ACUTA Legislative/Regulatory Update

March 27, 2013

Welcome to the “ACUTA Legislative/Regulatory Update,” a monthly electronic newsletter summarizing Federal regulatory and legislative developments of interest to information communications technology (ICT) professionals in higher education. This membership benefit is provided monthly to all named representatives of Institutional, Corporate Affiliate, Associate and Emeritus members. This update covers the period from February 8th through March 8, 2013.

“ACUTA Legislative/Regulatory Update” is based primarily on information provided to the ACUTA Legislative/Regulatory Affairs Committee by attorneys Kenneth D. Salomon of Thompson Coburn, LLP and J.G. Harrington of Dow Lohnes Government Strategies LLC, law firms located in Washington, DC with extensive ICT and media expertise. A copy of the full text of this Dow Lohnes update is also available at http://www.acuta.org/wcm/acuta/pdf/leg_0313d.pdf   

**We encourage you to forward this Update to other interested parties within your institution, such as legal counsel, governmental relations staff, security officers, and Chief Information Officers.**

Are there additional people on your campus who would benefit from regularly receiving the monthly Legislative/Regulatory Update and other ACUTA publications?  Member institutions may now name as many individuals to their membership roster as desired.  All new representatives will receive the same membership benefits enjoyed by our current members, including access to members-only sections of the ACUTA website; subscriptions to the ACUTA Journal, eNews, and Legislative/Regulatory Update; and access to the new online ACUTA Community.

To add members to your college or university’s ACUTA roster, contact the primary voting member for your institution and ask that they contact Joanie Profitt or Amy Burton.  Both Joanie and Amy can also be reached at the ACUTA office, (859) 278-3338, and can assist with any changes to membership rosters.

Regulatory and Policy Sessions at the 2013 ACUTA Annual Conference

Be an invaluable resource to your institution and keep up with the rapidly changing legislative/regulatory issues that will directly affect your campus at the ACUTA Annual Conference, April 14 – 17 in San Diego. The advice and information you can gain from these sessions would be an excellent ROI on your conference attendance. Some of the highlights are shown below, but please note that additional regulatory sessions are under consideration:

Congressional Developments Impacting Higher Ed Technology

Educational breakout

·         Ken Salomon (Partner – Thompson Coburn LLP) provides government relations and public policy representation to clients, including telecommunications, broadband, commercial and public broadcasting, privacy, higher education and distributed learning. Ken previously was a Partner with DowLohnes, LLC, was Deputy Chief Counsel of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,and he held several legal positions at the FCC.

ACUTA's legal and legislative counsel will brief members on telecom issues that are being considered by Congress. These might include licensing to make the 700 MHz broadband network fully interoperable, spectrum reallocation, Congressional efforts to reform FCC processes, wireless taxes, and Internet piracy. The presenter will also touch upon issues that interest other higher education and technology associations.

Regulatory Developments Impacting Higher Ed Technology

Educational breakout

·         J.G. Harrington (Partner - Dow Lohnes PLLC) counsels the law firm's telephone, mobile communications, cable television, broadband and new technologies clients on federal and state regulatory issues and works with other clients to address issues that arise in their interactions with service providers and regulators.

ACUTA's legal and legislative counsel will brief members on telecom issues that are being considered by the FCC and other regulatory agencies. These might include net neutrality, regulation of VoIP, unauthorized charges, cramming, carrier mergers/acquisitions, the national broadband plan, Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation Rules, bill shock guidelines, FERPA, and Next Generation E911

CONGRESS

Congressional activity accelerated in February, focused in part on the confirmation process of several of President Obama’s cabinet nominees.  Legislative activity picked up as well on several fronts, notably immigration reform, gun control, and reactions of Democrats and Republicans to the President’s February 12 Executive Order for “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,”  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/‌executive-order-improving-critical-infrastructure-cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity

·         The focus on cybersecurity increased in Washington, not only in reaction to the Executive Order, but also in the face of several reports of Chinese government coordinated cyber-attacks on numerous US companies.  The President told Congress in his February 12 State of the Union address “America must . . . face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks.”  Since the last report, the White House has called on Congress to pass legislation to address areas beyond the President’s existing authority and said it will send Congress priorities for legislation.  These are expected to include incentives for businesses that adopt voluntary standards and liability protections for those sharing information.  However, the two parties remain split over whether the federal government should set critical infrastructure cybersecurity standards.  This divide scuttled attempts to pass a bill at the end of 2012.

