Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

With FCC having hired Matthew Duchesne as chief, Office of Native Affairs and Policy (see 1711130036), acting Chief Lyle Ishida remains for some time in ONAP to assist with transition and then remains in Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau "in another position yet to be announced," spokesman says ... Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission adds Norman Kennard as a commissioner after Senate OK'd 49-0; he succeeds Robert Powelson, resigned upon confirmation to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see 1708040038); Kennard’s term expires March 31, 2019.

Equipment maker Radwin agreed to pay a $95,000 fine for selling noncompliant U-NII devices, which allowed users to modify settings in a way that could cause harmful interference to terminal Doppler weather radar (TDWR) systems the FAA uses to detect potentially hazardous weather conditions for aircraft. “The Commission’s requirements ensure that devices that emit radio frequency radiation comply with the Commission’s technical requirements and do not cause harmful interference to Federal agency public safety systems, such as TDWR, or to other authorized Federal and non-Federal communications systems, once the devices are marketed to the public,” said an order and consent decree by the FCC Enforcement Bureau. “To settle this matter, Radwin admits that it violated the Commission’s equipment authorization and marketing rules with respect to these noncompliant U-NII devices.” The closely held firm "manufactures and distributes broadband wireless systems," the bureau said. Radwin fully cooperated with an investigation, the bureau said.

BALTIMORE -- Many broadband deployment questions went unanswered at last week’s meeting of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee because members couldn’t reach consensus, said state commissioners’ lone BDAC member Karen Charles Peterson. On a Tuesday panel at the NARUC annual meeting (see 1711140028), the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable commissioner repeatedly urged attendees to file comments in FCC docket 17-83 responding to Thursday’s meeting (see 1711090054). The BDAC debates on infrastructure seem to focus on urban areas, but it’s important not to forget that many rural areas don’t have any broadband, said Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner Wendy Moser.

BALTIMORE -- State members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service are ready to recommend how to revamp USF contribution, said State Chair Chris Nelson at a NARUC meeting. State members met unofficially Sunday without their FCC counterparts, Nelson told us. Monday, the NARUC Telecom Committee delayed voting on two competing Lifeline resolutions, but voted for a draft resolution to support requiring direct dialing of 911 in hotels and other enterprises.

FCC hires Matthew Duchesne, ex-U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, as chief, Office of Native Affairs and Policy; acting Chief Lyle Ishida remains at the agency ... FCC members appoint Commissioner Brendan Carr to Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations (see 1711130035); Carr succeeds FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, vacating those positions; Carr and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel join Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services because of their commission positions ... TiVo board elects Enrique Rodriguez, ex-AT&T Entertainment Group, president-CEO and names him to the board; he succeeds Thomas Carson, retiring and leaving the board, staying as adviser through Q1.

The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee approved six sets of recommendations for speeding deployment of wireless and wireline infrastructure Thursday, but disagreements surfaced, especially from the local government officials appointed to the group. The FCC posted the documents for the committee, which meets again in January to finalize recommendations.

Stakeholders objected to proposed FCC Lifeline actions in a draft item on the agenda for next Thursday's commissioners' meeting, with many against a possible move to eliminate low-income funding support for resellers. Wireless industry parties, civil rights advocates, tribal groups and others voiced concerns about the combined draft orders and notices, in meetings and filings posted Wednesday and Thursday in docket 11-42.

Officials working for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai have often used Twitter to slam news critical about the commission, according to our eight-month review of social media activities. Also unlike at DOJ, the FTC and NTIA, FCC aides using their government Twitter accounts regularly praise the substance of reporting that sheds a positive light on the agency under Pai. Some of the negative tweets may not abide by best practices, FCC responses to our Freedom of Information Act requests show.

Electric utilities pushed "creative and common sense" FCC pole-attachment solutions for communications providers that recognize the safety and reliability of their power infrastructure. "Utility poles have already become crowded, and will become more so with hundreds of thousands of new 5G wireless and other attachments expected to be installed," said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-84 by members of the Coalition of Concerned Utilities on meetings with Chairman Ajit Pai and an aide to Commission Mignon Clyburn. They repeated support for "One-Touch, Make-Ready" changes, "identified attachment management tools" to help address process delays and "proposed economic and other incentives to encourage utility pole owners to problem solve" issues. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said broadband service providers were trying to blame pole-attachment rates for rural broadband deployment difficulties even though deployment is largely driven by population density. Electric co-ops "offered major service providers the federal cable rate or even free pole attachments in exchange for coverage of their entire cooperative service territory," said a NRECA filing on a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "The offers were not accepted, indicating that pole attachment rates are not the impediment to deployment some major providers claim." Noting a draft order on the Nov. 16 tentative agenda (see 1710270040), Comcast and Charter Communications urged the FCC to reaffirm "longstanding precedent holding that overlashers need not 'obtain additional approval from or consent of the utility for overlashing other than the approval obtained for the host attachment,' and 'are not required to give prior notice to utilities before overlashing,'" said a filing on commission meetings. (Overlashing defined.)

Expect lively debate about Lifeline at the NARUC annual meeting Nov. 11-15 in Baltimore, said Telecom Committee members and staff in interviews. In separate NARUC telecom draft resolutions, Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades and District of Columbia PSC Chairman Betty Ann Kane disagreed whether Lifeline should support reseller services (see 1710310051). The conflict is likely to be the “hot item” at the NARUC meeting and already is spurring discussion and lobbying, said NARUC Telecommunications Staff Subcommittee Chair Lynn Notarianni, from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. A less contentious draft resolution aims to show a united front by states in favor of requiring direct dialing of 911 in hotels and other enterprises, said Colorado PUC Commissioner Wendy Moser.