OVERNIGHT TECH: FCC moves forward with USF reform

THE LEDE: The Federal Communications Commission moved forward Thursday with a plan to transform the $4.5 billion high-cost portion of the Universal Service Fund into a subsidy for broadband Internet access and revamp the rates carriers pay each other to connect local calls. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski predicted the plan would provide all Americans with high-speed Web connections within 10 years and provide $2 billion in benefits to consumers.

Stakeholders were cautious about commenting on the 500-page plan before parsing the details, but both rural telecom providers and consumer advocates expressed concern about the proposal favoring large telecom carriers or raising prices for consumers.

Reactions:

"These programs have needed to be updated for many years, and today’s action is a major step toward modernizing both regimes for the broadband era. While I have not seen the order, I am glad to hear that it keeps the USF focused on bringing critical communication services to unserved parts of the nation. I also appreciate the FCC’s emphasis on halting the USF’s unsustainable growth." — Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)

"Accomplishing this was not easy — each of the commissioners was forced to make tough choices and face criticism and potential challenges from stakeholders who would have preferred a different approach. But the FCC understands that in order to save this important program, it needs to be fundamentally reformed and directed towards the future." — House Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)

"ACA is disappointed that the fund provides larger telephone carriers with a right of first refusal to provide broadband in high cost, unserved areas worth up to $1.8 billion annually — twice the amount of support these carriers receive under the existing USF program today. More than 500 smaller cable operators who are ACA members and were interested in having the same opportunity to participate in the Connect America Fund program know that consumers would have received better broadband services, such as higher speeds, if the FCC had opted for competitive bidding instead of the right of first refusal." — American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew Polka

FCC starts process to open up TV station disclosures: The commission proposed requiring broadcast stations to post their public files online on the FCC website rather than keeping a physical file at the station, arguing the current rule puts the burden on the public to travel to the station and pay a fee to sift through the documents. FCC staff also proposed expanding the disclosures to include sponsorship identifications, which drew reservations from Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell.

“In an age of secretive political spending by unregulated outside groups like Super PACs, consumers deserve to know who is using the public airwaves, and for what purpose. Larger issues of campaign finance disclosure remain unresolved by today’s proposal, but putting this information online is an important first step. Consumers deserve to know who is paying what to influence them. Burying that information in an out-of-the-way filing cabinet doesn’t meet the high standard the public deserves.” — Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)

GPS industry says LightSquared is cheating taxpayers out of billions: The Coalition to Save Our GPS accused wireless company LightSquared of cheating taxpayers out of billions of dollars on a conference call with reporters Thursday. LightSquared plans to launch a wholesale wireless broadband service, but tests earlier this year revealed its network interferences with GPS devices. The company is currently undergoing testing to determine if a series of technical fixes can solved the interference problem.

James Kirkland, general counsel for GPS-maker Trimble, said on the call that by operating land-based cell towers on spectrum that was originally designated for satellite signals, LightSquared is effectively increasing the value of its spectrum by $10 billion.

"We think a $10 billion windfall for a New York venture firm is unacceptable," Kirkland said, referring to Harbinger Capital, which is the primary investor in LightSquared.

LightSquared argues that the interference problem is a result of GPS receivers "looking into" LightSquared's spectrum and that the GPS industry should have been preparing for years for the launch of a land-based network in the adjacent band.

DOD names new head of DISA: The Defense Department announced Thursday that Air Force Maj. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins will succeed Lt. Gen. Carroll Pollett as head of the Defense Information Systems Agency in Fort Meade, Md. There was no word on Pollett's future plans.

ICYMI:

Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) wrote to Visa and MasterCard on Thursday questioning a report that they plan to share customer data with third-party online advertisers.

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on Thursday that would eliminate per-country limits on employment-based visas and increase the per-country limits on family visas without raising the total number of visas issued annually.

The tech industry wrote to the deficit-reduction supercommittee to push their policy agenda.

Two Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to President Obama urging him to scrap the FCC's net-neutrality rules, which take effect next month.

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