press release

FCC Furthers Cooperation With Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman R.S. Sharma signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for cooperation between the two agencies. The nonbinding agreement sets out a framework for the mutually beneficial exchange of ideas through activities such as best practices sharing, bilateral workshops, and digital videoconferences.

To guide these efforts, the FCC and TRAI have determined topics of shared interest, including accelerating broadband deployment and aligning spectrum policy to meet increasing mobile broadband demand. Given the broader bilateral partnership between the United States and India, the FCC has long engaged with Indian counterparts on issues of telecommunication regulatory policy. The agreement reinforces the ongoing positive working relationship between the FCC and TRAI and identifies opportunities for further collaboration in an increasingly interconnected world.

USDA Helps Expand Broadband Service in Rural Illinois and Oklahoma

Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Roger Glendenning announced that the US Department of Agricutlure is awarding $19.3 million in loans to provide broadband in rural portions of Illinois and Oklahoma.

In Oklahoma, Southern Plains Cable, LLC will receive a $15.3 million loan to build a fiber-optic broadband network serving a 55-square-mile area that includes the communities of Anadarko, Verden, and Chickasha. Illinois' Moultrie Independent Telephone Company will receive a $4 million loan to make upgrades to fiber service in a portion of its service territory. Both loans are being provided through USDA's Telecommunications Programs of the Rural Utilities Service.

American Library Association and Cox Communications partner to narrow digital divide for low-income families

The American Library Association and Cox Communications announced a new partnership that will strengthen and expand our shared commitment to connecting low-income students and their families with technology, providing a stronger foundation for success in the classroom, in continuing education and in job opportunities. Through this new partnership, more low-income families will have access to digital literacy training and resources in their local libraries and online.

In Tucson (AZ), Topeka (KS), and Baton Rouge (LA), libraries and Cox will pilot the deployment of enhanced digital literacy training and resources for library patrons and families. Research will be conducted to measure the outcomes of the pilot. In all Cox markets across the company’s 18-state footprint, Cox and the local libraries will collaborate on digital literacy and internet adoption initiatives, including an advertising campaign on Cox’s cross-channel cable lineup.

FCC Votes To Protect Small Businesses From Needless Transparency Regulation

The Federal Communications Commission relieved thousands of smaller broadband providers from onerous reporting obligations stemming from the 2015 Title II Order, freeing them to devote more resources to operating, improving and building out their networks.

An Order adopted by the Commission finds that providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections would be disproportionately impacted if required to comply immediately with the 2015 enhanced reporting requirements. These providers frequently serve rural areas that lack broadband, or provide competitive alternatives for consumers in other markets. The Order mirrors the bipartisan compromise reflected in the pending Small Business Broadband Deployment Act of 2017. After today's action, smaller providers must still give consumers the information that has been required since 2010 to assist them in making an informed choice of broadband providers. The Order applies retroactively and prospectively to cover the period beginning on the date the enhanced reporting requirements became effective, January 17, 2017, and ending five years after the date the order is adopted.

FCC Takes Next Steps Toward Expanding Rural Broadband Access

The Federal Communications Commission set key rules for a competitive “reverse auction” that will provide nearly $2 billion for rural deployment over the next decade. In the upcoming Connect America Fund Phase II auction, providers will compete for support to expand broadband to unserved areas, along with voice service. The auction rules established today aim to maximize the value the American people will receive for the Connect America Fund dollars spent by balancing deployment of higher-quality services with cost efficiencies. The action focuses on census blocks unserved by broadband in 20 states where the nation’s largest carriers – known as “price cap” carriers – declined last year’s Connect America Fund offer of support. Also included in the auction are locations across the country with extremely high deployment costs. The Order balances incentives for deployment of higher-quality services with cost efficiencies by establishing auction “weights” that credit bids by companies offering more robust service.

