FCC Open Meeting Recap

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Steve Augustino

The FCC took a flurry of actions at yesterday's monthly open meeting.  Fulfilling this blog's role as your resource for news and helpful links, below is your guide to yesterday's actions.

Wireless Market Report:  The  Commission adopted its 14th Annual Report on the state of the wireless market.  Among other things, this report was controversial because it refused to make an "effective competition" judgment on the wireless market.  The report also expands coverage beyond CMRS to address the broader mobile marketplace. 

Number Porting:  The Commission released a Report and Order shortening the time interval for "simple" ports.  This action will particularly affect wireline-to-wireless ports, and might accelerate the trend of "cut the cord" conversions.

Pole Attachments:  The Commission made a number of changes to its rules governing the rights of cable and competitive telecommunications providers to hang facilities on utility poles.  The order also proposes a number of changes to the pole attachment complaint rules.

Universal Service:  The Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify its "e-rate" rules, which support discounts for schools and libraries for internet access and other services. 

Broadband Spectrum:  The Commission adopted rules to make available another 25 MHz of spectrum for mobile braodband use. 

REMINDER:  For more information on many of these topics, peruse our links on the right hand side of this page. 

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

FCC Announces Schedule for National Broadband Plan Proceedings

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Danny Adams

Thursday, April 8, 2010, the FCC released its Broadband Action Agenda describing the purpose and timing of more than 60 rulemakings and other actions the agency plans to conduct in order to implement its recently issued National Broadband Plan.  The FCC News Release can be found here and the more detailed, 10 page Agenda is here.  In addition, the Commission issued a one page chart of its proposed action items showing the actions that it hopes to initiate, with each such action listed by the quarter of the year in which it is expected to occur.

Among topics primarily covered by this blog, a few items stand out.  In connection with the Universal Service Fund, reform of USF distribution is scheduled for 2Q 2010 (it is on the April 21 Meeting agenda, actually), but contribution reform is not scheduled to begin until the end of the year.  Access charges, VoIP and other intercarrier compensation issues are given a 4Q 2010 start date.  CLEC interconnection rights with rural ILECs are slated to be "clarified" in 3Q 2010.  Pole attachment reforms -- which presumably will include the formal complaint process improvements we described in a previous post -- are slated for 2Q 2010. 

Continue reading for more detail on the agenda.

REMINDER:  These and other broadband plan documents can be accessed using our Resource Center on the right hand column of this page.

The FCC organized its Agenda into four sections following its four key goals.  Those are

  •  to promote mobile broadband infrastructure and innovation,
  •  to accelerate universal broadband adoption and accessibility,
  •  to foster competition and increase consumer benefits, and
  •  to promote public safety networks. 

The mobile broadband aspects focus on radio spectrum issues, including making an additional 500 MHz available for mobile broadband within 10 years. 

The accessibility and adoption goals target reform of universal service and intercarrier compensation, as well as two new funds - Connect America and Mobility Fund - to increase support for broadband deployment and adoption. The agenda targets a 2Q 2010 NPRM on "common sense reforms" to the high cost fund and an Order enforcing Sprint and Verizon Wireless merger commitments to eliminate support they receive from the high cost fund.  An NPRM "to stabilize support mechanisms for universal service programs" is slated for 4Q 2010.

The goal of competitiveness and consumer benefits is to be met through policies focusing on special access and wholesale wireline services, as well as encouraging new consumer devices.  This will include a 2Q 2010 Special Access Workshop, followed by a Special Access NPRM in 3Q 2010.  The agenda also recommends a 3Q 2010 order clarifying interconnection rights with rural ILECs, particularly for voice service bundled with broadband and/or pay TV. 

Finally, the public safety goal is to be pursued through assisting in transition to a next-generation 911 system and aiding in reaching nationwide interoperability for public safety wireless broadband networks.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

FCC Releases Anticipated National Broadband Plan

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Danny Adams and Steve Augustino

On March 16, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced the release of the National Broadband Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan outlines sweeping proposals intended to accelerate broadband access and adoption throughout the United States that will be implemented over the coming years. Over the coming months, the FCC will launch a series of rulemakings to seek public comment and adopt rules to implement these proposals. Broadband and telecommunications providers should expect these proceedings will be a key focus of the FCC for the next several years.

