Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai believes that the best way to protect the online privacy of American consumers is through a comprehensive and uniform regulatory framework. All actors in the online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government shouldn’t favor one set of companies over another. Therefore, he has advocated returning to a technology-neutral privacy framework for the online world and harmonizing the FCC’s privacy rules for broadband providers with the Federal Trade Commission’s standards for others in the digital economy.

Unfortunately, one of the previous administration’s privacy rules that is scheduled to take effect on March 2 is not consistent with the FTC’s privacy standards. Therefore, Chairman Pai is seeking to act on a request to stay this rule before it takes effect on March 2. If Commissioners are willing to cast their votes by March 2, then the full Commission will decide the stay request. If not, then the Wireline Competition Bureau will stay that one element of the privacy rules pending a full Commission vote on the pending petitions for reconsideration consistent with past practice.

“Today Chairman Pai has created an unfortunate dilemma: accept a Bureau-level action that indefinitely unwinds key consumer privacy protections established by the FCC last year, or accept four business days (rather than the usual three weeks) to evaluate and vote on a decision that has massive ramifications for the security of private information held by broadband providers,” said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

“I am very troubled by the news that the data security protections of the Broadband Privacy Rule will be put on hold. What this means, in effect, is that consumers with a broadband subscription will be less protected because the only cop on the beat has been taken off their patrol. In an age of Internet connected everything, removing security requirements from broadband providers is needlessly dangerous for American consumers. The rules the FCC adopted conform to long standing FTC practice and provide clear rules on how broadband companies should protect their customers’ personal information. This action weakens the security requirement guarding every consumers’ most personal data and should be reconsidered,” said FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny.

“The outcome is clear. Chairman Pai is determined to take action that leaves consumers without a cop on the beat protecting their personal information from misuse by their broadband service provider. This means no federal data security requirements whatsoever for broadband providers. This is the antithesis of putting #ConsumersFirst,” said Clyburn and McSweeny.

“Then-Commissioner Pai said in 2014 that ‘FCC decisions issued on the bureau level cut the commissioners out of the decision-making process entirely.’ Today, he is using the very same tool as Chairman that he criticized as a Commissioner. I could not agree with his 2014-self more that ‘bad process makes bad policy.’ And that is exactly what we see here today,” continued Clyburn.

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.

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

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

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).

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.

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.

The Federal Communications Commission deleted from the list of items scheduled for consideration at its Feb 23 meeting. The FCC was to consider a Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by Delta Radio Network regarding the dismissal of a modification application.
The FCC adopted the Consent Agenda.

I have made the case previously that the Commission delegates way too many substantive decisions to Bureau staff, usurping the role and obligations of duly appointed and confirmed Commissioners. Consider that in 2016 I only voted on 167 items, but almost nine times as many were decided on delegated authority. The heart of my revised delegated authority proposal is an attempt to achieve balance between the need to allow Commissioners to have greater say in the workings of the Commission and preventing process abuses and unnecessary delays.

Here are its main components:
Advanced Warning: Consistent with my previous recommendation, except for the most routine matters, Commissioners should be provided no less than 48 hours to review an item that is to be decided by Bureau staff under delegated authority.
Request by Two or More Commissioners: On any given matter, it is possible that any one Commissioner could be troubled by the substance or process of an item.
Time Constraint: A concern was raised that having two Commissioners as the proper threshold may not necessarily provide a sufficient barrier to excessive or needless delays.
Automatic Approval if Delayed: Under my proposal, in those instances (if ever) when a requesting office does not vote by the deadline, the item would be – at the Chairman’s prerogative – either released as approved by the full Commission (assuming the other offices voted to approve) or sent back to the Bureau for immediate issuance on delegated authority.