FCC Posts Sept. 21 Drafts on 5G Fund, Space Bureau Transparency

The FCC released a draft Further NPRM on the long-awaited 5G Fund Thursday, with commissioners scheduled to vote Sept. 21 (see 2308300062). Also on the agenda is a Space Bureau “transparency initiative,” with the bureau giving more guidance at initial application stages. Per the draft order and accompanying Further NPRM, the streamlining proposal is to be the first in a series of intended improvements to the Space Bureau. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also is seeking a vote on an additional action targeting VoIP robocalls.

“We undertake this effort in recognition that those living, working, and traveling in unserved areas must have access to high-speed, 5G mobile service,” the draft 5G FNPRM says: “The need for high-speed mobile services has never been more critical, yet there are many areas of our country that continue to lack access to 5G service.” The draft notes that unlike 2020 when a fund was given initial approval, the agency is “armed” with “new, granular, and improved mobile coverage data” obtained through the broadband data collection and reflected in the new national broadband map.

Among the questions posed by the FNPRM is whether the FCC should modify the original $9 billion budget, and how it should define areas eligible for support in Phase I of the fund. The draft seeks comment on whether the fund should be extended to cover Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands “or whether the Commission should instead explore a dedicated long-term funding mechanism for support for mobile services on these islands.”

The draft asked whether to use “a bidding and support price metric based on dollars per square kilometer for eligible areas, and not … use the adjustment factor that was previously adopted,” and alternatively seeks “comment on a bidding and support price metric based on the number of locations and/or roads in the eligible areas.” It asks whether the fund should be used to encourage deployment of open radio access networks.

Commissioners approved a 5G Fund order in October 2020, under former Chairman Ajit Pai, over partial dissents by Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who both raised concerns that the FCC didn't have the data it needed to move forward (see 2010270034).

The Competitive Carriers Association “welcomes the FCC announcement that it will vote to seek comment on ways to improve and advance the 5G Fund,” emailed CCA President Tim Donovan. “Much has changed since the original 5G Fund Order in 2020 and updates to eligibility, funding, and more are needed to position the 5G Fund for success,” he said: “The FCC has a vital role to play to preserve and expand mobile connectivity across the nation, and it is incredibly important to build on federal broadband programs focused on fixed broadband to provide true ubiquitous connectivity. Without 5G coverage, the latest 5G innovations will remain out of reach for too many Americans.”

Satellite Streamlining

The Space Bureau’s transparency initiative guidance will include frequently asked questions and links on the agency’s website, as well as the possibility of public workshops, per the draft order. The agency said a forthcoming International Communications Filing System update will include guidance with training videos for the ICFS application process.

The Space Bureau draft order follows a licensing streamlining NPRM approved in December (see Ref:2212210054]) and proposes various steps for expediting satellite and earth station application processing, such as no longer automatically dismissing applications that request authority to operate a satellite in a frequency band not allocated internationally for such operations. Under the order, the agency would end its prohibition on a licensee or market access grantee applying for another non-geostationary orbit license or grant of market access where the party already has a licensed-but-unbuilt NGSO system for the same frequencies. It said its bond and milestone requirements are enough on their own to deter warehousing of spectrum and orbital resources.

The draft order declines to impose an overall “shot clock” for acting on license applications -- an issue that got no clear consensus in the space community (see 2304040036).

The Further NPRM asks about yet more space streamlining efforts, such as expanding the list of minor modifications that can be made by operators without prior FCC authorization. It also asks for further input about issuing a limited license for earth station operators who do not yet have an identified point of communication -- something brought up in the previous NPRM.

Commissioners will also consider an order that would address concerns raised about numbering resources for VoIP providers and enhance commission oversight. The draft proposes to require applicants for direct access to numbering resources to include robocall-related certifications and certify compliance with rules that are "applicable to interconnected VoIP providers," including public safety and access stimulation rules, per a fact sheet.

Also under consideration is a Further NPRM seeking comment on oversight of entities with numbering access. If adopted, the item would require applicants to include a list of states where they wish to provide service, submit certifications and disclose ownership. It would also propose requiring interconnected VoIP providers with existing direct access authorization to submit similar information within 30 days after the effective date of any order adopting such rules, the draft said.

A draft report and order on updating broadcast rules to reflect the modern operating environment appears to stay close to the proposals from a September 2022 NPRM the commission unanimously approved. The draft order updates would reflect “the transition from analog to digital-only operations and the post-incentive auction transition to a smaller television band with fewer channels,” said an FCC release Thursday. The draft order would also clean up the rules to get rid of incorrect rule citations, missing cross-references, and typographical errors, the release said.

The draft item would also eliminate what NAB has called “regulatory underbrush”: entire rules or chunks of rules that reference analog TV and or that reference discontinued FCC processes like broadcast license comparative hearings. The order would also update references to FCC applications and databases to reflect the agency's current systems, and restructure technical licensing, operating and interference rules for full-power and Class A TV stations “so that the rules are more streamlined and easily understandable for licensees and the public,” said the release.