (Montgomery and Chautauqua counties) – $3,244,793 to connect 500 premises.

ISP Grande Communications Found Secondarily Liable For Copyright Infringement, Must Pay $46.7 Million In Statutory Damages

November 3, 2022 – A jury has determined that Grande Communications, LLC is contributorily liable for copyright infringement of 1,403 copyrighted works owned by a group of record labels. It also concluded Grande’s contributory infringement was willful. The jury awarded the record lables a total of $46,766,200.00 in statutory damages.

In April 2017, a group of the largest record labels in the U.S. (UMG, Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records, Sony Music, Roc-A-Fella Records, and numerous others) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Grande Communications Networks, a telecom company that, among other things, offers high-speed broadband Internet access in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and other parts of Texas. The record labels alleged Grande is secondarily liable for copyright infringement for allowing its broadband subscribers to repeatedly infringe the record labels’ copyrighted material using BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer file sharing applications.

The Recording Industry Association Of America released the following statement on the jury’s decision finding Grande liable:

Federal law does not allow internet providers to be willfully blind to online piracy on their networks. In this case, the jury found that internet provider Grande Communications failed to meet its legal obligations and was liable for willful copyright infringement.

The decision follows several other high-profile cases and settlements addressing repeat infringement on internet provider networks including Cox Communications and Bright House Networks/Charter.

RIAA’s Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier released the following statement in response: “This is the latest validation by US courts and juries that unchecked online infringement will not stand. The jury’s strong action here sends an important message to Internet Service Providers. Artists, songwriters, rightsholders, fans and legitimate services all depend upon a healthy digital music ecosystem that effectively protects creative works online.”

Vonage Settles FTC Complaint Over Illegal Dark Patterns & Junk Fees; Will Pay $100 Million

November 3, 2022 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has entered into a Stipulated Order For Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, And Other Relief with VoIP service provider Vonage, which settles the FTC’s investigation into Vonage’s tactics that made it difficult for subscribers to cancel services. The FTC, in its complaint, generally alleges Vonage failed to provide required disclosures and simple mechanisms for customers to cancel their telephone services and charged customers without their consent. The FTC also alleges Vonage surprised customers with expensive junk fees when they tried to cancel, and continued to charge customers even after they canceled service. Vonage and the FTC have settled the case by entering into the Stipulated Order For Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, And Other Relief. It requires Vonage to stop unauthorized charges; simplify its service cancellation process; stop using dark patterns that make it difficult for subscribers to cancel their services; be upfront with consumers about subscription plans; and pay $100 million which will be used for subscriber refunds.

USAC Files Estimated First Quarter 2023 Universal Service Funding Requirements

November 2, 2022 – The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has filed the Federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms Fund Size Projections for the first quarter of 2023. The filing details the universal service fund’s (USF) total projected funding requirements for 1Q 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. USAC’s data shows the following total projected 1Q 2023 funding requirements for each USF support mechanism:

High Cost Support Mechanism – $1.152 billion (the 4Q 2022 projected funding requirement was $1.085 billion; 3Q 2022 was $992.51 million; 2Q 2022 was $880.14 million; and 1Q 2022 was $1.04452 billion). USAC initially calculated the funding requirement as $1.038 billion, but the amount was increased by prior period adjustments of $96.31 million and increased by administrative costs of $18.11 million.

Low Income Support Mechanism – $201.21 million (the 4Q 2022 projected funding requirement was $211.43 million; 3Q 2022 was $269.22 million; 2Q 2022 was $220.47 million; and 1Q 2022 was $137.51million). USAC initially estimated funding requirements of $278.62 million for Lifeline and $0.05 million for Link-Up, resulting in a total of $278.67 million. This amount was decreased by prior period adjustment of $100.73 million and increased by $23.27 million in administrative costs.

Rural Health Care Support Mechanism – $70.79 million (the 4Q 2022 projected funding requirement was $0.11 million; 3Q 2022 was $159.25 million; 2Q 2022 was negative $7.62 million; and 1Q 2022 was $11.72 million).

Connected Care Pilot Program – $8.5 million (the 4Q 2022 projected funding requirement was $8.36 million; 3Q 2022 was $8.34 million; 2Q 2022 was $7.81 million; and 1Q 2022 was $9.21 million).

E-Rate Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism – $697.13 million (the 4Q 2022 projected funding requirement was $609.07 million; 3Q 2022 was $606.99 million; 2Q 2022 was $563.22 million; and 1Q 2022 was $637.95 million).

