FCC to Consider Tribal E-rate, 988 Rules During July Meeting

The FCC will consider additional steps to ensure tribal communities have access to E-rate funding during the agency's July 20 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a note Wednesday. Rosenworcel circulated a proposal last week to allow the use of E-rate funds for Wi-Fi hot spots (see 2306260029). Also on the agenda are an order addressing local programming and proposed rules on reporting and notice requirements for 988 outages.

"Schools and libraries are increasingly acquiring and loaning out Wi-Fi hotspots to connect people on the wrong side of the digital divide," Rosenworcel said. The proposal announced last week at an American Library Association event would allow applicants to seek support for Wi-Fi hot spots and Wi-Fi on school buses. "Just as we are launching this new effort to update E-rate to better meet the connectivity needs of today and the future," the commission's next meeting will "feature an opportunity to get a previous E-rate reform over the finish line."

Commissioners will consider an item that would make E-rate's application process easier for tribal colleges and university libraries, and streamline the program to ease administrative burdens. "Libraries are a vital source of internet access across Indian country," Rosenworcel said. The FCC adopted an NPRM in February seeking comment on ways to give tribal libraries easier access to E-rate support (see 2302160024). That item built on a previously approved pilot program aimed at increasing tribal participation. The commission will also vote on an item that would seek comment on "ways to simplify the application process for all E-rate applicants."

Outage reporting obligations for 988 were subject of a January NPRM (see 2301040056). Rosenworcel said similar outage reporting rules for 911 “have helped us identify vulnerabilities and improve the reliability of that system.” Carriers have argued against 911-like outage reporting rules for 988 (see 2305090076).

The agency will also vote on an order to allow FM6 stations -- low-power channel 6 TV stations receivable by FM radios and focused on audio content and sometimes called “Franken FMs” -- to continue broadcasting in analog as “ancillary or supplementary services.” “We’re preserving established local programming for radio audiences,” wrote Rosenworcel Wednesday (see 2208020066).

All FM6 stations were required to cease their analog broadcasts by July 2021 due to the digital transition, but 13 stations have continued to broadcast using an ATSC 3.0 workaround -- they broadcast audio and video in ATSC 3.0 but offer their analog audio broadcast as an ancillary service. This process has been authorized by the Media Bureau using grants of special temporary authority, but last year the agency issued an NPRM on permanently allowing the arrangement. In responses to that NPRM, NPR and others pushed for relaxing channel 6 interference protections, and broadcasters in the docket disagreed whether the FCC should allow new FM6 stations.