·         The chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. McCaul (R-TX) said on February 13 that a cybersecurity bill was one of his top legislative priorities and followed up by introducing the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 756) on February 15.  The bill is designed to advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards. 

·         On February 17, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rogers (R-MI) said that the Executive Order may make passage of legislation easier: “The executive order takes pressure off the Senate and will allow us to get agreement on a voluntary information sharing bill that will solve 90 percent of the most sophisticated cyber threats that we face.  The executive order tones down the political rhetoric that was caught up in election year politics.”  Rogers and the Committee Ranking Democrat, Rep. Ruppersberger (D-MD) introduced a bill on February 13 that would protect companies that share information on cyber threats.  Their bill passed the House in April 2012 but died in the Senate.  On March 1, Chairman Rogers said that he plans to complete talks with the White House and privacy advocates by April and move to a markup.

·         The Senate Commerce and Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Committees held a March 7 joint hearing on “The Cybersecurity Partnership Between the Private Sector and Our Government: Protecting our National and Economic Security.”  Chairman Rockefeller (D-WV) of the Commerce Committee said  “We simply cannot afford to wait any longer to adequately protect ourselves.  This hearing will provide valuable insight into the threats we face and the defenses we need to implement.”  Chairman Carper (D-DE) of the HSAGR Committee added that “While the President's Executive Order on cyber security was an important step, bipartisan legislation is still critically necessary to address this serious security threat.”  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and National Institutes for Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Gallagher testified.  The GOP v. Democratic divisions that prevented passage of legislation (i.e., the role of the federal government in protecting mostly private owned networks, liability, etc.) last year resurfaced at the hearing notwithstanding the fact that Senators of both parties embraced the severity of new foreign threats.  Nevertheless, Chairmen Carper and Rockefeller predicted that legislation will pass in 2013.

·         NIST on February 26 issued a request for information to survey existing industry cyber practices and solicit industry feedback (https://www.federalregister.gov/‌articles/‌‌2013/02/26/2013-04413/developing-a-framework-to-improve-critical-infrastructure-cybersecurity).   NIST is charged under the Order with establishing voluntary critical infrastructure cybersecurity standards.

·         The House Judiciary, Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees have scheduled cybersecurity hearings for March 14.  The House Science Committee will also markup two cyber-related bills that day.

Content Protection

The chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, former Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, in a February 15 speech (http://www.mpaa.org/Resources/dbd96563-f4e3-409e-a644-2c11546582d3.pdf) said that protecting both free speech and intellectual property content is required for a greater digital future.

* * *You can watch more content than ever, through more channels, and the quality of the movies and TV shows is outstanding.

This is why it’s so crucial that we protect this content from theft.  Because consumers deserve to enjoy first-generation versions of their favorite films—not secondhand, pirated films-of-films shot and recorded inside a movie theatre on a mobile phone.

We must strike a balance between the desire for a free and open internet and the protection of intellectual property.  The future cannot be about choosing one over the other—between protecting free speech OR protecting intellectual property—it must be about protecting both.

We can and must have an Internet that works for everyone, and we can and must have protection for the creative industry’s genius that intellectual property represents.

There should be no confusion. For the more than two million Americans whose jobs depend on the motion picture and television industry “free and open” cannot be synonymous with “working for free.”

