press release

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.

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 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.

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

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.