Among the Plan’s chief recommendations are proposals that would give the FCC and other policymakers an enhanced role in establishing and enforcing pro-consumer policies, including mandating heightened disclosure requirements for broadband service providers, publishing market-by-market analyses of broadband pricing and competition, and enhancing online privacy protections. The Plan also calls for the FCC to: increase the amount of spectrum available for allocation through the use of incentive auctions; expand the amount of spectrum available for unlicensed use; and increase the transparency of spectrum allocation in general. Further, the Plan includes recommendations to speed the development and adoption of technologies that touch on a wide range of policy objectives from health care to public safety to energy efficiency.

The FCC also set forth relatively detailed proposals calling for reforms to the Universal Service Fund (“USF”) and to intercarrier compensation (“ICC”). Regarding the Universal Service Fund, the Plan calls for the broadening of the USF contribution base over time in order to contain USF assessments. Further, the Plan calls for the FCC to shift $15.5 billion from the USF program to a new Connect America Fund (“CAF”) designed to support the provision of affordable broadband and eventually replace the USF’s “legacy” High-Cost component. The FCC also seeks to reform intercarrier compensation by eliminating per-minute charges over the next decade, and replacing those revenues with an “adequate cost recovery” provisioned through the CAF.

For more detail on the FCC’s National Broadband plan, please click here to view the Plan’s Executive Summary. To access the National Broadband Plan in its entirety, please click here.
Tags: , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

Broadband Plan is Only Item on FCC December Agenda

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Steve Augustino

As we do regularly in this blog, we preview significant items to be presented at the FCC's upcoming monthly meeting.  This month it is easy, because the FCC's agenda includes only one item: an update on the development of the National Broadband Plan. 

At the December 16th meeting, the FCC staff will present an update on the status of the National Broadband Plan, and particularly, on the "policy framework" for the Plan.  With the National Broadband Plan due to be adopted by February 17, 2010, this update likely will include the first disclosure of the major components of the plan.  Word is that the Plan will recommend ways to re-focus the federal Universal Service Fund to support broadband connections, and may include suggestions for phasing out some existing USF support in order to replace it with broadband support. 

In addition, the update may discuss proposals to examine TV broadcast spectrum as a possible source of mobile broadband service.  The possibility of authorizing broadcasters to use or lease spectrum for this purpose, or, even more radically, to reallocate broadcast spectrum to other licensees, has been floated by wireless interests in the past few months.  While certain FCC personnel have indicated a willingness to investigate this possibility, the views of the Commissioners -- the ones whose votes count -- are unclear.  We will be watching the FCC meeting with anticipation.

Tags: , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

FCC Outlines Upcoming Broadband Activities and Schedule at Public Meeting

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Danny Adams

After opening remarks from new Chairman Genachowski and Commissioner Copps, the FCC outlined its schedule and process for the creation of a National Broadband Plan by February 17, 2010, as mandated by Congress. The process will involve all Bureaus within the agency and will start with a series of workshops on 21 topics to be held starting August 12 and ending September 3. The FCC also launched a new website, www.broadband.gov, to make information about the process available to the public. That website will give the list of specific workshop topics and dates. For those interested in participating or monitoring the workshops, the FCC promised to post the names of the staff coordinators by July 16, the final list of topics by July 23, and the list of formal participants by August 5. After the workshops have been completed on September 3, the FCC will accept public comments about matters addressed in the workshops until September 11. Following that hectic schedule, the FCC expects to provide a formal response to the GAO by December 8, 2009, issue its “Section 706” Report by February 3, 2010, and then its final National Broadband Plan by February 17, 2010 (as the statute requires). The agency also indicated that it expects the Broadband Mapping project to be done by February 17, 2010 as well, since the mapping is important to the final Plan.

Click here for the full FCC Commission Meeting - The FCC and Broadband: The Next 230 Days.

Tags: , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link