Daily Digest 3/2/2020 (News From the FCC)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Table of Contents

News From the FCC

FCC Commissioners Carr, O'Rielly Raise Big Tech Red Flags at CPAC  |  Read below  |  John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News
FCC Proposes Over $200M in Fines for Wireless Location Data Violations  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission
T-Mobile Vows to Fight FCC Fines for Location Sharing  |  Wall Street Journal
FCC Proposes Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Procedures  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Proposes Updating White Spaces Rules to Expand Rural Connectivity  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Expands Flexible Use of the C-band for 5G  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Establishes Competitive Bidding Procedures For June 25 Auction In The 3.5 GHz Band  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Seeks Comment On Bidding Procedures For December 8 C-Band Auction  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Proposes To Share Communications Outage Information With Other Federal And State Agencies  |  Federal Communications Commission
FCC Reviewing Recordkeeping Rules on Cable Operators  |  Federal Communications Commission

Broadband

USDA Invests $28 Million in Broadband for Rural Virginia Communities  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Department of Agriculture
USDA Invests $19 Million in Broadband for Rural Texas Communities  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Department of Agriculture
The Digital Divide: An Isolating Problem in Cleveland  |  Read below  |  Afi Scruggs  |  Cleveland Scene

Education

Supporting the Increasingly Important Missions of Community Anchor Institutions  |  Read below  |  Jonathan Sallet  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Bridging digital divides between schools and communities  |  Read below  |  Nicol Turner Lee  |  Research  |  Brookings

News From the States

State Legislatures 2020: Broadband Preemption Still a Risk  |  Read below  |  Lisa Gonzalez  |  Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Tennessee Governor Proposes $25 Million for Rural Broadband Expansion  |  Chattanooga Times free Press
Minnesota regulators worry about changes to Lifeline  |  Read below  |  Matthew Guerry  |  Duluth News Tribune
Florida House Earmarks $5 Million for Broadband, Creation of Office of Broadband  |  News4Jax

Wireless

Wall Street flips over an esoteric airwaves fight  |  Read below  |  Ina Fried  |  Axios
Senators to FCC: Protect Incumbents in Unlicensed 6 GHz Band Proceeding  |  Federal Communications Commission
Rep. Pocan to FCC: Reject Ligado Network's application to repurpose mid-band spectrum for a 5G network  |  Federal Communications Commission
Bronwyn Howell -- Mobile merger decisions: Emerging trends in the US and Australia  |  American Enterprise Institute

Privacy

Your internet provider knows where you've been. How to keep your browsing more private  |  Read below  |  Rob Pegoraro  |  USA Today

Health

Department of Health and Human Services Targets Telehealth for Emergency Services in New Grant Program  |  Read below  |  Eric Wicklund  |  mHealth Intelligence
How can broadband help you prepare for coronavirus or other disasters?  |  Blandin Foundation
Cat Zakrzewski: Tech that lets you stay home might be immune from coronavirus damage on Wall Street  |  Washington Post
Chairman Pai's Response to Rep. DeFazio, Suozzi, and Lipinski Regarding Radiofrequency Exposure Rules  |  Federal Communications Commission

Elections & Media

A Democratic president could have a big impact on the tech industry — here’s where the candidates stand on important tech issues  |  CNBC
Editorial: How does Klobuchar's rural plan rate?  |  Roanoke Times
A high school student created a fake 2020 candidate. Twitter verified it  |  CNN
Ad spending on 2020 primary tops $1 billion  |  Axios
Some Election-Related Websites Still Run on Vulnerable Software Older Than Many High Schoolers  |  ProPublica

Platforms

YouTube rarely reinstates removed videos — even when creators appeal  |  Vox
Imagine a World Without YouTube  |  Vox

Journalism

Ben Smith: NY Times has become like Facebook or Google — a digital behemoth crowding out the competition  |  New York Times

Emergency Communications

Chairman Pai's Response to Rep. Thompson Regarding the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework and the Threat of Wildfires  |  Federal Communications Commission

