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Vol. 19, No. 16

April 17, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 18, 2023

Tarana Live ngFWA Demo

Sacramento


April 26, 2023

Webinar: Fiber and Wireless Deployment: Overcoming the Challenge of Federal Permitting


October 8-10, 2023

For information about exhibiting, sponsoring or securing meeting space, please email Sky Wang.

MEMBER NEWS


Bluebird Network Welcomes John Nolan as Chief Development Officer


Granite Honored with 2023 INTERNET TELEPHONY SD-WAN Product of the Year Award


Maine Residents in Farmington and Blue Hill Peninsula Regions Can Now Get Multi-Gig Internet from Fidium Fiber


Zayo Commits to Reaching Net Zero Emissions by 2030, Leading the Telecommunications Industry into an Era of Sustainability

COMMENT

DEADLINES


April 20

Reply Comments Due on Digital Discrimination NPRM


April 24

Comments Due on Tribal E-Rate NPRM


May 1

Comments Due in NTIA Inquiry into How to Structure Digital Equity Programs


Comments Due on New USAC Record System


May 8

Reply Comments Due on Supply Chain FNPRM


Comments Due in Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages FNPRM


May 23

Reply Comments Due on Tribal E-Rate NPRM


June 6

Reply Comments Due in Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages FNPRM

Make a Splash This October

at The 2023 INCOMPAS Show

Want to catch the eye of new partners and potential customers? The 2023 INCOMPAS Show is the perfect place to make a splash and build your business.


Bringing together C-Level executives and top decision makers October 8-10 in Tampa, The INCOMPAS Show offers a unique channel to reach those who matter most.


From our well-attended networking receptions and parties to high-visibility branding as exclusive sponsor of our Deal Center, registration counter, charging station lounge, Lunch and Learns, Women in Tech session and more, The INCOMPAS Show has a variety of options to meet your marketing objectives and achieve a strong ROI.


Download the prospectus to learn more. To secure your preferred sponsorship, or design a custom package, email Sky Wang or call 312-673-5574.

April 26 Webinar

Fiber and Wireless Deployment: Overcoming the Challenge

of Federal Permitting

Broadband deployment doesn’t happen in a regulatory vacuum, and the FCC rules are not the main hurdle to building out fiber and wireless facilities. Join INCOMPAS and member company Venable LLP on April 26 at 2 p.m. ET for a webinar on Fiber and Wireless Deployment: Overcoming the Challenge of Federal Permitting.


During this webinar, Fred Wagner and Craig Gilley, Partners at Venable LLP, will discuss the challenges faced by companies as they rush to get fiber in the ground and wireless antennas on towers. They will provide history, context and compliance details surrounding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 and related laws, and discuss strategies and best practices for navigating their requirements.


Advance registration is required.

REGISTER

Members Urge FCC to Move Forward on Poles Proceeding

This morning, a number of INCOMPAS members, who are prominent high-speed internet and communications services providers, sent a letter to the FCC urging them to move forward on the current poles proceeding to ensure a fair process for allocating costs for pole replacement and expediting disputes in order to deploy their networks to all corners of the country.  


“For far too long pole owners have exploited their monopoly power and have pushed the costs of pole replacement onto providers who are attaching to the pole,” said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering. “Our members typically pay between $6,000-$30,000 to replace one pole. As a result, this severely limits their resources and causes them to either adjust their deployment plans or simply not extend their networks as far as they possibly could. If the Administration’s goal is to truly connect all Americans, they must act on this issue. INCOMPAS and our members will continue to press forward in order to solve this ongoing problem and reach a resolution so we can bridge the digital divide.”  

NTIA Launches $1.8 Billion Innovation Fund

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced the formal launch of the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which will invest $1.5 billion in the development of open and interoperable networks. Funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, this historic investment is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, aiming to drive wireless innovation, foster competition, and strengthen supply chain resilience. By demonstrating the viability of new, open-architecture approaches to wireless networks, this initial round of funding will help to ensure that the future of 5G and next-gen wireless technology is built by the U.S. and its global allies and partners –not vendors from nations that threaten our national security.  


The Innovation Fund’s first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) follows extensive public participation via a formal Request for Comment and NTIA’s January listening session, which drew nearly 200 attendees. Industry and academic representatives provided nearly 90 public comments to strengthen the Innovation Fund and ensure that it achieves its mission of opening 5G and future-gen wireless markets to innovation and entrepreneurship in the U.S., as well as by our partners and allies. 


In line with feedback received through these processes, NTIA’s first NOFO aims to expand and improve testing to demonstrate the viability of new approaches to wireless like open radio access networks (Open RAN) and remove barriers to adoption. NTIA anticipates it will award up to $140.5 million during this first tranche of grants.