USAC projects a consolidated budget of $67.28 million for 1Q 2023. This breaks out to $33.88 million in direct costs for all four support mechanisms, and $33.40 million in joint and common costs which include costs associated with billing, collection, and disbursement of universal service funds. The 1Q 2023 consolidated budget of $67.28 million is $8.35 million less than USAC’s administrative costs projected last quarter (USAC projected consolidated budgets of $75.63 million for 4Q 2022; $61.60 million for 3Q 2022; $58.09 million for 2Q 2022; and $55.57 million for 1Q 2022).

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.

FCC Notice Of Inquiry On Caller ID Authentication For Non-IP Networks

November 1, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a Notice of Inquiry on caller ID authentication for non-Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Comments are due on or before December 12, 2022. Reply comments are due January 11, 2023.

To fight illegal robocalls, Congress passed the TRACED Act in 2019, which directed the FCC to require voice service providers to implement caller ID authentication technology. On IP networks, voice service providers utilize the STIR/SHAKEN framework for caller ID authentication. Voice service providers were required to implement STIR/SHAKEN in the IP portions of their networks by June 30, 2021, unless subject to a specific extension. Because STIR/SHAKEN only works on IP networks, for any non-IP portions of a network, the FCC’s rules require voice service providers to either upgrade to IP or work to develop an authentication solution for non-IP networks. As for finding a solution for non-IP networks, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions created the Non-IP Call Authentication Task Force to do so. The Task Force has published two solutions: an “out-of-band” approach and a “non-IP in-band” approach.

In the Notice of Inquiry, the FCC seeks comment on the following topics:

• Industry progress toward developing a caller ID authentication framework for non-IP networks;

• The Task Force’s two published caller ID authentication solutions for non-IP networks;

• The status of voice service providers’ transition to all-IP networks; and

• Whether the FCC’s efforts can and should be focused on encouraging the IP transition instead of or in addition to promoting caller ID authentication for non-IP networks.

State Of New York Submits Bulk Challenge To FCC Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric: 31,798 Missing Locations

November 1, 2022 – New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that New York’s ConnectALL Office has submitted a bulk challenge to the FCC’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric consisting of 31,798 location addresses throughout the state. The 31,798 addresses are unserved or underserved locations that the state of New York says should be included in the Fabric and the forthcoming broadband availability map.

The Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric is the underlying foundation of the FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection (BDC) which will soon produce detailed fixed broadband availability maps. In September 2022, state, local, and Tribal governments, service providers, and other entities began filing bulk challenges to the Fabric. Governor Hochul’s press release announcing the challenge includes the following additional information:

This challenge was made possible due to New York’s first-of-its-kind, interactive broadband map launched earlier this year, which contains detailed information of the State’s broadband infrastructure down to the street-level. The challenge process is a critical step in determining New York’s funding allocation for broadband from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). ConnectALL will continue to analyze the FCC maps. The 31,798 records in the State’s challenge are all among the 138,598 addresses identified as unserved or underserved by the Department of Public Service’s (DPS) Broadband Assessment Program and include evidence that they meet the FCC’s definition for inclusion in the federal map. The ConnectALL Office collaborated with DPS and the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) to analyze and challenge the FCC maps.

FTC Takes Action Against Drizly And Drizly’s CEO For Failing To Protect Consumers’ Data From Hackers

November 1, 2022 – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a Complaint and proposed Decision And Order against Drizly, LLC and Drizly’s CEO, James Cory Rellas, for violating provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act by failing to use appropriate information security practices to protect consumers’ personal information.

In the Complaint, the FTC alleges that Drizly and Drizly’s CEO: failed to implement basic security measures; stored critical database information on an unsecured platform; neglected to monitor network for security threats; and exposed customers to hackers and identity thieves. In the proposed Decision And Order, the FTC requires Drizly and Drizly’s CEO to: destroy unnecessary data; limit future data collection; and implement an information security program.

In the press release announcing the action, the FTC provides the following statement on targeting Drizly’s CEO James Cory Rellas in the Complaint and proposed Decision And Order:

Notably, the order applies personally to Rellas, who presided over Drizly’s lax data security practices as CEO. In the modern economy, corporate executives frequently move from company to company, notwithstanding blemishes on their track record. Recognizing that reality, the Commission’s proposed order will follow Rellas even if he leaves Drizly. Specifically, Rellas will be required to implement an information security program at future companies if he moves to a business collecting consumer information from more than 25,000 individuals, and where he is a majority owner, CEO, or senior officer with information security responsibilities.

