'Enhanced' A-CAM, Priority Services Rules, on FCC May Agenda

FCC commissioners will consider a proposal to create an enhanced alternative Connect America model program to bring "faster, better broadband to rural America" at the agency's May 19 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a meeting preview Wednesday. Commissioners will also consider an order targeting gateway providers and illegal robocalls originating abroad, updates to priority services rules, and regulatory relief for FM radio broadcasters.

The commission established the A-CAM program in 2016 to boost universal service support in high-cost and hard-to-serve rural areas. If adopted, the program would "offer additional financial support to rural areas in exchange for increased broadband deployment obligations to additional locations and at higher speeds," Rosenworcel wrote. The A-CAM Broadband Coalition lobbied aides for an enhanced model in January, saying more than one million rural consumers could gain access to at least 100/20 Mbps (see 2201240049).

FCC commissioners will also take on a report and order on priority access calling rules at the meeting. In 2020, commissioners approved an NPRM (see 2007160045) on potential changes to telecom service priority (TSP) and wireless priority service (WPS) rules. NTIA previously asked for an update of the rules designed to give priority to calls by public officials during times of network overload (see 1807100040). TSP dates to 1987 and WPS to 1995.

In comments in late 2020, Verizon and T-Mobile urged the FCC to use a light regulatory hand if it proceeded with new regulations (see 2011190036). Rosenworcel supported the NPRM seeking comment, saying then “it has been decades since we examined these rules” and “in that time, the way we communicate in crisis has changed in a big way.”

“When it comes to restoring service after outages or deciding which calls can get through congested networks during an emergency, the FCC has rules to make sure the communications of national security and emergency response personnel are prioritized,” Rosenworcel said: “We will vote to modernize and update our priority services rules to keep pace with advances in technology, the marketplace, and governance.”

The FCC is "cracking down on the hardest-to-stop international robocallers," Rosenworcel wrote. Commissioners will consider an order requiring gateway providers to "use new caller ID authentication tools and perform robocall mitigation," as well as a new requirement to "keep bad actors from facilitating illegal international robocalls." Some ISPs lobbied the Wireline and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus for a similar proposal earlier this month (see 2203310031), as the agency received a mixed reaction to a Further NPRM adopted in September proposing tighter rules for gateway providers to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad.

The agency will also vote on an order that would allow FM broadcasters to use computer modeling to verify the pattern of their directional antennas. “This will decrease regulatory costs and bring our FM regulations in line with other broadcast services,” said Rosenworcel in Wednesday’s blog post. Under current rules, stations verifying the patterns for FM directional antennas must either build a full-size mock-up of the antenna or a scale model.

The order stems from a joint petition by Dielectric, Jampro Antennas, Shively Labs, Radio Frequency Systems and the Educational Media Foundation saying that computer modeling was effective and less expensive. The proposal was widely supported when it was put out for comment (see 2201210084), though antenna manufacturer ERI (Electronics Research Inc.) opposed it and disputed the accuracy of computer models. ERI owns the only testing range in the U.S. that can accommodate full-size antennas. NAB and broadcast engineers sought restrictions to ensure the modeling is performed correctly.

Commissioners will consider an Enforcement Bureau item.