Today's Regulatory Mix:  USDA Implements Measures to Help Rural Telecoms, FCC Extends Comment Deadlines for 2020 Communications Marketplace Report

USDA Implements Measures to Help Rural Telecoms

The USDA Rural Development released a list of actions it has taken to help rural residents, businesses and communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.  This includes several actions designed to assist rural utilities.  For example: 

• Rural Development was provided an additional $25 million in the CARES Act for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program. USDA will make a separate announcement in coming weeks when these funds are available. 
• USDA extended for 60 days the deadline for Telecommunications and Electric Program borrowers and grantees to submit their annual CPA audit. In most cases, such audits are due to the agency by April 30, 2020.  
• USDA is waiving borrower covenant requirements for loan agreement financial ratios for the period from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. Additionally, USDA is waiving all financial reporting requirements associated with existing Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loan and grant covenants beginning Jan. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. 
• The RUS Administrator has delegated authority to the RUS Telecommunications, Electric, and Water and Environmental Programs to consider requests to waive certain site inspection requirements during the current COVID-19 National Emergency. 
• USDA extended the application deadline for the ReConnect Pilot Program to April 15, 2020.  
• USDA is opening a second application window for funding under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program.

Electronic applications for window two may be submitted through grants.gov beginning April 14, 2020, and are due no later than July 13, 2020. Paper applications will not be accepted under the second window

FCC Extends Comment Deadlines For 2020 Communications Marketplace Report

In light of the national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and community and business efforts to respond to this public safety crisis, the FCC has extended the deadline for filing comments and reply comments in its proceeding seeking input for the 2020 Communications Marketplace Report to Congress.  Comments are now due April 27, 2020 and reply comments are due May 28, 2020.  The original comment dates were April 13, 2020, and May 13, 2020, respectively.  Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 3/6/20.

Title IV of RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018 directs the FCC n to publish in the last quarter of every even-numbered year “a report on the state of the communications marketplace.”2 Each biennial report must assess the state of all forms of competition in the communications marketplace; the state of deployment of communications capabilities; and barriers to competitive entry, including market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses. The Report must also describe the actions taken by the FCC the previous two years to address challenges and opportunities in the communications marketplace, and the FCC’s agenda for continuing to address those challenges and opportunities over the next two years.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our

regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.