Specifically, the Order:

  • Establishes bidding weights to compare bids across performance tiers set in 2016
  • These weights account for the value of higher speeds, higher usage allowances, and low latency
  • But the formula used to rank bidders balances these performance goals with the need to reach as many consumers as possible within the FCC’s budget for rural universal service support

FCC Advances Seamless Nationwide Access To Mobile Voice And Broadband Service Through Mobility Fund II

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to help expand and preserve 4G LTE mobile coverage across rural American and in Tribal lands by providing $453 million in annual universal service support through the FCC’s Mobility Fund Phase II for a period of ten years. The Mobility Fund was created in 2011 to preserve and extend mobile broadband and voice services in unserved and underserved areas. Mobility Fund I offered providers up to $350 million in one-time funding to spur deployment of advanced wireless services in unserved areas, including Tribal lands. Despite that support and extensive 4G LTE deployment by industry, approximately 575,000 square miles either still lacks access to 4G LTE service or only has 4G LTE coverage because of universal service support. The rules adopted today help close that gap.

The actions taken in the Order will:

  • Close Coverage Gaps Through a Mobility Fund II Auction
  • Target Areas Needing Support
  • Set Service Requirements Establish an Auction Framework

FCC Proposes 'Next-Generation' Broadcast Television Transmission Standard

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on a proposal that would allow television broadcasters to use the “Next Generation” broadcast television transmission standard, called “ATSC 3.0,” on a voluntary, market-driven basis.

ATSC 3.0 has the potential to greatly improve broadcast signal reception on mobile devices and television receivers without outdoor antennas. It is also intended to enable broadcasters to offer enhanced and innovative new features to consumers, including Ultra High Definition picture and immersive audio, more localized programming content, an advanced emergency alert system capable of waking up sleeping devices to warn consumers of imminent emergencies, improved accessibility options, and interactive services. A coalition of broadcast and consumer electronics industry representatives petitioned the Commission to allow the use of the new standard. The upgraded technology is intended to merge the capabilities of over-the-air broadcasting with the broadband viewing and information delivery methods of the Internet using the same 6 MHz channels presently allocated for digital television (DTV).

FCC Expands Area Where FM Translators Rebroadcasting AM Radio Stations Can Be Located

The Federal Communications Commission expanded the site locations where FM translators can rebroadcast AM radio stations.

The amended rule provides greater flexibility for an AM station to place a rebroadcasting FM translator in a location where it will better serve its AM station’s listeners. AM radio stations that want to improve their service area with a clearer signal can do so by using an FM translator, which receives the AM signal and re-broadcasts it on an FM frequency. This is particularly useful for the many AM stations forced to reduce their power at night, since the FM translator can operate at the same power 24 hours a day. At issue is a current FCC rule that may make finding a location for these translators unnecessarily challenging. Under the old rule, an AM station could place a rebroadcasting FM translator either within its daytime service contour or within a 25-mile radius of its transmitter, whichever distance was less. The new rule allows the rebroadcasting FM translator to be located anywhere within the AM station’s daytime service contour or anywhere within a 25-mile radius of the transmitter, even if the contour extends farther than 25 miles from the transmitter.

FCC Reduces Or Eliminates Burden Of Unnecessary Accounting Requirements For Carriers

Taking further steps to minimize unnecessary burdens on carriers, the Federal Communications Commission streamlined various accounting requirements for all carriers and eliminated certain accounting requirements for large carriers. Specifically, the FCC eliminated the requirement that large carriers keep a separate set of regulatory accounting books in addition to their financial accounting books. Additionally, the Commission reduced the extent of FCC-specific accounts that must be maintained by all carriers. Reducing the cost and burden of these FCC rules will allow carriers to allocate scarce resources toward expanding modern networks that bring economic opportunity, job creation and civic engagement to all Americans.

Former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani Joins National Hispanic Media Coalition as Special Policy Advisor

The National Hispanic Media Coalition announced that former Commissioner Gloria Tristani of the Federal Communications Commission will be joining NHMC as the new Special Policy Advisor. In this role, Tristani will further NHMC’s work to bridge the digital divide and advocate for responsible media that is inclusive of Latino voices.

