Draft FCC FNPRM Would Seek Comment on NCTA Pole Attachment Concerns

A draft notice of inquiry would seek comment on rules the FCC should adopt to combat digital discrimination and process public complaints, if adopted during the agency’s March 16 commissioners’ meeting (see 2202220069). A draft Further NPRM would seek comment on resolving pole attachment and replacement disputes.

The draft NOI would "inform a forthcoming [NPRM] intended to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination," said a fact sheet. The FCC is required within two years of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s enactment to adopt rules on the issue. A task force was established to assist the process.

The draft item would seek comment on how the FCC should define digital discrimination, as well as "equal access" and "equal opportunity to subscribe." It would seek comment on how to define "comparability" and what metrics should be considered. The draft would also seek comment on how to define "in a given area" within the definition of equal access and how to "facilitate equal access."

The draft NOI would seek comment on whether the FCC should adopt rules that "broadly and directly prohibit digital discrimination." The item would revise the public complaint process and seek comment on whether the request for the dispute assistance model that's used to resolve accessibility problems would be applicable for digital discrimination complaints. Comments would be due by May 16, replies by June 30, in docket 22-69, the draft said.

A draft Further NPRM would seek comment on "the allocation of pole replacement costs and the resolution of pole attachment disputes generally to determine whether additional commission action is necessary," said a fact sheet. The item would seek comment on “the universe of situations” where a requesting attacher shouldn't be required to pay the full cost of a pole replacement and “the proper allocation of costs among utilities and attachers.”

The draft cites a 2020 NCTA petition seeking clarification that pole owners must share pole replacement costs in unserved areas and complete a pole replacement within a specified time. The Wireline Bureau issued a declaratory ruling instead of acting on the petition (see 2101190027). The record since then “indicates significant disagreement between utilities and attachers,” the draft said, seeking comment on several issues raised in NCTA’s petition. The item would seek comment on ways to set “clear standards for when and how utilities and attachers must share in the costs of a pole replacement that is precipitated by a new attachment request.”

The item would ask how the FCC should determine the “applicability of cost causation and cost sharing,” the draft said. It would also ask whether the cost allocation rules should be modified. Comments would be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 45 days for replies, in docket 17-84.

Also on the agenda is a draft public notice that would announce the fourth and final selection of connected care pilot program recipients. The draft would give the latest round of participants and all previously selected participants six months after the item’s release to file initial funding requests to the Universal Service Administrative Co. A list of recipients and funding amounts wasn't released.