The first round of awards will provide for a range of R&D and testing activities in this critical field, including: 

  • Expanding industry-accepted testing and evaluation (T&E) activities to assess and facilitate the interoperability, performance, and/or security of open and interoperable, standards-based 5G radio access networks; and 
  • Developing new or improved testing methodologies to test, evaluate and validate the interoperability, performance, and/or security of these networks, including their component parts. 


Later NOFOs will build upon the foundational work of this first NOFO, creating an ecosystem for wireless innovation built by the U.S. and its global allies.


The NOFO kicks off the application window for funding, with applications due on June 2nd. NTIA will begin to award the first grants in August 2023 and encourages all those interested to apply for funding. For more information, visit the Fund NOFO website.

Capital Projects Fund Announces $540 Million Award to California

On April 13, 2023, the Capital Projects Fund announced the award of $540.2 million to California to increase access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to 127,000 households and businesses. The state plan will support broadband infrastructure designed, upon project completion, to deliver reliable internet service that meets or exceeds symmetrical download and upload speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), speeds that are needed for a household with multiple users to simultaneously access the internet to telework and access education and health monitoring.


In accordance with Treasury’s guidance, each state plan requires all service providers to participate in the FCC's new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more by providing a discount of up to $30 per month. The FCC estimates that about 48 million families are eligible for the program — nearly 40% of US households.


More information about the award can be found in the award fact sheet.

FTC Fights Illegal Robocalls Originating Overseas

To stop these illegal overseas robocalls calls, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has implemented Project Point of No Entry (PoNE), targeting “point of entry” or “gateway” Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers and warning they must work to keep illegal robocalls out of the country.


Through Project PoNE, the FTC is disrupting foreign-based scammers and imposters responsible for blasting U.S. consumers with annoying and unwanted calls. Through Project PoNE, the FTC:

  1. Identifies point of entry VoIP service providers that are routing or transmitting illegal call traffic
  2. Demands they stop doing so and warns their conduct may violate the Telemarketing Sales Rule
  3. Monitors them to pursue recalcitrant providers, including by opening law enforcement investigations and filing lawsuits when appropriate.


The FTC can seek civil penalties and court injunctions to stop TSR violations. It can also seek money to refund to consumers who were defrauded via illegal telemarketing calls. The FTC coordinates directly with the agency’s federal and state partners, which support the program and pursue their own actions to fight illegal telemarketing robocalls.

FCC Announces International Affairs and Space Bureau Staff

The FCC officially launched its new Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs. At a kickoff event at the agency headquarters, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced key leadership appointments:

  • Julie Kearney as Chief of the Space Bureau
  • Ethan Lucarelli as Chief of the Office of International Affairs
  • Ronald Repasi as Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology,
  • Joel Taubenblatt as Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

 

“The launch of these two fundamentally important Commission departments will succeed because of the FCC’s outstanding staff,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “These hardworking, talented professionals interface with our international counterparts, modernize our satellite and orbital debris rules, review license requests for undersea cables upon which international interconnectivity relies, and much more. I thank them for their service and thank all those across the agency that worked to make this reorganization a reality.”


Once the reorganization is complete, the agency’s International Bureau will become two separate, cooperative units within the agency.


The Space Bureau will promote a competitive and innovative global communications marketplace by leading policy and licensing matters related to satellite and space-based communications and activities. Among its responsibilities, the Bureau will lead complex policy analysis and rulemakings; authorize satellite and earth station systems used for space-based services; streamline regulatory processes to provide maximum flexibility for operators to meet customer needs; and foster the efficient use of scarce spectrum and orbital resources. The Bureau will also serve as the FCC’s focal point for coordination with other U.S. government agencies on matters of space policy and governance, and collaborate with the Office of International Affairs for consultations with other countries, international and multilateral organizations, and foreign government officials that involve satellite and space policy matters.


The Office of International Affairs (OIA) will be responsible for the FCC's engagement of foreign and international regulatory authorities, including multilateral and regional organizations. OIA will also facilitate through rulemaking and licensing the FCC's development of policies regarding international telecommunications facilities and services as well as submarine cables, and advise the FCC on foreign ownership issues. In undertaking these functions, OIA will implement FCC's policies to facilitate competition and foreign investment in U.S. international telecommunications markets while ensuring, in consultation with relevant federal partners, that national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade policy concerns are addressed. OIA also will be responsible for intergovernmental leadership, negotiation, and international and inter-agency representational functions. OIA will oversee and coordinate the FCC’s global participation in international and multilateral conferences, regional organizations, cross-border negotiations and international standard setting efforts. OIA will also oversee bilateral meetings with other countries and foreign government officials.

House Hearing on Unleashing U.S. Communications Innovation

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) announced that it will hold a hearing Wednesday, April 19 at 10:30 a.m. ET on “Breaking Barriers: Streamlining Permitting to Expedite Broadband Deployment.”


During the hearing they also will consider several pieces of legislation. View the hearing here.

INCOMPAS | www.incompas.org
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