Tristani comes to NHMC from Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, where she represented the interests of clients including noncommercial radio stations, public, educational and governmental access channels, local and municipal governments, rural electric cooperatives and non-profit groups. She also served as president of the Benton Foundation, where she educated policy-makers, academics and public interest advocates on communications policy. As an FCC Commissioner from 1997 to 2001, Tristani sought to accelerate broadband deployment to rural and other underserved areas; was an advocate for the “E-Rate” program, which provides discounted Internet access to schools and libraries; and supported the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules and policies to enhance minority and women ownership in the communications industry.

FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting February 23, 2017

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, February 23, 2017:

Connect America Fund: The Commission will consider a Report and Order adopting rules to provide ongoing support targeted to preserve and advance high-speed mobile broadband and voice service in high-cost areas that the marketplace does not otherwise serve.
Connect America Fund; ETC Annual Reports and Certifications: The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration that (1) resolves a number of issues raised in the Phase II Auction Order FNPRM, including the adoption of weights to compare bids among service performance and latency tiers, and (2) considers several petitions for reconsideration for decisions made in the Phase II Auction Order.
Authorizing Permissive Use of the “Next Generation” Broadcast Television Standard: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to let television broadcasters use the “Next Generation” broadcast television transmission standard associated with recent work of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC 3.0) on a voluntary, market-driven basis.
Revitalization of the AM Radio Service: The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that would relax the siting rule for an FM fill-in translator rebroadcasting an AM broadcast station.
Small Business Exemption From Open Internet Enhanced Transparency Requirements: The Commission will consider an Order granting a five-year waiver to broadband Internet access service providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections from the enhanced reporting requirements adopted in the 2015 Title II Order.
Comprehensive Review of the Part 32 Uniform System of Accounts: The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would streamline and eliminate outdated accounting rules no longer needed to fulfill the Commission’s statutory or regulatory duties

FCC Settles Investigation Of Relay Service Providers

The Federal Communications Commission announced a $9.1 million settlement with two companies which provide telecommunications services to consumers with hearing and speech disabilities. In addition to a monetary penalty for improper billing, the settlement with telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers Purple Communications and CSDVRS repays the TRS Fund and establishes a 5-year compliance plan to ensure that services going forward incorporate the required checks. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O’Rielly unanimously approved the action.

MacArthur Foundation Names 8 Semifinalists in 100&Change Grant Competition

Eight bold solutions to critical social problems were named semi-finalists in 100&Change, a global competition for a single $100 million grant from MacArthur. The proposals include 1) providing libraries and learners free digital access to four million books, 2) educating children displaced by conflict and persecution, and 3) providing virtual access to specialist medical care for underserved US patients.

1) The Internet Archive would expand libraries’ ability to deliver on their role as great equalizers, providing access to books and other resources to those who might not otherwise be able to afford them, regardless of geography. The Internet Archive would enable libraries to unlock their analog collections for a new generation of learners, enabling free, long-term, public access to knowledge. The project will curate, digitize, and make available in digital form four million books to any library that owns the physical book. The Internet Archive would start with the books most widely held and used in libraries and classrooms. The scale of the project will reduce digitization costs by 50 percent or more. The Internet Archive has prototyped this model for more than six years, digitizing 540,000 modern books originating from 100 partners and lending them to the public in a process that mirrors the way libraries traditionally lend physical books.

2) The International Rescue Committee and Sesame Workshop would develop and deliver multi-media content to meet the critical educational needs of children affected by conflict. The partnership would provide learning opportunities for refugee children, as well as their parents and caregivers, in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, enabling them to grow and thrive. The new educational content would feature the trusted and recognized Sesame Street Muppets—adapted to reflect and mitigate the adverse effects of experiences of refugee children and their parents. Multiple digital delivery platforms plus printed materials would be used to reach the largest possible number of children and their families. The project will tap extensive distribution networks reaching refugee and host communities via schools, community centers, social protection programs, and health clinics. The initiative would create programs and culturally relevant content for children, as well as tools to help parents and caregivers more effectively engage with them to build resiliency and support learning. It will establish an evidence-based model that can be adapted and redeployed by other organizations to reach millions more children in crisis.