This action is part of the FTC’s aggressive efforts to ensure that companies are protecting consumers’ data and that careless CEOs learn from their data security failures. Last year, the Commission secured its first order requiring a firm to minimize data collection and has worked in subsequent orders to ensure companies only collect what they need to conduct their business. The Commission is also taking steps to bolster security market-wide, including by finalizing updates to the Safeguards Rule, issuing a policy statement on the Health Breach Notification Rule, and initiating an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on commercial surveillance and lax data security practices.

Evergy Constructing Private Wireless LTE Network In Kansas & Missouri

November 1, 2022 – Evergy, an investor-owned utility headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, is constructing a private wireless LTE network to help enable its electric grid modernization efforts. Evergy’s LTE network will utilize two spectrum bands: 900MHz and 2.5GHz. Evergy is leasing 900MHz spectrum licenses from Anterix covering about 3.88 million people in Evergy’s service areas in Kansas and Missouri. The leases run for 20 years with two ten-year renewal options, and will cost Evergy $30.2 million. Evergy’s private wireless LTE network will reportedly “support a variety of utility use cases, including accelerating decarbonization of the grid, engineering access, fault circuit indicators, line regulators and advanced metering infrastructure solutions.”

NLRB General Counsel Issues Memo On Workplace Surveillance

November 1, 2022 – The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel has released a memo which announced the NLRB’s “intention to protect employees, to the greatest extent possible, from intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring and automated management practices through vigorously enforcing current law and by urging the Board to apply settled labor-law principles in a new framework.” In the memo, titled Electronic Monitoring and Algorithmic Management of Employees Interfering with the Exercise of Section 7 Rights, the NLRB first explains that businesses are utilizing various technologies to monitor and manage their employees, some of which “record workers’ conversations and track their movements using wearable devices, cameras, radio-frequency identification badges and GPS tracking devices.” More intrusive technologies are being used by employers to “monitor employees’ computers with keyloggers and software that takes screenshots, webcam photos, or audio recordings throughout the day.” Employers then use the data produced by the surveillance technology to “manage employee productivity, including disciplining employees who fall short of quotas, penalizing employees for taking leave, and providing individualized directives throughout the workday.” Ultimately, the NLRB’s General Counsel makes the following recommendations in the memo:

The General Counsel will urge the Board to adopt a new framework for protecting employees from employers’ abuse of technology by holding that an employer has presumptively violated the Act where an employer’s surveillance and management practices, viewed as a whole, would tend to interfere with or prevent a reasonable employee from engaging in activity protected by the Act. If the employer’s business need outweighs employees’ Section 7 rights, unless the employer demonstrates that special circumstances require covert use of the technologies, she will urge the Board to require the employer to disclose to employees the technologies it uses to monitor and manage them, its reasons for doing so, and how it is using the information it obtains.

October 2022

USDA Awards $759 Million For Broadband Under The ReConnect Program

October 27, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $759 million in loans and grants from the third funding round of the ReConnect Program to deploy high-speed broadband internet access services in rural areas and Tribal lands. In total, USDA is making 49 awards in the following states and territories: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau. Included in this are awards to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and the utility authorities for the Navajo Nation and the Tohono O’odham Nation. A list showing the award recipients and their loan and grant amounts is available here. So far in 2022, USDA has awarded $1.6 billion from the third round of the ReConnect Program.

FCC Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Aimed At Strengthening Operational Readiness & Security Of Emergency Alert System

October 27, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at strengthening the operational readiness and security of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Comments are due on or before 30 days after the date the notice is published in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 60 days after publication.

The EAS is a national public warning system through which broadcasters, cable systems, and other EAS Participants deliver alerts to the public to warn them of impending emergencies and dangers to life and property. The EAS distributes Presidential alerts, as well as state, local, Tribal, and territorial government alerts and National Weather Service alerts. EAS Participants are required to broadcast Presidential alerts, while state and local EAS alerts are broadcast on a voluntary basis. In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC proposes to:

• Protect against cyberattacks by requiring Emergency Alert System participants, such as broadcasters and cable providers, to report incidents of unauthorized access to their Emergency Alert System equipment to the Commission within 72 hours. This would allow the Commission to work with participants and other government agencies to resolve an equipment compromise before it is exploited to send false alerts.

• Promote security by requiring Emergency Alert System participants and the wireless providers that deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts to annually certify that they have a cybersecurity risk management plan and implement sufficient security measures for their alerting systems.

• Guard against false alerts by requiring participating wireless providers to transmit sufficient authentication information to ensure that only valid alerts are displayed on consumer devices.

• Seek comment on the effectiveness of the FCC’s current requirements for ensuring that Emergency Alert System equipment is ready to transmit alerts, and whether there are any alternative approaches that improve readiness.

• Refresh the record on the FCC’s prior proposal to clarify that its Wireless Emergency Alert functionality requirements are not optional for wireless providers that voluntarily choose to deliver those alerts.

