The FCC committed nearly $42 million in additional Emergency Connectivity Fund support Wednesday, bringing the total to more than $5.7 billion to date. The new funding will support about 100,000 students from all three application windows, said a news release. More than $4.4 million was awarded to first and second round applicants, and nearly $37 million was awarded to third round applicants.

The Commerce Department awarded $4.5 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act recovery assistance grant program to expand internet access in north central Idaho, said a news release Tuesday. The funding will support building a 95-mile segment of fiber cable and be matched with $1.1 million in local funds, the department said. Commerce's Economic Development Administration also awarded $2.7 million to the Golden State Finance Authority to expand internet access in 26 rural counties in California. The grant will be matched with $1.2 million in local funds.

The current term of the FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee has been extended by two months, until Nov. 22, said a notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. “This extension will allow the IAC to engage in the orderly completion of its work for this term,” the agency said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau redesignated USTelecom as the registered consortium for the industry-led robocall traceback group, said an order Monday in docket 20-22 (see 2206060058). USTelecom is "honored that the FCC recognizes our important role in this work," said Vice President-Policy and Advocacy Josh Bercu.

Representatives of the National Federation of the Blind told the FCC of problems members have using meeting platforms. “The ‘share screen’ feature for most conferencing services is not accessible because it renders what is being displayed on the screen as images that are inaccessible to screen reading software,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 12-108, recapping a virtual meeting with FCC’s Disability Rights Office staff. If the text chat feature is “accessible to a refreshable Braille display, the feature can work in harmony with the audio portion of the meeting,” the filing said. A blind person “can read the text chat via Braille and still listen to the speakers in the meeting, similarly to how a sighted individual would be able to read the text chat visually while still listening to the speakers in the meeting,” the group said: “However, this feature becomes a problem when it is only accessible to screen reading software because then there are two competing audio feeds for a blind user, making the meeting difficult to follow.” The group raised particular concerns with the accessibility of the GoTo Meeting platform. The FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee recently examined telecommunications relay services on videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex (see 2202240064).

NTIA awarded nearly $50 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program support to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, said a news release Thursday. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians received more than $8.4 million to deploy fiber to 2,190 unserved homes, 86 businesses and 60 community anchor institutions. The Osage Nation received more than $40.6 million to deploy fiber and wireless towers to 3,158 unserved homes. “Closing the digital divide in Indian country is a crucial step for protecting local customs and traditions while invigorating the opportunities for global engagement and growth," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

All states and territories submitted applications for initial planning funds for NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment program, the agency announced Wednesday. Applications were due Monday (see 2205130054). Five-year action plans are due "within 270 days of the receipt of planning funds," NTIA said.

The FCC's report to Congress on the future of the Universal Service Fund and the record "throw cold water on the idea that the FCC should just start assessing broadband internet access service or BIAS," said Commissioner Brendan Carr in a statement Monday. Commissioners approved the report Friday. Expanding the contribution base to include BIAS "could increase consumers’ monthly broadband bills by as much as $17.96 a month," Carr said: "Put simply, the squeeze is not worth the juice when it comes to replacing the existing telecommunications assessment with one on broadband." Assessing edge providers would "drastically reduce costs for consumers," he said. The report concluded there's "significant ambiguity in the record regarding the scope of the commission’s existing authority to broaden the base of contributors" and recommended Congress give the FCC the "legislative tools needed to make changes to the contributions methodology and base." Carr said he's "very pleased" the report includes "broad-based support" to require that "large technology companies" contribute to USF. Carr initially raised the idea of requiring "big tech" to contribute (see 2105240037). Commissioner Nathan Simington backed Carr's "emphasis on relating funding for connectivity spending to the network effects enjoyed by companies that depend on universal connectivity," in a statement. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel didn't release statements.

NTIA awarded more than $146 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program support Thursday, totaling more than $290 million so far, to five tribal entities in New Mexico, said a news release. The Santa Fe Indian School received the largest amount, more than $57 million, to deploy fiber with symmetrical speeds of 1 Gbps. The Jicarilla Apache Nation Power Authority, Mescalero Apache Telecom, Pueblo of Isleta and Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo also received funding for deployment.

The FCC extended to Sept. 21 the deadline for nominations to its Consumer Advisory Committee. Nominations had been due Aug. 1. The group last met in April (see 2204260056). The agency plans to renew its charter on or before Oct. 16.