Today: FCC CAF II Auction, FCC on Wireless Emergency Alerts, Report on Hawaii False Ballistic Missile Alert, New Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), FCC January Open Meeting
FCC CAF II Auction
At its Open Meeting today the FCC adopted a Public Notice finalizing the procedures for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction. The CAF II Auction will provide up to nearly $2 billion over the next decade to expand fixed, high-speed Internet service in unserved rural areas. The auction is scheduled to begin on July 24, 2018. Applications to participate must be filed by March 30, 2018. The FCC also adopted an Order on Reconsideration resolving all pending challenges to earlier FCC auction implementation decisions.
According to the FCC, nearly 1 million homes and businesses nationwide are in unserved rural areas where providers are eligible for support from the auction. Qualified providers will compete for support of up to $1.98 billion over the next decade to offer voice and broadband service in unserved areas where, absent subsidies, there is no business case for expanding or providing service. The auction will also provide opportunities for new entrants, regardless of technology, including rural telco, fixed wireless, satellite, cable, price cap, and electric utility broadband providers. The Public Notice also details the FCC’s outreach and education plans for potential bidders, including online tutorials, workshops, webinars, and a mock auction. Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers watch for a Briefing after the full text is released.
FCC Improves Wireless Emergency Alerts
At its Open Meeting today, the FCC voted to adopt new rules to improve the geographic targeting of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The WEA system delivers critical warnings and information to the public on their wireless phones. The new rules will require participating wireless providers to deliver WEA alerts to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot. This enhanced geo-targeting requirement will go into effect on November 30, 2019. The FCC will also require that alert messages remain available in a consumer-accessible format on wireless devices for 24 hours after receipt, or until the consumer chooses to delete the message. The FCC also harmonized the deadline for participating wireless providers to support Spanish-language messages with the deadline to extend the length of alert messages from 90 to 360 characters; participating wireless providers must support both enhancements by May 1, 2019.
FCC Report on Hawaii False Ballistic Missile Alert
At its Open Meeting , the FCC heard a presentation from staff on the January 13th false ballistic missile alert from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA). The preliminary report concludes that a combination of human error and inadequate safeguards contributed to the transmission of this false alert. It notes that HI-EMA’s lack of preparation for how to respond to the transmission of a false alert was largely responsible for the 38-minute delay in correcting the alert. However, it also acknowledges that HI-EMA has taken steps designed to ensure that an incident such as this never happens again. Staff will continue its investigation and release a final report including recommended measures to safeguard against false alerts and to mitigate their harmful effects if they do occur. Read the text of the staff remarks here.
FCC New Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA)
At its Open Meeting, the FCC voted to create an Office of Economics and Analytics. The new office will include four divisions: economic analysis, industry analysis, auctions, and data. The office will help ensure that economic analysis is deeply and consistently incorporated as part of the agency’s regular operations. OEA will use existing staff resources by bringing into one office FCC economists, attorneys, and data professionals who work on economic analysis, data policy and management, and research. Specifically, it will: provide economic analysis for rulemakings, transactions, adjudications, and other FCC actions; manage the FCC’s auctions program and significant FCC data collections such as Form 477; develop policies and strategies to manage the FCC’s data resources and establish best practices for use throughout the FCC; and conduct long-term research on ways to improve the FCC’s policies and processes.
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’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 an Inteserra Briefing.
