ATLANTA -- The Rural Utilities Service will help the FCC carry out the National Broadband Plan, revamp the Universal Service Fund and accomplish other goals, Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said Tuesday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference.
Federal Universal Service Fund
The FCC's Universal Service Fund (USF) was created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to fund programs designed to provide universal telecommunications access to all U.S. citizens. All telecommunications providers are required to contribute a percentage of their end-user revenues to the Fund, which the FCC allocates for four core programs: 1. Connect America Fund, which subsidizes telecom providers for the increased costs of offering services to customers in rural and remote areas 2. Lifeline, which directly subsidizes low-income households to help pay for the cost of phone and internet service 3. Rural Health Care, which subsidizes health care providers to offer broadband telehealth services that can connect rural patients and providers with specialists located farther away 4. E-Rate, which subsidizes rural and low-income schools and libraries for internet and telecommunications costs The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) administers the USF on behalf of the FCC, but requires Congressional approval for its actions. Many states also operate their own universal service funds, which operate independently from the federal program.
ATLANTA -- The FCC is “moving forward strongly on implementation of the National Broadband Plan,” including fixing the spectrum, intercarrier compensation and Universal Service Fund systems, said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, speaking at a NARUC annual meeting for the first time. Two areas in which innovation is essential are broadband and the smart grid, said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. NTIA has identified government spectrum for commercial broadband, he said. (See separate story in this issue.)
The FCC’s order Friday that requires nomadic VoIP providers to pay into state Universal Service Funds and federal USF could lead to more regulatory activities in some states, officials said in interviews. The order (CD Nov 8 p2) had been expected since September, when Kansas and Nebraska amended their petition to the FCC by deleting language that would have allowed states to assess fees retroactively.
African-Americans and Hispanics are still less likely to use broadband Internet in their homes even when they attain the same education and income levels as whites, a government report said. Nearly 87 percent of urban and nearly 76 percent of rural, college-educated white families used broadband in their homes in 2009. But for black families with the same education, the percentages were about 77 percent in cities and 56 percent in the countryside; for college-educated Hispanics, the percentages were almost 78 percent in cities and about 69 percent in the country, the Commerce Department said in a report released Monday.
Nomadic VoIP providers will have to pay into state Universal Service funds as well as the federal USF, the FCC ruled Friday. In a 5-0 declaratory ruling published late Friday, the commission ruled in favor of a request by the Kansas and Nebraska utilities commissions. That would let states assess USF fees on nomadic VoIP.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski faces tough oversight from the new Congress starting in January, after Republicans picked up as many as 70 seats in the House Tuesday. That was more than the 55-seat swing that gave Republicans control of the House in 1994. But it’s unclear whether Genachowski will face the kind of Commerce Committee investigation Kevin Martin faced when Republicans lost control of the House four years ago (CD Sept 14 p1). The Republican takeover of the House also could have a long-lasting effect on FCC policy, particularly Genachowski proposals on net neutrality and broadband reclassification. Genachowski was an adviser to former Chairman Reed Hundt when Democrats lost control of both the House and Senate in 1994.
A GOP wave claimed longtime telecom heavyweight Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and other Democrats in rural states, as Republicans seized control of the House Tuesday. The Republicans also won seats in the Senate, but the Democrats maintained power there. The GOP gain is seen as bad news for net neutrality supporters, while the loss of House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Boucher is a setback for rural telcos who supported his efforts to overhaul the Universal Service Fund.
Lack of clarity on VoIP at the federal level opens the door to additional state activity, state officials told us. Regulators in states like Wisconsin are looking at VoIP issues, including authority over the technology. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission had a prehearing Tuesday and will look into the appropriate level of regulation on VoIP. A decision is expected in July.
Repurposing the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) bands should be a top priority of the FCC to promote the rollout of 4G services, FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker said Tuesday at the Law Seminars International Conference on Spectrum and Broadband. Baker listed three other “action items” the FCC should move on quickly to promote 4G service in the U.S. She also predicted that work on overhauling the Universal Service Fund will start in December and dominate the commission’s agenda next year.
The FCC should be “vigilant” in its oversight of middle-mile prices and access, seek public comment on whether its rules on retirement of copper-wire networks let ILECs keep small carriers out of the market, consider a rulemaking on access to and device interoperability on the newly auctioned 700 MHz spectrum and “examine the impact” on CLECs before increasing rates on pole attachments, the Small Business Administration’s advocacy office said. The comments came in response to last month’s public notice from the Wireline Bureau, which asked for input on how broadband affects small and medium-sized businesses. SBA said its comments reflect the views of leaders from small broadband companies who participated in an Oct. 5 agency roundtable.