FCC Releases Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Eligible Location Numbers  

The FCC released a preliminary list, by state, of the number of locations eligible for bidding in the upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction.  In total, about 6 million rural homes and businesses could be eligible for bidding in Phase 1 of the auction. 

“The digital divide affects many people in many rural communities. I’ve said that the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund would be our boldest step yet to bridge this divide, and today we get a glimpse of the broad impact this investment in rural America would have across the country,” said Chairman Pai. “Our staff’s initial estimate shows that in 25 states there would be more than 100,000 locations that would be eligible for Phase I of the Fund, and the benefits would be felt from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains, and from Appalachia to the Gulf Coast. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is critical to bridging the digital divide. I hope that my colleagues will join me in voting for it on January 30.” See the Regulatory Mix dated 1/9/20 and our Blog "Checking in @ the FCC " dated 1/4/20. 

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The Regulatory Mix Today:  FCC Releases Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Eligible Location Numbers,  FCC ICC Reform Petition Dismissal 

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FCC ICC Reform Petition Dismissal  

The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that, unless the relevant petitioners notify them otherwise, it will dismiss eight still-pending petitions for reconsideration of various aspects of the intercarrier compensation provisions of the FCC’s 2011 USF/ICC Transformation Order. The Bureau said that no entities have filed comments or ex parte submissions regarding these petitions for several years and that the various requests for relief appear to be moot or no longer relevant in light of regulatory changes.  As part of the FCC’s effort to manage its dockets and reduce backlog, and in an effort to avoid the need to address issues unnecessarily, the Bureau seeks to assess the petitioners’ continuing interests in these petitions, and to efficiently resolve issues that are no longer contested.  Accordingly, it plans to dismiss each Petition listed below with prejudice unless a petitioner files a notice specifying that it objects to the dismissal of its Petition within 45 days of the date of Federal Register publication of the Public Notice. 

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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.