Security

How the cloud has opened new doors for hackers  |  Washington Post

Census

Despite Cybersecurity Risks And Last-Minute Changes, The 2020 Census Goes Online  |  National Public Radio
The 2020 Census: Digital Preparedness Playbook  |  Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University

Policymakers

USDA Secretary Perdue Announces New Rural Development Leadership  |  Department of Agriculture

Philanthropy

Vincent Stehle: How Films and Philanthropy Can Bring About Social Change  |  Chronicle of Philanthropy
Today's Top Stories

Sample Category

FCC Commissioners Carr, O'Rielly Raise Big Tech Red Flags at CPAC

John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, addressing allegations of conservative bias on online platforms, said he did not think the answer was "to do nothing." He cited what he said was a leaked document from Twitter "that it would soon be able to allow political ideologues to stamp tweets as misinformation based on their perspective," saying: "I don't think that's the right thing." "If you don't want MSNBC fact-checking the information you see on Twitter," he said, "I think you should be empowered to make that decision and turn those types of bias filters off." Asked to weigh in on the charge that Google is helping China spy on its own people, Commissioner Carr conceded there was litte the FCC could do from a jurisdiction standpoint, but he weighed in regardless. "I'll say this. The hypocrasy here is stunning. Those in Silicon Valley have no problem telling the rest of the country what we should think; what we should believe; what our values are. The second it comes to getting into a country with nearly two billion people, all of a sudden those values they preach to us kind of go by the wayside." 

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said he was sympathetic to the arguments that have been made "in terms of the harms high-tech companies present in terms of their censoring of American conservatives, the work they are trying to do internationally in the most harmful countries in the world and how that has built up those networks to cause harm to people throughout the world. So we are mindful of that. We use our voice to help amplify the need to address those matters but there is only so much we can do directly." Commissioner O'Rielly said moving to cloud-based networks would be a US sweetspot. "In a virtualized world we are talking about moving most of the software to the cloud where the U.S. companies are dominating and will continue to dominate for decades to come." He said that will allow the country to move away from the end-to-end architecture Huawei has been pushing. Commisioner O'Rielly said that move was not something the government was not having to force on companies because they were moving to virtualized networks on their own. "It is in their best interests to gain the efficiencies of the cloud. So it is not about forcing anyone, he said, but instead about market forces meeting the demand for networks that are better protected from the "harmful things" the Chinese network is trying to do. 

FCC Proposes Over $200M in Fines for Wireless Location Data Violations

Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission proposed fines against the nation’s four largest wireless carriers for apparently selling access to their customers’ location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to that information. As a result, T-Mobile faces a proposed fine of more than $91 million; AT&T faces a proposed fine of more than $57 million; Verizon faces a proposed fine of more than $48 million; and Sprint faces a proposed fine of more than $12 million. The FCC also admonished these carriers for apparently disclosing their customers’ location information, without their authorization, to a third party.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau opened this investigation following public reports that a Missouri Sheriff, Cory Hutcheson, used a “location-finding service” operated by Securus, a provider of communications services to correctional facilities, to access the location information of the wireless carriers’ customers without their consent between 2014 and 2017. In some cases, Hutcheson provided Securus with irrelevant documents like his health insurance policy, his auto insurance policy, and pages from Sheriff training manuals as evidence of his authorization to access wireless customer location data.

All four carriers mentioned above sold access to their customers’ location information to “aggregators,” who then resold access to such information to third-party location-based service providers (like Securus). Although their exact practices varied, each carrier relied heavily on contract-based assurances that the location-based services providers (acting on the carriers’ behalf) would obtain consent from the wireless carrier’s customer before accessing that customer’s location information. Although the carriers had several commonsense options to impose reasonable safeguards (such as verifying consent directly with customers via text message or app), the carriers apparently failed to take the reasonable steps needed to protect customers from unreasonable risk of unauthorized disclosure. The size of the proposed fines for the four wireless carriers differs based on the length of time each carrier apparently continued to sell access to its customer location information without reasonable safeguards and the number of entities to which each carrier continued to sell such access.