To protect IP, and the openness and freedom of the Internet, we must together innovate our way through these challenges. Fortunately, Silicon Valley and Hollywood are making some progress on this front.

This is somewhat of a softening of MPAA’s position last year when it tried to push the Stop Online Piracy and Protect Intellectual Property Acts through Congress.  That overly aggressive protection legislative stimulated a coordinated service blackout by about 7,000 web sites, led by Wikipedia.  The blackout generated tremendous news coverage and user opposition to the legislation.  The bills were quickly pulled in the face of massive emails and calls to Members of Congress in opposition.  However, the drive against “piracy” continues.  The House co-chairs of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Schiff (D-CA), sent a letter in mid-February to Members of the House encouraging them to join the Caucus and warning that many sectors of the economy are at risk due to “large-scale illegal trafficking” of “copyrighted works such as first-run movies and books.”

Internet Radio Fairness Act

The head of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) attacked the expected reintroduction of the Internet Radio Fairness Act and Pandora’s efforts to change the standard royalty rate during a March 6 appearance at Duke University.  He said the bill was a “crippling blow for musicians.”

Social Network Passwords

As reported in last month’s report, Reps. Engel (D-NY), Schakowsky (D-IL), Grimm (R-NY), Ellison (D-MN), Tonko (D-NY) and Pingree (D-ME) introduced the Social Networking Online Protection Act or SNOPA.  On February 18, Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) said that he intended to reintroduce the Password Protection Act.  This measure would bar employers from demanding access information, including passwords, to the online accounts of employees and job applicants.  Blumenthal said that he would work with the House sponsors to “make sure that we are literally on the same page in terms of what we’re doing.”  While Blumenthal acknowledged that these bills went nowhere last Congress, he said that “The growing number of state proposals is one sign of a pressing need for federal measures that provide a standard. The business community would rather have a uniform national approach than a crazy quilt of different laws in different states, especially when it comes to employment by national employers.”

Do Not Track

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Rockefeller on February 28 reintroduced  his bill from the last Congress to prohibit companies from gathering personal information from Internet users if they explicitly opted out of collection. The Do-Not-Track Act of 2013 (S. 418) would only allow data to be collected if it were used to help the site function.

Cellphone Unlocking

There is growing bipartisan momentum to legalize cellphone unlocking to enable owners of devices to switch it to the wireless carrier of their choice.  The Librarian of Congress ruled last year that the “No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title” provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) required that customers must obtain their carriers’ permission to unlock their phones, even if their contracts have expired.  The White House endorsed unlocking in early March after receiving more than 114,000 online petition signatures (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/‌response/its-time-legalize-cell-phone-unlocking). On March 4, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy (D-VT) said that he wants to pass enabling legislation.  On March 5, Senator Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Wireless Device Independence Act of 2013(S. 467) that would amend the DMCA to specify that consumers may unlock their devices.  Senators Klobuchar (D-MN), who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy Consumer Rights, Lee (R-UT) and Blumenthal (D-CT) took a different approach in their March 7 bill (S. 481).  It gives the FCC authority to require cellphone companies to allow unlocking. Others supporting unlocking include Senator Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Eshoo (D-CA), Issa (R-CA), Chaffetz (R-UT) and Polis (D-CO), and FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel called the White House statement “Terrific.”

Spectrum

The Senate Commerce Committee is planning a closed door session to look at the use of spectrum by the military, intelligence, and federal law enforcement agencies.  Chairman Rockefeller said in mid-February that “We need spectrum.  We need it for the D-block – we need it for all kinds of purposes.  There are some agencies that may have more spectrum than they need.”

Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act

In March 5 speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), said that while a “clean reauthorization  of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) would be best, he would not be surprised if the bill is expanded.  Hatch noted that cable companies would like an expansion of the compulsory copyright license that permits satellite operators to import distant TV station signals that would enable cable operators to continue carriage of a broadcast signal during retransmission consent impasses.  Additionally, satellite operators would like to be able to import less-than-distant signals in markets that straddle states.  Also speaking at the NAB, Commissioner Rosenworcel echoed Sen. Hatch, saying that STELA could become a vehicle for a revision of the Telecommunications Act.