3) Led by the Human Diagnosis Project, Specialty Net is an alliance of the nation's physician societies, licensing boards, and academic institutions that aims to close the specialty care gap for the nation's uninsured and underinsured. Specialty Net is an open, online system that seeks to provide public health and safety net institutions low-cost access to specialty care expertise. Specialty Net would engage 100,000 volunteer specialists to provide electronic consultations to three million patients in the U.S. safety net system over the next five years. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California, San Francisco, are currently validating the system’s technology performance, cost, outcomes, and educational and training value. Patients would receive the specialty care they need, without having to wait or pay out of pocket. Specialists would receive credits toward their medical education, ongoing licensing, and maintenance of certification requirements. Each patient helped will add to an online system that combines collective intelligence with machine learning, helping to close the safety net specialty care gap and, ultimately, deliver this expertise globally.

Radio Free Europe, Voice of America launch new Russian-language TV channel

The Atlantic Council, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Voice of America (VOA) held an official introduction and discussion about the new Russian-language TV network, Current Time. Known as “Настоящее Время” in Russian — a term that connotes “current,” “real,” and “true,” Current Time is a 24/7 digital network, providing Russian-speaking audiences with accurate and independent local, regional, and international news. Current Time connects Russian speakers in more than ten strategic countries with each other and the world, on digital platforms, social networks, satellite, and cable TV. RFE/RL and VOA launched Current Time to provide audiences with an alternative to the Moscow-controlled media and provide a reality check on disinformation.

Gigabit Libraries Network: "Beyond the Walls" Awards

Tens of millions of people in the US rely solely or in part on public libraries to access Internet. Libraries are crucial in connecting communities. With TV WhiteSpace technology people can connect beyond library walls. The “Beyond The Walls” Awards will provide five $15,000 grants to libraries for the most innovative proposals to use TV WhiteSpace (TVWS) technologies to enable new library hotspots in the service of their communities.

TVWS uses the unused spectrum in the TV bands. It can deliver broadband to a hotspot miles away, even passing through trees, buildings or other obstructions. Installing TVWS hotspots can improve your community’s resilience by adding another communication capability for disaster preparedness. The first round of applications will be considered on a rolling basis with March 6 as the first round cutoff. If your library meets the necessary criteria, we will work with you to put together a project plan. Winners will be announced at the end of April 2017. The application will open February 6, 2017. You will be able to edit your answers at any time.

FTC Acting Chairman Ohlhausen Names Thomas Pahl Acting Director of the Agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection

Federal Trade Commission Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen announced that she has appointed Thomas Pahl, a partner at the Washington, DC law firm of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, to be the Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Pahl is rejoining the FTC, having served in a number of different roles starting in 1990, including management stints in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection as Assistant Director in the Division of Advertising Practices and the Division of Financial Practices. He also advised top agency officials on consumer protection matters.

For three years, he advised Reagan appointee and FTC Commissioner Mary Azcuenaga. And he later served for four years as an attorney advisor for Republican FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle. Pahl previously served a detail to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of Chairman Orrin Hatch, focusing on antitrust and consumer privacy issues. Pahl also has worked as an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and is a member of the Federalist Society. More recently, Pahl has worked on consumer financial protection issues (especially credit reporting and debt collection issues) as a partner at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, and on debt collection issues at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Chairman Ajit Pai Taps Commissioner Michael O'Rielly to Lead Federal-State Partnerships

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order appointing Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to serve as the chairman of the Federal State Joint Board on Universal Service, the Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations, and the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services.

The Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service was established in March 1996 to make recommendations to implement the universal service provisions of the Communications Act. This Joint Board is comprised of FCC Commissioners, State Utility Commissioners, and a consumer advocate representative. The Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations was established in June 1980 to make recommendations with respect to any amendment of the Commission’s rules governing the jurisdictional separation of common carrier property and expenses between interstate and intrastate operations. This Joint Board is comprised of FCC Commissioners and State Utility Commissioners. The Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services was convened in 1999 as part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure that advanced services are deployed as rapidly as possible to all Americans and serves as a forum for an ongoing dialogue among the Commission, state regulators, and local and regional entities regarding the deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities. The Joint Conference is comprised of FCC Commissioners and State Utility Commissioners.

Reps. Huffman, Pocan, and Nolan Introduce New Deal Rural Broadband Act to Close Digital Divide in Rural America

Reps Jared Huffman (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Rick Nolan (D-MN) introduced the New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017, an ambitious plan to connect every American home, business, and school to high-speed, reliable broadband internet that is based on Roosevelt’s New Deal rural electrification model. The legislation would expand access to broadband internet in rural communities in Huffman’s North Coast congressional district, and across the nation, through increased investments in broadband infrastructure, improved programs to support tribal communities in broadband development, and the establishment of a new Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives to better coordinate all Federal rural broadband deployment programs.

The New Deal Rural Broadband Act would:
Establish a new Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives to coordinate and centralize all Federal rural broadband programs;
Authorize $20 billion for new broadband infrastructure focused on rural communities and those without adequate access;
Authorize a new Tribal Broadband Assistance Program to support tribal communities in broadband deployment;
Improve and modernize the Telecommunications Loan and Loan Guarantee Program to increase eligibility, allow greater flexibility, and break down federal agency broadband “silos”;
Authorize the Rural Utility Service (RUS) to offer broadband grants in addition to loans and loan guarantees to provide small communities with the seed funds needed to compete in loan applications or develop commercially attractive proposals and increase overall (RUS) broadband investment from $25 million to $50 million annually; and
Establish an inventory of Federal and State assets on which a broadband facility could be constructed and;
Provide land management agencies with cooperative agreement and fee retention authority for telecommunications rights-of-way to leverage public lands for broadband deployment

Rep Lamborn Introduces Bills to Defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Rep Doug Lamborn (R-CO) released the following statement following his introduction of two bills, HR 726 and HR 727, to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and National Public Radio (NPR): "Republicans and the new Administration need to demonstrate that we take our fiscal responsibility seriously. American taxpayers do not want their hard-earned dollars funding superfluous government programs just because that is the way things have always been done. That’s why I have reintroduced two pieces of legislation to permanently defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio. CPB received $445 million during Fiscal Year 2016, and this money could be put to better use rebuilding our military and enhancing our national security.”

House Communications Subcommittee Examines NTIA’s Reauthorization and its Role in the 21st Century

The House Communications Subcommittee, chaired by Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), held its first hearing of the 115th Congress with a holistic examination of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In her testimony, Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO at CTIA and former Acting Administrator at NTIA, discussed the importance of NTIA’s role moving forward, stating, “There are limited additional opportunities for the FCC to make more spectrum available on its own. That is why NTIA’s role is so important – more so than ever before. … In light of the extraordinary value of spectrum to private and public entities, NTIA must have the prominence and resources to perform its critical tasks.”

John M.R. Kneuer, President and Founder of JKC Consulting and former NTIA Administrator, noted NTIA’s role when it comes to cyber defense and security, commenting, “By providing the perspective of industry into the inter-agency process, NTIA can help bridge the gap between the executive branch interests with national and homeland security responsibilities and key private sector interests so that they all support our collective cyber-defenses."

