The FCC Wireline Bureau wants comments by Sept. 21, replies Oct. 6, on the E-rate program's proposed eligible services list for FY 2023, said a public notice Monday in docket 13-184. The bureau didn't recommend specific changes to the proposed list, the notice said (see 2112200044).
OMB approved for three years a disclosure requirement for the FCC's February order on marketing agreements in multi-tenant environments, said a notice for Monday's Federal Register (see 2202150047). Compliance for new contracts is required as of Monday and existing contracts as of Sept. 26, the notice said.
Brightspeed plans to expand fiber to 14,000 customers in Beaufort County, South Carolina by the end of 2023, and reach another 36,000 state customers in coming years, the company said Tuesday. Brightspeed’s network is in 20 states and includes ILEC assets that Apollo bought from Lumen. The deal recently got all state regulatory approvals but still needs an FCC green light (see 2206290041). Brightspeed earlier detailed fiber plans in several other states (see 2208100027).
Completed 2023 urban rate surveys are due by Sept. 17, said an FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics public notice Monday in docket 10-90. The FCC notified providers required to complete the survey on Monday.
The Alternative Connect America Model (ACAM) Broadband Coalition met with FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff about the coalition’s proposed modifications to the ACAM I and ACAM II programs, per an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 10-90 (see 2207190056). The group said density “plays a major role in ACAM company costs” and “any comparison of the per-location support amounts of winning [Rural Digital Opportunity Fund] auction bids with the per-location support amounts proposed in the ACAM enhancement plan is inapposite.” The coalition also noted 73% of all ACAM locations won’t receive an increase in annual support under the proposed plan.
USTelecom asked the FCC to define digital discrimination as "intentional" instead of relying on a "disparate impact standard," in a meeting with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. It would "contravene Congressional intent" in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, USTelecom said, per an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-69. The "existence of a digital divide does not equal digital discrimination and the two should not be conflated," the group said: The IIJA "makes no findings that broadband providers have engaged in digital discrimination." The FCC could consider "further streamlining the Section 214 requirements for discontinuing outdated, legacy services and preempting unreasonable permitting processes and non-cost-based rights of way fees," USTelecom said, and should reject calls for a "strict formula on what an appropriate return on investment is for a provider."
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) asked the FCC Wireline Bureau to extend until Oct. 2, 2023, the E-rate program's service delivery deadline for FY 2020 and 2021 (see 2106220027). It also asked the bureau to waive the program's rules for nonrecurring services, in a letter posted Thursday in docket 02-6. SHLB said applicants and providers face delays due to COVID-19 equipment shortages. The "delays and global supply chain problems have become worse, not better," SHLB said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended until Aug. 12 the annual location reporting deadline for rate-of-return Alaska Plan carriers Adak Telephone Utility, Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative and Matanuska Telephone Association (see 2206070075). The providers experienced "technical challenges related to the changes made to reporting the new speed tiers," said a public notice Wednesday in docket 10-90.
The FCC committed nearly $68 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support, totaling more than $5.7 billion so far, said a news release Wednesday. The new funding will support one school, three libraries and one consortium from the first and second application windows, and more than 200 schools, seven libraries and one consortium from the third application window.
The FCC Wireline Bureau partially granted the Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries a waiver of certain Connect America Fund Phase II auction rules, said an order Tuesday in docket 10-90. NATI sought a temporary waiver of the requirement that it increase the value of its letter of credit for the auction. The bureau let NATI keep its current value until the Universal Service Administrative Co. "completes its verification process for the locations to which NATI has certified deployment."