Today:  FCC Office of Economics and Data, FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Members Announced, CRTC Directs Wireless Providers to Join National Public Alert System

FCC Office of Economics and Data

In a speech before The Hudson Institute, FCC Chairman Pai announced he was beginning a process to establish an Office of Economics and Data (OED).  The new office will combine economists and other data professionals from around the FCC.  Pai envisions that the office will provide economic analysis for rulemakings, transactions, and auctions; managing the FCC’s data resources; and conducting longer-term research on ways to improve the FCC’s policies.  He said that a working group of economists at the FCC would be formed and charged with thinking about questions such as: “Who should be part of this office?  Who should be on other teams?  How should OED be structured, and how should it fit with the rest of the Commission?  What should be the powers and responsibilities of the office?”  Pai’s goal is to have the office up and running by the end of the year.  Among other things, the OED will: (1) give economists early input into the decision-making process; (2) ensure better management of data, reports, and analyses; and (3) take a careful look at paperwork filing requirements imposed by the FCC to make sure it isn’t collecting information that’s duplicative or unnecessary.  Chairman Pai said: “We intend to restore the tradition of staff economists spending time thinking about the future and publishing in the present influential white papers that keep us from being stuck in the past.  We need bright people who can focus on big-picture, out-of-the-box thinking.  The FCC’s history shows how truly valuable this can be for the agency, and ultimately, for the American people.”

Commissioner O’Rielly issued a statement applauding the Chairman’s action and saying, in part: ““The Chairman’s implementation of a key proposal from the new Administration’s Transition Team is laudable and consistent with my calls for similar action.”

FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Members Announced

The FCC released a Public Notice announcing the appointment of 29 persons to serve on the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC). The BDAC will hold its first meeting on Friday, April 21, 2017, beginning at 10:00 am.  The meeting will be open to the public and broadcast live at www.fcc.gov/live.  FCC Chairman Pai designated Elizabeth Pierce, Chief Executive Officer of Quintillion Subsea Operations, LLC, and Quintillion Networks, LLC  to serve as Chair of the BDAC, and Kelleigh Cole, Director of the Utah Broadband Outreach Center in the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, to serve as Vice Chair.  Five working groups were formed: Model Code for Municipalities; Model Code for States; Competitive Access to Broadband Infrastructure; Removing State and Local Regulatory Barriers; and Streamlining Federal Siting.  A Chair and Vice Chair was appointed for each working group.  In the coming weeks, the FCC expects to select an additional 58 applicants to serve on the BDAC’s working groups.

Chairman Pai issued  separate Statement, saying in part: ““I’m excited that the Committee will soon be getting to work on recommendations that will help break down barriers to broadband deployment.  Closing the digital divide across America is my top priority, and the work of this committee will be a crucial step toward meeting that goal.”

The primary agenda of the BDAC’s first meeting will be to introduce members of the Committee, set out initial assignments, and provide more information about the working groups. The BDAC will also begin discussing how to accelerate the deployment of broadband by reducing and/or removing regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment.

CRTC Directs Wireless Service Providers To Join The National Public Alerting System

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission directed all wireless service providers to implement a wireless public alerting system on their LTE (long-term evolution) networks by April, 2018.  This system will allow emergency management officials, such as fire marshals and police agencies, to warn Canadians on their mobile devices of dangers to life and property.  The alerts will be sent to mobile devices connected to LTE networks, which are available to over 97% of Canadians.  Service providers have also been tasked by the CRTC to work with their federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts to develop an awareness campaign and test schedule.

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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.