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for February 2017 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 23, 2017:

Universal Service Reform – Mobility Fund; Connect America Fund – The Commission will consider a Report and Order adopting rules to provide ongoing support targeted to preserve and advance high-speed mobile broadband and voice service in high-cost areas that the marketplace does not otherwise serve. (WT Docket No. 10-208, WC Docket No. 10-90)
Connect America Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration that (1) resolves a number of issues raised in the Phase II Auction Order FNPRM, including the adoption of weights to compare bids among service performance and latency tiers, and (2) considers several petitions for reconsideration for decisions made in the Phase II Auction Order. (WC Docket Nos. 10-90, 14- 58)
Authorizing Permissive Use of the ‘Next Generation’ Broadcast Television Standard – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to let television broadcasters use the “Next Generation” broadcast television transmission standard associated with recent work of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC 3.0) on a voluntary, market-driven basis. (GN Docket No. 16-142)
Revitalization of the AM Radio Service – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order that would relax the siting rule for an FM fill-in translator rebroadcasting an AM broadcast station. (MB Docket No. 13-249)
Small Business Exemption From Open Internet Enhanced Reporting Requirements – The Commission will consider an Order granting a five-year waiver to broadband Internet access service providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections from the enhanced reporting requirements adopted in the 2015 Title II Order. (GN Docket No. 14-28)
Comprehensive Review of the Part 32 Uniform System of Accounts – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would streamline and eliminate outdated accounting rules no longer needed to fulfill the Commission’s statutory or regulatory duties. (WC Docket No. 14- 130)

Verizon completes purchase of XO Communications’ fiber business

Verizon Communications announced it has completed the $1.8 billion purchase of XO Communications’ fiber-optic network business. Verizon’s purchase and integration of XO’s fiber network will help the company extend its suite of high-quality network services to its enterprise and wholesale customers. In addition, it will help the company in its plans to densify its cellular network, and to deploy new 5G technologies.

Integration of all XO operations and facilities is expected to commence immediately. The company expects to achieve significant synergies by incorporating XO’s fiber assets as part of its current network operations. Verizon anticipates the transaction will deliver in excess of $1.5 billion in operating and expense savings in net present value. In addition to the fiber transaction, Verizon has entered into an agreement to lease certain wireless spectrum from former XO affiliate NextLink Wireless. Verizon has an option, exercisable under certain circumstances, to buy NextLink.

FTC Returns Nearly $20 Million in Additional Refunds to T-Mobile Customers

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing refund checks totaling nearly $20 million to more than 617,000 T-Mobile customers who had third-party charges added to their mobile bills. These refunds are the result of a 2014 settlement with T-Mobile, which also involved all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the Federal Communications Commission.

As part of the settlement, T-Mobile agreed to fully refund unwanted third-party charges to its customers who applied for a refund. The company also agreed to remit to the FTC any remaining funds up to $90 million that were not distributed under the order. The FTC is using the remaining settlement money to send checks to customers who had third-party charges placed on their bills but did not participate in T-Mobile’s refund program. The average check amount is $32. Recipients should deposit or cash checks within 60 days.

FCC Chairman Pai Forms Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee to explore ways to accelerate deployment of high-speed Internet access (or “broadband”) nationwide and to close the digital divide. The Committee will focus on developing specific recommendations on how the FCC can encourage broadband deployment across America.

“The BDAC’s mission will be to identify regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment and to make recommendations to the Commission on reducing and/or removing them,” said Chairman Pai. Issues the Committee will tackle include further reforms to the FCC’s pole attachment rules; identifying unreasonable regulatory barriers to broadband deployment; ways to encourage local governments to adopt deployment-friendly policies; and other reforms within the scope of the Commission’s authority. In particular, one of the Committee’s first tasks will be drafting a model code covering local franchising, zoning, permitting, and rights-of-way regulations. Many localities may not currently have or be able to develop policies conducive to deployment. With a model code approved by the FCC, any city could build a better regulatory environment for deployment, and any provider would have a better case for installing infrastructure. Nominees for the newly formed Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee will be drawn from a diverse set of stakeholders to address specific regulatory barriers to broadband deployment in both urban and rural areas. Representatives of consumers and community groups, the communications industry, and federal, state, local, and Tribal officials are encouraged to apply. The FCC will accept nominations until February 15, 2017. The Commission expects to hold its first meeting of the new Committee during the spring of 2017.