Today: Proposed NARUC Resolutions, FCC CAF II Waiver, FCC EAS Testing Reporting System

Proposed NARUC Resolutions

The National Association Of Regulatory Utility Commissioners will consider four telecom-related resolutions at its Summer Policy Summit next week. 

The first resolution encourages Congress to pass the ‘‘Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018’’ and the FCC to appoint State utility commissioners to the Task Force that would be created by this law to review the connectivity and technology needs of precision agriculture. (Precision agriculture technologies and practices allow farmers to  significantly increase crop yields, eliminate overlap in operations, and reduce inputs such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, water, and fuel.) 

The second resolution calls on the FCC and USAC to work with the states to implement a properly functioning, consumer-friendly National Verifier without further delay and to incorporate application programming interfaces (APIs) into the National Verifier implementation.  The resolution notes that the final National Verifier Plan does not include APIs, meaning that the National Verifier will permit consumers to verify their own eligibility online, and will permit carriers to assist consumers with eligibility verification and enrollment, but it will not support both online eligibility verification and online carrier assistance to consumers simultaneously. 

The third resolution urges the FCC to issue a Notice of Proposed rulemaking to resolve various open issues associated with the comprehensive reform of the separation process including asking the Joint Board to gather facts and recommend solutions to fix specific issues.  

The final resolution opposes the FCC’s proposed expansion of the IP CTS contribution base, specifically the proposal to redirect more money into the current federal TRS fund through a single combined (inter- and intrastate) contribution factor for IP-CTS .  The resolution would, however: (1) support the idea of restructuring the IP CTS Provider compensation rate methodology to align with a cost-based rate for IP CTS providers to discourage unethical sales practices, and (2) urge the FCC to engage the Federal-State Board on Jurisdictional Separations in any TRS contributions restructure for IP CTS because the interstate and intrastate costs and minutes are severable, and the current separations rules do not accurately separate costs between the interstate and intrastate jurisdictions.

FCC CAF II Waiver

The FCC has denied a petition filed by the Colorado Broadband Deployment Board seeking waiver of the Connect America Fund Phase II auction rules.   The Board had sought a waiver to allow it to apply for Connect America Fund support and to allocate the support to the broadband projects it approves.  The FCC said the Board’s waiver reflects a clear preference for the State of Colorado’s own broadband program, but it does not present evidence of the special circumstances specific to the State of Colorado that warrant deviation from the FCC’s rules.  The FCC also said that while the Board argues that the grant of its request may serve the public interest of the residents of the State of Colorado, it does not show, or even assert, how a grant of the Petition, particularly at this late stage in the pre-auction process, serves the broader public interest of establishing an efficient, transparent, nationwide competitive bidding process that is fair to all potential Auction 903 bidders.  Accordingly, it concluded that the Board has failed to meet the FCC’s established waiver standard.

FCC EAS Testing Reporting System

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced that the Emergency Test Reporting System (ETRS) is now open and accepting 2018 filings.  Under FCC rules, Emergency Alert System (EAS) participants must renew their identifying information required by ETRS Form One on a yearly basis.  Accordingly, all EAS participants must complete the 2018 ETRS Form One on or before August 27, 2018.  Each EAS participant should file a separate copy of Form One for each of its EAS decoders, EAS encoders, or units combining such decoder and encoder functions.  For example, if an individual is filing for a broadcaster (or cable headend) that uses two units combining decoder and encoder functions, that individual should file two copies of Form One.

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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.