 

FCC Proposes Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Procedures

Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission proposed procedures for the first phase of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction, which will make up to $16 billion available for the deployment of fixed broadband networks across rural America. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is targeting funding towards some of the least-served parts of the country and October’s Phase I auction could bring high-speed broadband to as many six million unserved homes and businesses in 2020, representing the FCC’s biggest step ever toward bridging the digital divide.

The FCC seeks comment on proposed competitive bidding procedures that build on the successes and lessons learned from the 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Bidding in Phase I of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse auction is expected to start in Oct. The FCC now proposes procedures for potential bidders to apply to become qualified to participate in the auction and for the submission and processing of bids to determine winners and assign support amounts. The FCC also seeks comment on the appropriate minimum size of an area to be eligible for funding and proposes pre- and post-auction operational, technical, and financial information applicants and winning bidders would be required to submit.

"To do this right," said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, "we need maps before money and data before deployment. To do this right, we also need to acknowledge that we are not going to do it on our own. We need to work with state and local authorities and not fight their efforts to help bring broadband to their communities. To do this right we also need straightforward procedures to facilitate distribution of funds."

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said, "When we voted on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund last month, I raised a number of concerns. Two of the most important were (1) that we are continuing to distribute funds based on deeply flawed Form 477 data and (2) that we have adopted a confusing and counterproductive approach toward coordinating RDOF with state funds. I won’t repeat those concerns here, but I want to underscore that we do not have to let those problems stand. We have options. Nearly two dozen members of Congress have asked us to give states an opportunity to comment on the portions of our January decision that impact state programs and then reconsider that decision. And, just yesterday, Senator Manchin of West Virginia sent a letter urging us to “revise the aggressive timeline” for RDOF “until after the eligibility maps can be challenged and verified.” I believe that fiscal responsibility, prudence, and the law all require us to heed those calls. While I approve of the auction mechanism the FCC adopts today, I cannot support pressing ahead toward an artificial deadline with such significant concerns unresolved. For that reason, I dissent with respect to the remainder of the item, including the auction timeline."

 

FCC Proposes Updating White Spaces Rules to Expand Rural Connectivity

Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission proposed targeted changes to its White Space device rules to pave the way for improved broadband coverage for rural Americans. White Space devices operate in portions of the broadcast television bands that are not used by television stations and can be used to provide broadband and other wireless services. In response to a petition filed by Microsoft Corporation, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes updates to the FCC’s rules that would allow for more robust service and efficient use of White Space devices particularly in rural areas, without increasing the risk of harmful interference to protected services in the TV bands. These updates would also provide flexibility for these devices to more fully participate in the Internet of Things.

Specifically, the Notice proposes to permit higher transmit power and antenna height above average terrain for fixed White Space devices in less congested geographic areas. If adopted, these changes would allow White Space devices to reach users at greater distances, resulting in better broadband coverage. It would also permit higher power mobile operation within defined geographical areas and revise the rules to provide flexibility for these devices to more fully participate in the Internet of Things. Additionally, the FCC is seeking comment on methods that could be used to allow higher power operation by White Space devices when adjacent TV channels are occupied. The action proposed could provide additional opportunities for unlicensed White Space devices operating in the TV bands and spur continued growth of the White Space device ecosystem, which could provide affordable broadband service to more rural and underserved communities and help close the digital divide.
 

FCC Expands Flexible Use of the C-band for 5G

Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to auction and make available quickly and efficiently 280 megahertz of midband spectrum for flexible use, including 5G. Making this critical spectrum available represents another important step to closing the digital divide, especially in rural areas, and secures US leadership in 5G.

The action makes a wide swath of mid-band spectrum available for 5G through a public auction. As a result, this valuable spectrum will be available quickly, while generating substantial revenue for the US Treasury. At the same time, the item ensures the continuous and uninterrupted delivery of video programming services and other content to the American people that is currently delivered by satellites using the C-band. Within the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, the FCC has is allocating the 3.7-4.0 GHz portion of the band for mobile use and 280 megahertz (3.7-3.98 GHz band) will be auctioned by the FCC for wireless services in the contiguous US. Another 20 megahertz (3.98-4.0 GHz) will serve as a guard band while existing satellite operations will be repacked into the upper 200 megahertz of the band (4.0-4.2 GHz). This 280 megahertz of spectrum will be transitioned to flexible use no later than Dec 5, 2025. Under the Report and Order, eligible space station operators will be able to receive accelerated relocation payments totaling $9.7 billion if they commit to, and succeed in, clearing the spectrum early. 

