WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission on June 8 adopted rules and policies aimed at increasing teledensity on tribal lands but did not address requests from the wireless industry to obtain universal-service funds to serve these areas.
“The FCC needs to take more concrete actions regarding the [eligible telecommunications carrier] designation of carriers using nontraditional technologies. This would allow service providers such as the members of the [Competitive Universal Service Coalition] to begin offering a meaningful array of choices for both basic and advanced telecom services in high-cost rural areas,” said Michele Farquhar, CUSC counsel.
The FCC increased the amounts available to help low-income people get and pay for telephone service. These funds will be available to wireless carriers, said Carol Mattey, deputy bureau chief of the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau.
However, the funds are only available if a telecom carrier has been designated an eligible telecommunications carrier. Several carriers have petitioned the FCC for ETC status so they could receive universal-support subsidies for serving tribal lands.
The FCC set up a six-month framework to deal with these petitions and others that may be filed.
“Two years will have elapsed before the FCC rules on wireless-carrier requests to serve tribal lands,” lamented Randall S. Coleman, vice president for regulatory policy and law for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
The commission increased funding for two programs, called Lifeline and Link Up.
Lifeline service (used to pay for service) was increased $25. This service allows companies to waive the $3.50 subscriber line charge. A matching grant can reduce further the cost of phone service.
The Link Up program will increase $70. This helps pay for the initial connection to the telephone network.
How much the programs will help bring telephony to tribal lands is unclear. For example, FCC staff said one leader of the Gila River tribe said the telephone company told her it would cost her $73,000 to provider her with phone service.
The increases in the program were not unanimously received.
“As a government agency, the commission cannot do just anything, no matter how well-intended or politically appealing,” said FCC Commissioner Michael Powell. “We must take action based on an adequate record and a thorough and logical examination of what that record does and does not tell us … We have failed to show why increases in Lifeline funding are in fact necessary … The record simply does not offer any solid basis for actually expanding the program.”
In April, Powell criticized President Clinton for endorsing a plan similar to the one adopted last week even though it had not yet been presented to the commission.
FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth referenced the skirmish between the Republican and Democratic members of the commission. “There have been some Johnny-come-latelys from the administration that wanted to take credit for these items. These are not administration items. They are commission items.”
Both the Lifeline and Link Up programs will be available as of Oct. 1 to give carriers time to prepare for both the subsidies and the increase in universal-service contributions necessary to fund the programs.
The FCC estimates it could cost as much as $35 million to pay for the two programs. Customers are expected to see a one-penny increase on an average $25 telephone bill, Mattey said.
Bidding credits
The FCC also adopted changes to its auction rules that will allow companies to receive bidding credits if they commit to serving tribal lands with less than 70-percent telephone penetration.
The caps will be based on geography and the amount of the winning bid.
For bid amounts up to $1 million, there is a 50-percent cap up to $500,000. For bid amounts from $1 million to $2 million, the cap remains at $500,000. Above $2 million, the cap tops at 25 percent. The amount of the cap will be determined by a geographic formula of $300,000 per 200 square miles unless the cap requires it to be less than that.
This formula is based on the average costs for constructing wireless infrastructure, said David Furth, legal adviser to the chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
The commission said it will entertain waivers of antenna height and other rules to help encourage wireless deployment, but is not changing the regulations carte blanche.
Another problem for wireless providers hoping to serve tribal areas is that license areas sometimes cut through tribal lands. For example, the Hopi Reservation is served by four different licenses. In the future, the FCC will take into account tribal boundaries when it draws up license areas.
Finally, the FCC adopted a policy statement establishing a government-to-government relationship with tribal governments. As part of this relationship, the FCC will consult with tribes on any regulatory action that will uniquely impact tribal lands, said Steven Rangle, attorney adviser in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel.
The FCC’s actions come at a time when 96 percent of Americans have telephone service, but only 45 to 55 percent of Indian families have phones. This number drops to one in four on the Navajo reservation. Even rural, nontribal families making less than $5,000 per year have a higher teledensity-74 percent-than Native Americans.
“The story behind these statistics is even more compelling. Lack of telephone service has real, profound consequences … We can and must do better to serve the Native American communities,” said FCC Chairman William Kennard.
“We recognize that solutions to these problems are complex and require commitment from a broad range of service providers and regulatory stakeholders, and we must stand ready to take the lead,” said Kennard.
FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who led the effort, said it was her happiest day at the commission. “It will not solve the problem, but it will help the problem … It is not perfect, but it is a very, very good start.”
Now that rules are in place, Tristani hopes that the statistics of Native American teledensity will increase.
The Personal Communications Industry Association agreed. “The FCC has built it and I am hopeful that the carriers will come,” said Angela Giancarlo, PCIA director of federal regulatory affairs.
