Today:  Michigan Opts-In to FirstNet, FCC Commissioners Confirmed, FCC Procedures for Mobility Phase II Challenge Process 

Michigan Opts In to FirstNet

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley has signed a letter to opt-in to the First Responder Network Authority (aka FirstNet) making Michigan the 10th state/territory to do so.  “Michigan issued a comprehensive RFP, and the governor and lieutenant governor ultimately decided that FirstNet and AT&T are best positioned to deliver the coverage, value and experience that the state’s public safety community expects,” said Jim Murray, president of AT&T Michigan.  “It’s an honor to serve Michigan’s fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel.  It’s our mission to help these brave men and women carry out their important mission.”

FCC Commissioners Confirmed

The US Senate has voted to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr as FCC Commissioners, giving the FCC a full roster of five commissioners for the first time this year.  Rosenworcel served as an FCC Commissioner from 2012 to 2017, when she was forced to leave the FCC because her term expired and her re-nomination was not acted upon.  Carr currently serves as the FCC’s General Counsel.  Before being named General Counsel, Carr served as the lead advisor to FCC Chairman Pai on wireless, public safety, and international issues.  All three sitting Commissioners issued statements congratulating Rosenworcel and Carr on their confirmation.  Read Chairman Pai’s statement here; Commissioner Clyburn’s statement here; and Commissioner O’Rielly’s statement here.

FCC Procedures For Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process

The FCC has voted to adopt procedures for the challenge process to ensure that Connect America Fund Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) support is targeted to primarily rural areas that lack unsubsidized 4G LTE service.  The FCC reconsidered the decision to use Form 477 data and instead adopted, in part, an industry consensus proposal to undertake a one-time collection of 4G LTE coverage data tailored to the MF-II.  The FCC will use this coverage data, in conjunction with subsidy data, to establish the map of presumptively eligible areas.  Interested parties will have a window after the release of this map to file challenges to areas deemed presumptively ineligible, and providers will have an opportunity to respond to those challenges.  The challenge process will use an online challenge portal with automated validation of submitted data.  The FCC also affirmed its decision to use a download speed of 5 Mbps as a benchmark for determining 4G LTE and adopted requirements for coverage maps. 

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily 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 a TMI Briefing.