USDA Invests $28 Million in Broadband for Rural Virginia Communities

Press Release  |  Department of Agriculture

The US Department of Agriculture invested $28 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure for more than 17,000 rural households in Virginia. Central Virginia Electric Cooperative will use a $28 million ReConnect Program loan and grant combination to construct a fiber-to-the-premises network encompassing 704 square miles. The service area is expected to reach 17,023 households, 35 pre-subscribed businesses, 20 pre-subscribed farms, 15 educational facilities, 15 critical community facilities and six health care centers in Albemarle, Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Greene, Goochland, Louisa, Orange, Prince Edward and Powhatan counties.

USDA Invests $19 Million in Broadband for Rural Texas Communities

Press Release  |  Department of Agriculture

The US Department of Agriculture invested $19 million in three, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for almost 7,000 rural households, 46 farms, 32 pre-subscribed businesses, 19 critical community facilities and 15 educational facilities in rural Texas. 

  • Border to Border Communications will use a $5 million ReConnect grant and a $5 million ReConnect loan to deploy a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in rural Texas. The funded service area includes 5,153 households, 20 farms, 15 pre-subscribed businesses, 15 educational facilities, and 10 critical community facilities spread over 938 square miles in Webb and Zapata counties.
  • Mid-South Synergy will use a $6 million ReConnect grant to deploy a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in rural Texas. This network will be capable of symmetrical transmission speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps). The service area includes 786 households, 26 farms, 17 pre-subscribed businesses and seven critical community facilities spread over 385 square miles in Brazos, Grimes, Madison and Walker counties.
  • Peoples Telephone Cooperative Inc. will use a $3 million ReConnect grant to deploy a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network in rural areas of Texas. The funded service area includes 914 households and two critical community facilities spread over 28 square miles in Titus, Camp and Wood counties.

The Digital Divide: An Isolating Problem in Cleveland

Afi Scruggs  |  Cleveland Scene

Based on 2018 statistics from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Cleveland (OH) ranks 33rd in the nation when it comes to completely unconnected households (27.42%), and ranks 33rd when it comes to homes without a wire line (44%). Cincinnati (OH) ranked 158th out of 625. About 17% of households have no broadband of any type. About 30% of households lack a wireline: fiber, cable or DSL. The city ranks 211st when it comes to those metrics. Solving the problem is taking many forms. Local libraries and community organizations offer computer labs and digital literacy training. One nonprofit is building a network to enhance connectivity in some of Cleveland's poorest communities. But those fragmented efforts don't address the most daunting obstacle to digital inclusion: poverty.
 

Supporting the Increasingly Important Missions of Community Anchor Institutions

Jonathan Sallet  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Community anchor institutions should be at the center of any comprehensive national strategy to promote the availability and use of High-Performance Broadband. Community anchor institutions use broadband to provide essential services to their community, such as education, information access, and telehealth services. But in the 21st century, community anchors’ missions are moving beyond their walls. Libraries no longer deliver knowledge that is housed only within their buildings or the covers of hardbound books. Public education today cannot exist separate from the ability of students and teachers to use broadband connections—both in school and out. And health-care facilities see and monitor patients both in hospitals and in their homes. More broadband connections are needed in order to reach more community anchor institutions. A 2018 Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition report authored by CTC Technology & Energy found that 60 percent or more of community anchor institutions in the United States lacked robust and scalable connections that fiber networks would provide. For example, in low-density metro areas (with between 363 and 1,669 residents per square mile), the connection rate was only 50 percent. CTC estimates that all unconnected community anchor institutions in the continental United States and Hawaii (outside of Alaska) could obtain fiber connections for between $13 billion and $19 billion and that major savings could be obtained through the implementation of best practices that include competitive bidding processes and aggregated purchasing.

