Federal Communications Commission

The first meeting of the Federal Communications Commission's Disability Advisory Committee’s second term will take place on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm Eastern Time, at the FCC’s headquarters.

At its March 21st meeting, DAC members will discuss (i) the roles and responsibilities of the Committee and its members; (ii) issues that the Committee will address; (iii) meeting schedules, (iv) issues to be assigned to each subcommittee; and (iv) any other topics relevant to the DAC’s work. The meeting will be led by the new DAC co-chairs: Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy of the Hearing Loss Association of America, and Sam Joehl, Principal Technical Consultant of the SSB BART Group. In addition, initial subcommittee meetings may be held following the meeting of the full DAC.

On Jan 30, Sen Al Franken (D-MN) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to "protect freedom of speech by maintaining and enforcing the Open Internet Order." On Feb 8, Chairman Pai responded by writing, "We share the same goals of promoting a free and open Internet and protecting fully Americans' rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I look forward to working with you to ensure that the FCC's regulatory framework preserves each of these values."

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

As of last fall, only about 44 percent of the top-selling smartphones in the United States have activated FM chips. By comparison, in Mexico that number is about 80 percent. It seems odd that every day we hear about a new smartphone app that lets you do something innovative, yet these modern-day mobile miracles don’t enable a key function offered by a 1982 Sony Walkman.

You could make a case for activating chips on public safety grounds alone. The former head of our Federal Emergency Management Administration has spoken out in support of this proposal. The FCC has an expert advisory panel on public safety issues that has also advocated enabling FM radio chips on smartphones. It pointed out that, “[h]aving access to terrestrial FM radio broadcasts, as opposed to streaming audio services, may enable smartphone users to receive broadcast-based EAS alerts and other vital information in emergency situations—particularly when the wireless network is down or overloaded.” Moreover, most consumers would love to access some of their favorite content over-the-air, while using one-sixth of the battery life and less data. As more and more Americans use activated FM chips in their smartphones, consumer demand for smartphones with activated FM chips should continue to increase. I’ll keep speaking out about the benefits of activating FM chips.

Having said that, as a believer in free markets and the rule of law, I cannot support a government mandate requiring activation of these chips. I don’t believe the FCC has the power to issue a mandate like that, and more generally I believe it’s best to sort this issue out in the marketplace. For despite the low numbers, we are seeing progress; in the last two years, the percentage of top-selling smartphones in the United States that have activated FM chips has risen from less than 25% to 44%.

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.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced the 2017 rate floor for incumbent eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) and reasonable comparability benchmarks for fixed voice and broadband services. In addition, it announced the posting of the fixed voice and broadband services data collected in the most recent urban rate survey, and explanatory notes regarding the data, on the Commission’s website. The Bureau also announced the required minimum usage allowance for ETCs subject to public interest obligations for fixed broadband.

Federal Communications Commission member Michael O’Rielly has a few questions for the Universal Service Administrative Company. He is seeking assistance in identifying and eradicating the use of E-rate funds to overbuild existing broadband networks. Commissioner O’Rielly asks USAC to answer 10 questions no later than Feb 17.

1. How many E-rate applicants have requested funding to self-construct networks?
2. How many of these requests are for overbuilds?
3. Do the providers who are being overbuilt receive Universal Service Fund support?
4. Do any of the applicants propose to overbuild their own networks?
5. How many self-construction requests were denied on cost-effectiveness grounds?
6. How many self-construction requests have been approved?
7. Please detail USAC’s procedures to determine if these requests are cost-effective.
8. Please provide USAC materials that explain the self-construct option.
9. Please provide USAC materials concerning back-up networks.
10. Is it USAC’s view that E-rate funds may be used to build backup networks? If so, please point to provisions in FCC orders.

Feb 10 marks the end of all clock phase bidding in the incentive auction. This is a noteworthy event for winning bidders and an appropriate moment to appreciate the auction’s success in using market forces to allocate spectrum to its highest and best use. With $19.6 billion in forward auction clock phase gross winning bids, the incentive auction will generate the second highest total proceeds of any Commission spectrum license auction in its 20-plus year history.

The public stands to gain substantial economic benefits from mobile broadband utilizing the 84 megahertz of spectrum repurposed by this auction. In addition, the auction will provide more than $6 billion to the US Treasury for deficit reduction, more than $10 billion to broadcasters that chose to relinquish spectrum usage rights, and up to $1.75 billion for other broadcasters that incur costs in changing channels. And, for winning stations that will remain on the air through channel sharing or changing bands, auction proceeds will provide an infusion of capital for them to reinvest in programming and other activities. This is also a good time to lay out in greater detail what lies ahead in the coming months.

Each month, the Federal Communications Commission holds a monthly meeting at which Commissioners vote on proposals and orders drafted by the agency’s various Bureaus and Offices. Routinely after each vote in which an item is adopted, the Commission votes to grant the staff of the relevant Bureaus and Offices “editorial privileges”—that is, the power to make changes to the documents that the Commissioners have just voted upon. Two years ago, Commissioner O’Rielly began raising concerns about the process of granting editorial privileges. Specifically, he has suggested that such privileges currently are too broad, insofar as they extend to substantive edits. Filling in a citation in a document is one thing; changing the meaning of that document is another. I believe that Commissioner O’Rielly’s view has merit.

Accordingly, we are going to make changes to the process. Specifically, beginning at this month’s FCC meeting on February 23, editorial privileges granted to Bureaus and Offices will extend only to technical and conforming edits to items. Any substantive changes made to items following a meeting must be proposed by a Commissioner. Moreover, substantive changes to items should only be made in cases in which they are required, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, as a response to new arguments made in a Commissioner’s dissenting statement. I thank Commissioner O’Rielly for his hard work on the issue of process reform and look forward to implementing more of his suggestions going forward.

I write to commend [the House Communications Subcommittee] for the recent hearing to consider the reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)...the Subcommittee should be applauded for exploring ways to expediate the repurposing of spectrum now solely or primarily allocated for federal government functions to commercial use. As the Subcommittee continues its review, I respectfully suggest that it look closely at the proposal to enact Agency Spectrum Fees as a means to improve government spectrum efficiency. Imposing a cost for spectrum holdings -- even if conservative or undervalued -- to federal agency annual budgets will serve as an appropriate and necessary stick to force agencies to retain bandwidth assignment only if absolutely necessary to further their particular missions.