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For November 17 Open Meeting

October 27, 2022 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the next FCC open meeting scheduled for Thursday, November 17, 2022:

Improving 911 Reliability – The Commission will consider a Report and Order to promote public safety by ensuring that 911 call centers receive timely and useful notifications of disruptions to 911 service. (PS Docket Nos. 13-75, 15-80; ET Docket No. 04-35)

Updating Resources Used to Determine Local TV Markets – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would update its rules to use the most up-to-date market information for determining a television station’s local market for carriage purposes. (MB Docket No. 22-239)

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

Mergers & Acquisitions: American Broadband Acquiring Moundville Telephone & MTC Long Distance In Alabama

October 26, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking public comment on a Section 214 application filed by Richard Scott Taylor, Moundville Telephone Company, Inc., MTC Long Distance, Inc., and ABAC Alabama Inc., requesting consent to transfer control of Moundville Telephone and MTC Long Distance to ABAC. Comments are due on or before November 9, 2022. Reply comments are due November 16, 2022.

Richard Scott Taylor owns direct majority (82%) voting and equity interest in Moundville Communications, Inc. which wholly-owns both Moundville Telephone and MTC Long Distance. Moundville Telephone, an eligible telecommunications carrier in Alabama, provides service as a rural incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) to approximately 665 voice access lines and 465 broadband lines in Hale and Tuscaloosa counties in Alabama. MTC Long Distance provides toll resale service to certain of Moundville Telephone’s residential and business customers.

ABAC is a Delaware holding company that does not directly provide telecommunications services, and is directly wholly-owned and controlled by American Broadband Holding Company. American Broadband is the indirect parent company of multiple incumbent LECs, competitive LECs, and a wireless provider primarily serving rural markets in Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas. American Broadband is ultimately indirectly controlled by a private equity investment firm, Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Pursuant to the terms of the proposed transaction, ABAC will purchase all the issued and outstanding stock of Moundville Communications, making Moundville Communications a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of ABAC, which results in Moundville Telephone and MTC LD becoming indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of ABAC. Because of the complexity of the proposed transaction, the Bureau has accepted the application for non-streamlined processing.

NTIA Releases BEAD Workforce Planning Guide

October 19, 2022 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released a Workforce Planning Guide for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The Workforce Planning Guide is intended to help Eligible Entities “in developing their workforces for grant implementation as well as designing workforce plans and standards for subgrantees.” The guide consists of the following sections: Components of a Workforce Plan for the BEAD Program; Developing a BEAD Workforce Plan guidance, including proposed planning steps and pacing suggestions for completing BEAD submissions and key integration points with the Digital Equity Program; Strategies and Examples that offer a range of approaches for meeting workforce requirements; and Additional Resources to support the workforce planning and implementation process.

AT&T Illinois To Pay $23 Million Criminal Penalty For Bribery Directed At Speaker Of The Illinois House Of Representatives In 2017

October 14, 2022 – The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC d/b/a AT&T Illinois have entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, resolving “a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company’s efforts to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan.”

As explained in the agreement, AT&T Illinois funneled $22,500 to a political ally of the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for help passing legislation eliminating carrier of last resort obligations. The payments were for “special project” consulting work that never occurred. Consequently, AT&T Illinois will pay a $23 million criminal penalty, and must implement a new ethics program and provide annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of the program.

In connection with the case, the former president of AT&T Illinois, Paul La Schiazza, was “charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of corruptly giving something of value to reward a public official, and three counts of using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity.”

FCC Items On Circulation

October 14, 2022 – The following is a current list of Federal Communications Commission Items On Circulation, which are Commission level items that are pending action by the full FCC:

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 1,865 Winning Bids (14th RDOF Authorization); Starry Defaults On All RDOF Winning Bids

October 12, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 1,865 winning bids. This is the fourteenth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of the authorized winning bids, which belong to the following three entities: AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC (d/b/a Nextlink Internet) (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming); Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries (Wyoming); and Safelink Internet LLC (Nevada).

Attachment B to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of winning bids associated with winning bidders or their assignees that have notified the Bureau that they do not intend to pursue all or some of their winning bids in a state. They belong to the following three entities: Cal.net, Inc. (California); California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks (California); and Connect Everyone LLC (Starry) (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia).

The 1,856 winning bid 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 October 2022. The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.

