Fall Broadband Policy Update Webinar

On November 7th, 2019, Keller and Heckman attorneys Doug Jarrett and Tracy Marshall led Keller and Heckman's Fall 2019 Broadband Policy Webinar.

This webinar updated emerging broadband services providers on legal and regulatory developments impacting the domestic broadband industry, focusing on four topics:

1. Implications of Mozilla v. FCC. On October, 1, 2019, the DC Circuit affirmed the FCC's reclassification of Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) as an "information service" and the Transparency Rule adopted in the 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order, but held the FCC could not broadly preempt all state net neutrality laws, raising the specter of state-specific net neutrality laws. The court also directed the FCC to reassess its statutory authority to fund stand-alone broadband service under the Lifeline program. We will review the implications of this funding issue on other USF programs, such as CAF II and the Rural Development Opportunity Fund (RDOF).

2. RDOF Phase I Auction. Industry groups have staked-out their positions for structuring the RDOF, focusing on the proposed $16 billion Phase I auction. We will review the major elements of the proposed reverse auction, highlighting the most contentious issues and possible outcomes as the FCC looks to initiate the Phase I auction in 2020.

3. Broadband Reporting and Mapping. For years, Congress, the states, and public interest groups have urged the FCC to reform its broadband reporting procedures, particularly the FCC Form 477 Instructions, to accurately gauge the digital divide and better focus broadband funding efforts. We will highlight stakeholders' responses to the FCC's Digital Opportunity Data Collection Order and FNPRM, identifying areas of consensus and disagreement and projecting when the new reporting rules may become effective.

4. Broadband Testing. The FCC is scheduled to adopt an Order on Reconsideration, establishing testing methods for download speeds and latency values by winning bidders in the CAF II and RDOF auctions, among other high-cost support recipients. These test methods likely will be a standard that all fixed broadband providers may rely upon for defining broadband speeds and latency values.

Webinar Details

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Cost: Complimentary