Hearing on Broadband Stimulus Grants

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a February 27 oversight hearing on the $7 billion in broadband grants and loans made by NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service under the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Subcommittee Chairman Walden (R-OR) and Committee GOP staff clearly focused the hearing on fraud, waste and abuse in the programs.  Republicans honed in on allegations that some of the awards resulted in overbuilding in areas already served by broadband and on improper purchasing practices by an NTIA grantee in West Virginia that received a $126.3 million award.  The Department of Commerce Inspector General and the West Virginia Legislative Auditor found that the grantee allegedly used an illegal, non-open bidding process to purchase Cisco routers for its project.  They also questioned whether less expensive routers might have sufficed.  Another project highlighted was alleged overbuilding by NTIA grantee EAGLE-Net in Colorado.  Chairman Walden said that "Promoting broadband is a laudable goal.  But there are many laudable goals.  From what we know now, the government has spent millions on equipment it did not need and on stringing fiber to areas that already had it."  Rep. Barton (R-TX) questioned whether the broadband programs were needed in the first place: “When 220 million Americans have access to broadband in their homes and on their iPhones and iPads, 96 percent of the country has access in some shape, form or fashion, it really calls into question why we need the program.  It’s not that it’s a bad program. It’s not that it’s even a wasteful program.  But is it a necessary program when this weekend we’re going to have sequestration kick in and it’s going to cut $85 billion and if you believe President Obama the sky is falling?”

          NTIA Administrator Strickling told the Subcommittee that as of the end of 2012:

·         86,000 miles of broadband infrastructure was deployed or upgraded;

·         almost 12,000 community anchor institutions (schools, hospitals, libraries, community centers, public safety providers, etc.)           were connected to high speed broadband Internet service;

·         600 interconnection agreements were entered to leverage or interconnect these networks;

·         40,000 workstations in public computer centers were installed in 20% of the nation’s libraries;

·         9.9 million hours of technology training was provided to 2.8 million users;

·         520,000 new broadband subscribers were generated; and

·         4,000 new jobs were funded each quarter for the past five quarters and enabled those who took digital literacy training to           secure “thousands more.”

The RUS Administrator said that of $2.33 billion in grants and $1.9 billion in loans, 297 were for broadband infrastructure, four for satellite broadband service support, and 19 for technical assistance, mostly for tribal communities.  He said that 38 grants were terminated, and $266 million returned to the Treasury, all 19 technical assistance awards had been disbursed, 86% of the satellite broadband program was disbursed, and 116 projects of the broadband infrastructure projects have been completed and are partially operational.

Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act

Rep. Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act (H.R. 967) on March 5.  The bill would amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to support information technology and networking research.  Section 105 would create a University/Industry Task Force  under the authority of the Director of the National Coordination Office “to explore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative research and development activities for cyber-physical systems, including the related technologies required to enable these systems, through a consortium or other appropriate entity with participants from institutions of higher education, Federal laboratories, and industry.”  The Task Force would

(1) develop options for a collaborative model and an organizational structure for such entity under which the joint research and development activities could be planned, managed, and conducted effectively, including mechanisms for the allocation of resources among the participants in such entity for support of such activities;

(2) propose a process for developing a research and development agenda for such entity, including guidelines to ensure an appropriate scope of work focused on nationally significant challenges and requiring collaboration and to ensure the development of related scientific and technological milestones;

(3) define the roles and responsibilities for the participants from institutions of higher education, Federal laboratories, and industry in such entity;

(4) propose guidelines for assigning intellectual property rights and for the transfer of research results to the private sector; and

(5) make recommendations for how such entity could be funded from Federal, State, and non-governmental sources.

The Task Force’s findings and recommendations are to be sent to Congress within a year of enactment.