[Jonathan Sallet is a Benton Senior Fellow]

Bridging digital divides between schools and communities

Nicol Turner Lee  |  Research  |  Brookings

Getting internet to the school is just one piece of the puzzle in closing the digital divide and the growing “homework gap” in which students lack residential and community broadband access. Even in communities with exceptional broadband in their schools, how are student experiences affected when nearby institutions and establishments, including libraries, churches and other public facilities, have limited digital resources and connectivity? How does this impact students’ ability to share the digital experiences learned in school to the community? I examine both the availability and capacity of local entities to close the homework gap and the much broader digital divide in historically-disadvantaged communities.

Nicol Turner Lee is a Fellow at the Brookings Institution

State Legislatures 2020: Broadband Preemption Still a Risk

Lisa Gonzalez  |  Institute for Local Self-Reliance

As state lawmakers debate in committee rooms and Capitol chambers around the country, various broadband and Internet network infrastructure bills are appearing on agendas. Some are good news for local communities interested in developing publicly owned networks while other preemption bills make projects more difficult to plan, fund, and execute. We've gathered together some notable bills from several states that merit watching - good, bad, and possibly both. 

Minnesota regulators worry about changes to Lifeline

Matthew Guerry  |  Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota state regulators worry changes to Lifeline could disrupt discounts on phone and broadband service for some low-income Minnesotans. In an effort to crack down on fraud and abuse, the Federal Communications Commission has for several years been working to streamline Lifeline's application process. As the changes to Lifeline take effect in Minnesota, they have stoked fears that some of the program's subscribers will lose their discounts in the transition. To qualify for the program, one must either show proof that they meet or fall below the federal poverty line, or show that they are already enrolled in one of five federal benefit programs: SNAP, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income or Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension. Under the old system, companies that offer Lifeline services in Minnesota could re-enroll their own customers for the program. Recipients of the five programs are automatically considered eligible. The new system requires Lifeline subscribers to enroll or register again for the program directly through the Universal Services Administrative Cooperative, or USAC, the nonprofit designated by the FCC to administer it. But because the "the USAC is not a household name," as a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission analysis put it, it tends to receive fewer responses from subscribers than companies do when contacting them on their own. The concern now is that the organization's lack of brand recognition will persist even as it takes on new households to deal with. Officials worry that, going forward, some Lifeline subscribers might simply dismiss mailings from the USAC or mistake its requests for personal information as a scam.

Wall Street flips over an esoteric airwaves fight

Ina Fried  |  Axios

Wall Street has become fascinated with a battle over 5G airwaves at the Federal Communications Commission — not because of the next-generation technology itself, but because of the potential investment wins. The spotlight has been brightest on Intelsat, which has about $14 billion in debt and may need to clear a substantial sum from the airwaves sell-off to remain solvent. Intelsat could receive $4.85 billion in payments, but a major investor warned the company that unless better terms are reached with the FCC, the board has "no choice but to resort to bankruptcy."

Your internet provider knows where you've been. How to keep your browsing more private

Rob Pegoraro  |  USA Today

If you use Firefox, your web browsing habits will become a bit more mysterious to your internet provider. Mozilla, the non-profit developer of the Firefox web browser, will make this happen by switching US desktop Firefox users to an encrypted form of the directory assistance behind all internet navigation. This change involves the Domain Name Service, which lets you get anywhere online by translating your request for a site into the numeric Internet Protocol, or IP, address matching the computer that will deliver the web page in question.

Department of Health and Human Services Targets Telehealth for Emergency Services in New Grant Program

Eric Wicklund  |  mHealth Intelligence

The Department of Health and Human Services is offering grants to rural healthcare providers looking to use telehealth to improve emergency services, such as stroke, behavioral health or EMS care. HHS is making money available through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) for rural providers who don’t have easy access to emergency care specialists. The goal is to help support telemedicine platforms that give these providers instant access to hospitals or health systems with specialists. HHS is making roughly $8.7 million available for as many as 29 applicants, with no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The closing date for applications is April 13.

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Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.


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