Public Notice

By this Order, the Federal Communications Commission extends the deadline for filing reply comments in response to the Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking until August 30, 2017. The Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking set dates for filing comments and reply comments of July 17 and August 16, 2017, respectively. While it is the policy of the Commission that “extensions shall not be routinely granted,” we find that an extension of the reply comment deadline is appropriate in this case in order to allow interested parties to respond to the record in this proceeding. We find that permitting interested parties an additional two weeks in which to file their reply comments will allow parties to provide the Commission with more thorough comments, ensuring that the Commission has a complete record on which to develop its decisions.

Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended (1996 Act), requires the Commission to determine and report annually on “whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” With this Notice of Inquiry we initiate the next annual assessment of the “availability of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion,” and solicit comment and information to help guide our analysis.

The Commission released the 2016 Notice of Inquiry on August 4, 2016, asking a number of questions about broadband deployment, but did not issue a subsequent report. In light of the changes in the industry and our recent actions to encourage broadband deployment, we propose to start this Inquiry afresh, with updated data and questions focused on the current progress of deployment of advanced telecommunications capability. In response to this Inquiry, we seek objective data and other evidence reflecting the state of broadband deployment and availability.

We encourage individual consumers, providers of broadband services, consumer advocates, analysts, companies, policy institutes, governmental entities, and all other interested parties to help us determine the most effective ways to complete this statutorily mandated task. We also encourage commenters to bring to our attention new issues concerning the deployment and availability of advanced telecommunications capability and recommend new ways to measure and evaluate deployment and availability. The information we gather in this proceeding will help ensure that our broadband policies are well-informed and backed by sound data analysis as we strive to encourage the deployment of broadband to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn did not vote to launch the proceeding saying, “While the structure of this item may look similar to past years, and I appreciate the Chairman accepting edits that I proposed, for several reasons I must respectfully concur.” He complaints include: 1) proposing a speed benchmark that is way too low, 2) deeming an area as “served” if mobile or fixed service is available, and 3) NOI seeks to measure deployment in terms of year-over-year progress rather than whether the service is actually meeting the needs of consumers.

This Public Notice serves as notice that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed members to serve on the Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC). The members of this working group are listed in Appendix A. The BDAC is organized under, and operates in accordance with, the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The BDAC’s mission is to provide advice and recommendations to the Commission on how to accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet access. The BDAC held its first meeting on April 21, 2017 and its second meeting on July 20, 2017.

As the next installment of a decades-long series of data collections, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) proposes to add 66 questions to the Census Bureau’s November 2017 Current Population Survey (CPS) to gather reliable data on computer and broadband (also known as highspeed Internet) use by US households. To aid the Administration’s plan to incorporate broadband in the upcoming infrastructure initiative and ensure the digital preparedness of the nation’s current and future workforce, NTIA data will reveal consumers’ changing demand for broadband, as well as their online activities.

The information may inform decisions about the scope and scale of the needed infrastructure, particularly in remote and sparsely populated areas where broadband deployment may be difficult and costly. It may also shed light on opportunities to increase digital literacy and use among Americans who currently use the Internet sparingly, if at all.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov

On Monday, September 11th, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau will host a public workshop to discuss best practices for improving situational awareness during 911 outages. Topics addressed in the workshop will include how to strengthen Public Safety Answering Point 911 service outage notifications and how to best communicate with consumers about alternative methods of accessing emergency services.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the second application window for fiscal year 2017 for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. Announcing a second application window within the current FY is a statutory requirement of the 2014 Farm Bill.

This new procedure amends previous announcements related to this application window and is designed to improve loan application processing, better manage work flow, and encourage infrastructure investment and job creation in rural communities in need of improved broadband service. In addition to announcing this application window, RUS revises the minimum and maximum amounts for broadband loans for the second window for FY 2017. The agency has $115.2 million available in FY 2017 appropriated and carryover funds, and of this amount the agency expects that at least $60 million is available to fund applications received in this window. Applications under this NOFA will be accepted immediately through September 30, 2017.

The Federal Communications Commission's Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus identify each station subject to a winning reverse auction bid in the broadcast television spectrum incentive auction for which an incentive payment is ready to be paid. FCC staff has directed the US Treasury to make incentive payments for each station listed in the attachment to this Public Notice, which includes every station subject to a winning bid in the reverse auction that has provided sufficient banking information to facilitate payment. Subsequent public notice(s) will announce when FCC staff has directed the US Treasury to make incentive payments for any additional station(s) subject to a winning bid that subsequently provide sufficient banking information to facilitate payment.

On July 7, 2017, the National Hispanic Media Coalition filed a Motion for Extension of Time in the above captioned proceeding. Petitioner asks us to extend the initial comment deadline until “60 days after the Commission complies with [NHMC’s] outstanding” Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. For the reasons set forth below, we deny the Motion.

NHMC contends that an extension is warranted to “ensure that all evidence relevant to this proceeding is available to the public, and that the public has adequate time to analyze the evidence and comment accordingly. Specifically, the Commission must produce the approximately 47,000 open Internet complaints that it has received, and documents related to the open internet ombudsperson’s interactions with internet users, all of which are the subject of an unfulfilled [FOIA] request filed by NHMC.” We find that that NHMC’s stated request does not justify the requested lengthy delay in the comment cycle in this proceeding. Under Section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, it is the policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted. For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that NHMC has not shown that an extension is warranted here.

In this Report and Order, by eliminating several rules that are either duplicative of other reporting requirements or are simply no longer necessary, we streamline the annual reporting requirements for eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that receive high-cost universal service support. We also re-emphasize the importance of providing the public with access to non-confidential information filed by ETCs, and we direct the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to work closely with state and Tribal governments and other stakeholders to improve public access to the information that ETCs will continue to file. In doing so, we reduce ETCs’ regulatory burdens while strengthening the tools for program oversight in furtherance of our goal of protecting the high cost universal support program against waste, fraud, and abuse.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau reminds eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) of their primary responsibility to ensure the eligibility of Americans seeking Lifeline support. Even as the FCC implements reforms to the Lifeline program to further protect the Universal Service Fund from waste, fraud, and abuse, ETCs are, and will remain, responsible for any fraud that forms the basis of their claims for Lifeline reimbursement.