FCC Chairman

It remains unclear whether, but more likely when, FCC Chairman Genachowski will leave the Commission.  However, names of possible successors are circulating.  One of the more recent names mentioned (on February 22) is Tom Wheeler, notwithstanding pressure on the President to name the Commission’s first female chair.  Wheeler is well-respected in the communications industry where he served as head of the National Cable Television Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association.  He was a major Obama fundraiser in 2008 and led the 2009 Obama-Biden Transition Team’s Agency Review Working Group focused on science, technology, space and arts agencies.

The leading female contenders are sitting Democratic Commissioners Clyburn and Rosenworcel.  Other female candidates are said to be Susan Crawford, a former Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology, and Innovation, Karen Kornbluh, Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Catherine Sandoval, a professor Santa Clara University Law School and a California Public Utilities Commission member.

Other names in circulation include Larry Strickling of NTIA; Blair Levin, architect of the National Broadband Plan; Scott Harris, General Counsel and Senior VP of NeuStar, Inc.; Jason Furman, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Thomas Power, Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Steven VanRoekel, the U.S. CIO.

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a March 12 FCC oversight hearing with all five Commissioners testifying.  Issues expected to be raised by the Senators are the E-rate program, FirstNet, and consumer rights in the wireless sector.

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

The following are the most significant actions to implement the National Broadband Plan since our last report:

·         On February 12, the FCC announced that its reforms of the Lifeline program, which provides assistance to low income households for voice telephone service, are “on track” to save an additional $400 million by the end of 2013 and $2 billion by the end of 2014.  The FCC press release is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_‌Releases/‌‌Daily_Business/2013/db0212/DOC-318892A1.pdf.

·         On February 15, the FCC released its third report on broadband speeds.  The report found, among other things, that service providers are delivering speed levels more consistently, with speed levels at peak demand periods of 97 percent of advertised speeds; that speed levels are increasing, with an average speed of 15.6 Mbps, up from 14.3 Mbps in the last report; and that speeds for satellite-delivered services have increased significantly.  The press release on the report is available at http://‌transition.‌fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0215/DOC-318964A1.pdf and the full report is available at http://www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america.

·         On February 20, the FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes rules to open up 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band for new Wi-Fi devices.  The FCC has suggested that the new spectrum could support speeds up to 1 Gbps.  Comments and reply comments on the proposed rules are due 45 and 75 days, respectively after notice is published in the Federal Register.  The press release on the notice is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/‌2013/‌db0220/DOC-319025A1.pdf and the notice itself is available at http://transition.‌fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0220/FCC-13-22A1.pdf.

FCC

FCC Adopts Order on Wireless Signal Boosters

On February 20, the FCC adopted its first order addressing the permissibility of wireless boosters.  Under the order, new technical standards will apply to consumer boosters.  Although use of boosters will require consent from the user’s wireless provider, all of the major wireless providers have agreed to consent to the use of any boosters that meet the technical standards.  The order also adopts new rules for “industrial boosters,” which can be deployed only with the involvement of wireless providers and for boosters used with private radio systems.  Existing boosters are not grandfathered under the new rules, but can be operated with permission from the customer’s wireless provider.  The press release on the order is available at http://transition.fcc.‌gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0220/DOC-319023A1.pdf and the order itself is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/‌db0220/FCC-13-21A1.pdf.

FCC Holds Second Hearing on Resiliency and Reliability

The FCC held its second field hearing on resiliency and reliability on February 28 at the NASA Ames Research Center in southern California.  The hearing addressed potential network technologies and power solutions to improve resiliency; and the potential to use apps and social media to enhance communications.  The full agenda is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/‌Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0226/DA-13-289A1.pdf, and the Commissioners’ statements at the hearing are available at http://www.fcc.gov/events/second-national-hearing-network-resilience-and-reliability, which also will have video of the hearing in the near future.

