Wireless internet service providers (ISPs) have some modifications they are asking the Federal Communications Commission to make to its draft Affordable Connectivity Program broadband subsidy before it adopts the rules by Congress‘ January 14 deadline. The modifications, according to an ex parte filing by the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), include: 1) ISPs should be reimbursed for partial services because if, as proposed, there are no subsidies for service provided for only part of a month, that will discourage ISPs from participating if they are forced to absorb those “lost costs;” and 2) the FCC should allow providers to downgrade the service due to subscriber nonpayment, as long as advance notice is given, rather than not being allowed to downgrade without the subscriber‘s advance consent. WISPA also said the draft rules as presently written would allow a subscriber disconnected for nonpayment to re-enroll and the ISP could not deny them because of their nonpayment history. The ISP would then have to wait 90 days before de-enrolling them if they do not pay, a cycle that could continue ad infinitum. WISPA did say it was on board with the FCC's decision to prohibit credit checks for subsidy recipients and to adopt a hybrid opt-in/opt-out approach to transitioning subscribers from the Emergency Broadband Benefit program that the ACP supplants.

Pennsylvania stands to gain at least $100 million to improve broadband access from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, established in December 2021, will help coordinate the expansion of high-speed internet access throughout the state, by managing the influx of federal funds to support the construction of new towers, lines and broadband equipment. Bill Johnston-Walsh, Pennsylvania state director for AARP, said expanding internet access across the state is critical as it helps older adults better access medical care and contact family during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheri Collins, executive director of corporate relations for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, said increasing internet bandwidth could help students who struggled to connect to virtual class during the pandemic. Collins noted the department is currently working on identifying state lawmakers to serve on the Broadband Development Authority. From there, the team will begin to pinpoint regions in the state most in need of infrastructure for high-speed internet access.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission denied funding for an innovative public-private partnership to expand broadband infrastructure. The implications of that decision for other entities considering similar partnerships -- such as Platte County (NE) and Loup -- remain unclear.  The Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act set up a fund of $40 million to be awarded to broadband infrastructure projects in Nebraska by the public service commission. The $40 million will be distributed in two grant cycles, one in 2021 and the other in 2022. There was $20 million up for grabs in the 2021 cycle. As part of the grant award process, the commission allowed internet service providers to file challenges to grant applications which, if upheld, made the application ineligible for funding. The commission's decision on this unique Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program funding application will be a topic of conversation at an upcoming private meeting, which will include local entities that have signed on to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at broadband infrastructure development. The MOU proposes investigating the development of a relationship between the public entities on the MOU with a private telecommunications company to expand broadband in the region.

Federal funds and municipal bond money have flowed to school districts during the past two years to help connect students to the internet during the global pandemic. Some of this funding has helped create private LTE networks using CBRS spectrum under General Authorized Access. One of these networks serves Texas’ Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). The network was designed to favor capital investment rather than ongoing operating expenses, since a windfall of funding was available from a bond and from the government’s Emergency Connectivity Fund. The district will own all the network infrastructure, including the monopole towers BearCom is building on school properties, and the district will host the network core in its data center. Cradlepoint, which is owned by Ericsson, supplies the home Wi-Fi routers that use SIM cards to connect to the CBRS network. Ash said one router is usually sufficient for each home. The district paid for the Cradlepoint equipment with federal dollars secured through the Emergency Connectivity Fund. FWISD supplies each student with a laptop or tablet and hands out the Cradlepoint devices to families along with the access devices, which can only be used to access the school’s fire-walled network.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel shared with her colleagues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would begin the process of strengthening the FCC’s rules for notifying customers and federal law enforcement of breaches of customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The updates would better align the FCC’s rules with recent developments in federal and state data breach laws covering other sectors. The proposal outlines several updates to current FCC rules addressing telecommunications carriers’ breach notification requirements. These include:

• Eliminating the current seven business day mandatory waiting period for notifying customers of a breach;
• Expanding customer protections by requiring notification of inadvertent breaches; and
• Requiring carriers to notify the FCC of all reportable breaches in addition to the FBI and US Secret Service.