Sprint Turns Off Cell Tower Amid Cancer Concerns; Broadband Deployment and USF Items on Circulation; Vertical Location Accuracy for Wireless 9-1-1 Calls; CAF II Auction Update - Vol. XVI, Issue 14
Broadband Deployment and USF Items on Circulation
The 2019 Broadband Deployment Report and a document referred to as the Universal Service Fund (USF) Contribution Methodology are currently on circulation, pending action by the FCC. In the USF item, the Commission will reportedly propose an aggregate annual USF expenditure budget of $11.42 billion. According to Commissioner O’Rielly, this budget cap exceeds current expenditures by $2.0 billion. This expenditure cap is eliciting concerns from some groups whose members benefit from USF programs.
Vertical Location Accuracy For Wireless 9-1-1 Calls
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced in an April 4 Public Notice that it is seeking comment on a proposal to use a vertical or “z-axis” location accuracy metric of plus or minus three meters to identify wireless 9-1-1 callers’ location in multi-story buildings (Vol. XIV, Issue 11). Comments and reply comments on the Further Notice are due by May 20 and June 18, respectively. For additional information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
Sprint Turns Off Cell Tower Amid Cancer Concerns
According to news reports, Sprint has turned off its cell tower on a California elementary school campus following concerns from parents that the tower could have exposed children to harmful radiation and be linked to four recent diagnoses of childhood cancer at Weston Elementary. Sprint asserts that the tower is safe and has operated well below federal safety limits, but decided to shut down its transmitters and relocate the tower to a new site. In November 2018, the Ripon Unified School District (RUSD) initiated an investigation into the tower by engineering consultant Hammett & Edison, Inc. (H&E), which issued a report stating that the tower complied with guidelines limiting human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.
CAF II Auction Update
On April 3, the FCC announced in a Public Notice that it is ready to authorize Connect America Fund Phase II Auction 903 (CAF II) support for 822 winning bids (Vol. XVI, Issue 13). This is the second group of CAF II winners whose long-form applications have been approved by the Wireline Competition Bureau. The Commission “accepted” an initial group of winning bids in March (Vol. XVI, Issue 9). To receive support, the long-form applicants identified in the Public Notice must submit their letters of credit and bankruptcy counsel’s opinion letters prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on April 17. The Bureau is expected to accept additional long-form applications in the coming weeks.
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Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert is a complimentary weekly electronic update created by the Telecommunications Practice Group of Keller and Heckman LLP. All articles, videos, and quotations are on topics of general interest and do not constitute legal advice for particularized facts. Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert © 2019. All rights reserved. Articles may be copied with attribution. To sign up for our weekly alert, please send us an email at telecomalert@khlaw.com and provide us with your name and email. Please follow us on Twitter at @KHtelecom.