FCC Reports to Congress on Next Generation 911

On February 27, the FCC released a report to Congress on the appropriate legal and regulatory framework for next generation 911 services.  The report, required by the Next Generation 9-1-1 Advancement Act of 2012, makes the following recommendations:  (1) Congress should create incentives for states to become early adopters of next generation 911; (2) State-level next generation 911 rules should be encouraged, but there should be a national-level backstop in case states do not adopt rules; (3) Congress should promote national standards; (4) Congress should promote development of location technologies for all end user devices; (5) Congress should support establishment of national security and routing databases; and (6) Congress should act to assist in the elimination of legacy 911 regulation at the state level while providing incentives for next generation 911 deployment.  The report is available at http://‌transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0227/DOC-319165A1.pdf.

FCC Releases Report on Wireless Spectrum

On February 26, the FCC released a report comparing the availability of wireless spectrum in the U.S. to spectrum availability in other countries.  In general, the report indicates that the U.S. has available spectrum resources that are comparable to (or more expansive than) those in other countries, but that there are significant efforts to increase spectrum availability around the world.  The report is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/‌Daily_‌Business/2013/db0227/DOC-318485A1.pdf.

Other Regulatory Issues

FCC Recharters Communications Security Council

On February 11, the FCC announced that it was rechartering the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council, which has provided advice to the FCC on these issues.  In connection with the rechartering of the council, the FCC also announced that it is seeking nominations for the committee, which are due on March 20.  The public notice making these announcements is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/‌2013/‌db0212/DA-13-173A1.pdf.

First Meeting of Technology Transitions Policy Task Force Announced

On February 12, the FCC announced that the first workshop of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force will be held on March 18.  The task force will be making “recommendations to modernize” the FCC’s policies, principally in connection with telecommunications services.  At the workshop, the task force will be reviewing information on “the evolution in network protocols, including from TDM to IP; the replacement of copper networks with fiber; and the shift from wireline services toward greater use of wireless services.”  The workshop will be streamed live.  The announcement of the workshop is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/‌Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0212/DA-13-192A1.pdf and the streamed video will be available at http://www.fcc.gov/live.

Office of Engineering and Technology Authorizes White-Spaces Databases

On March 1, the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology announced that it had authorized approved white-space database systems to provide data to unlicensed devices operating in the television white spaces nationwide.  Database operation previously had been limited to some states on the East Coast.  The public notice also noted that venues that use unlicensed wireless microphones can register with the databases to avoid interference from white spaces devices.  The public notice is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/‌2013/‌db0304/DA-13-322A1.pdf.

Workshop on Gigabit Community Networks Set

On March 4, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced that it would be holding a workshop on gigabit community broadband networks, to be held on March 27 at the FCC’s offices.  The workshop is a follow-up to Chairman Genachowski’s January announcement of a Gigabit City Challenge, described in last month’s report.  Details of the agenda will be released closer to the date of the workshop.  The press release announcing the workshop is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0304/DA-13-322A1.pdf.

Genachowski Statement on Mobile Phone Unlocking

Reacting to the decision by the Librarian of Congress that mobile phone unlocking no longer would be exempt from sanctions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (discussed above), FCC Chairman Genachowski issued a statement on March 4.  In the statement, he said that the decision “raises serious competition and innovation concerns,” and that the FCC is “examining” the issue to determine whether the FCC, wireless providers or others should act to address the decision.  He also suggested that Congressional action might be appropriate.  The statement is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0304/DOC-319250A1.pdf.

FCC Issues High-Cost Universal Service Reconsideration Order

On February 27, the FCC released an order addressing petitions for reconsideration of its 2011 high-cost universal service reform decision.  This order focused on support provided to small carriers that set their rates using the rate of return methodology.  While it made some minor changes to the rules, it left the most important reforms, including limits on recovery of administrative costs and the overall $250 per line per month limit on support, in place.  The order is available at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0307/FCC-13-16A1.pdf.