FCC Chairwoman Responds To Congressional Inquiry On Limits Of FCC Power

October 7, 2022 – FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has sent a letter responding to an inquiry by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, on the FCC’s authority. Representative McMorris Rodgers’ inquiry was sent “to underscore the implications of” the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA “and to remind [the FCC] of the limitations on [its] authority.” In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court invalidated action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the Clean Air Act. The Court invoked the major questions doctrine – a federal agency must point to “clear congressional authorization” for the authority it claims. According to Representative McMorris Rodgers, “in recent years, the FCC has taken it upon itself to misinterpret its authority to initiate rulemakings with ‘economic and political significance’ that fit the Chair’s political leanings.” The purpose of Representative McMorris Rodgers’s inquiry is to ensure this is not currently happening at the FCC. In response, Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s letter provides the following information:

1. A list of all pending FCC rulemakings and the specific Congressional authority for each rulemaking;

2. A list of all expected FCC rulemakings and the specific Congressional authority for each rulemaking; and

3. A list of all pending or expected FCC Declaratory Rulings on delegated authority by a Bureau or Office of the FCC.

FCC Releases Tentative Agenda For October 27th Open Meeting

October 6, 2022 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 27, 2022:

Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund – The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would ensure continued support for mobile carriers and extend the support phase down for incumbent fixed broadband providers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to enhance their networks’ reliability and resiliency in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. (WC Docket Nos. 18-143, 10-90)

Considering 12.7 GHz Band for Next-Generation Wireless Services – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry to seek information on the current use of the 12.7-13.25 GHz band, ways to encourage more efficient and intensive use of the band, and whether the band is suitable for mobile broadband or other expanded use.  The Commission will also consider an Order to extend the temporary freeze on applications in the 12.7 GHz band. (GN Docket No. 22-352)

Caller ID Authentication on Non-IP Networks – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry launching a broad inquiry on caller ID authentication technology for non-Internet Protocol networks. (WC Docket No. 17- 97)

Improving the Security of the National Alert and Warning Systems – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen the operational readiness of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts, including by reducing the vulnerability of these systems to cyberattacks. (PS Docket Nos. 15-94, 15-91, 22-329)

Restricted Adjudicatory Matter – The Commission will consider a restricted adjudicatory matter.

NTIA Receives Over 235 Applications Requesting Over $5.5 Billion In Funding From Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program

October 4, 2022 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that preliminary data indicates over 235 applications, requesting more than $5.5 billion in funding, were submitted for the Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program. The Middle Mile Grant Program will provide up to $1 billion in grant funding for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. The program’s application window opened on June 21, 2022, and closed on September 30, 2022. NTIA will evaluate the applications and make awards on a rolling basis no earlier than March 2023.  

Mergers & Acquisitions: GI DI Private Equity Acquiring Rise Broadband Fixed Wireless Providers Skybeam, AirCanopy & Essex Telcom

October 4, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking public comment on a Section 214 application filed by JAB Wireless, Inc., Skybeam, LLC, AirCanopy Internet Services, Inc., and Essex Telcom, Inc., and GI DI Iris Acquisition Inc., requesting approval for the transfer of control of Skybeam, AirCanopy, and Essex Telcom (Domestic 214 Authorization Holders) to GI DI Iris Acquisition.

Pursuant to a May 2022 Agreement and Plan of Merger, JAB Wireless will be a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of GI DI Iris Acquisition Inc., and Skybeam, AirCanopy, and Essex Telcom and their affiliates will be indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of GI DI Iris Acquisition Inc. After consummation, JAB Wireless and Skybeam, AirCanopy, and Essex Telcom “will continue to exist and operate under the same names, and will continue to provide service pursuant to then-existing rates, terms, and conditions for the near term.”

JAB Wireless, a Colorado corporation, does not itself provide telecommunications services. JAB directly, wholly-owns Skybeam. AirCanopy, and Essex Telcom are direct, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Skybeam.

Skybeam is a Colorado limited liability company; AirCanopy is a Texas corporation; and Essex Telcom is an Illinois corporation. They collectively provide fixed wireless broadband services under the trade name “Rise Broadband” in 16 states: Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Skybeam has been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas, and currently receives support through the FCC’s Rural Broadband Experiment (RBE) program but no other high-cost Universal Service Fund programs. Essex Telcom has been designated as an ETC in Illinois.

GI DI Iris Acquisition is a newly formed company created for the purpose of completing the transaction. GI DI Iris Acquisition is primarily owned and is controlled by private equity funds GI Data Infrastructure Fund LP and GI Data Infrastructure Fund-A LP.

Proposed Bill Would Remove Broadband Grants From Taxable Gross Income

October 1, 2022 – Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) have introduced the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (S. 5021) in the U.S. Senate. If passed, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude certain broadband grants from taxable gross income. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) have joined as co-sponsors. The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

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