The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau encouraged potential applicants to submit applications for the affordable connectivity program's outreach grants by Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST (see 2211220067). Late applications won't be accepted, said a public notice Wednesday in docket 21-450. The bureau also reminded potential applicants that the deadline to submit applications for the ACP navigator and Your Home, Your Internet pilot programs are due by Monday at 9 p.m. EST.

Panelists stressed the need for more innovation and expressed hope for the impact emerging technologies will have on connectivity during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday before the CES in Las Vegas, A "key ingredient" to fostering innovation is a "light-touch regulatory approach," said CTA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs David Grossman: "Regulatory barriers can slow down the pace of innovation, which ultimately is a hindrance to consumers." Another factor that should be considered is how to "use the technology at hand, whether that's broadband-enabled or not," to support consumers' day to day lives, said Bryan Reimer, MIT New England University Transportation Center associate director and AgeLab research scientist. A focus on education and social processes will "enable people to match the pace of innovation that's coming out of tech," said Tom Kamber, Older Adults Technology Services founder-executive director. "One challenge that we run into virtually at every site is connectivity," said Pollen Mobile Chief Financial Officer Christian Kurasek, but "we're just starting to scratch the surface of what we can do with these new technologies." The Older Adults Technology Services is hoping to see what emerging devices and updates to older equipment are under development at CES that can assist older adults, Kamber said, adding there's a need for "multiple points of support for people to get access."

USTelecom asked Congress to "stay closely engaged" with the Biden administration and states to ensure broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act results in "maximum program effectiveness," in a letter Tuesday. The group is seeking legislation to "help ensure timely infrastructure permitting" and "appropriate oversight" of grant recipients. It also asked that the FCC's affordable connectivity program be made permanent: "While most customers enjoy faster speeds and lower broadband prices, those struggling financially need additional assistance." Congress should work with the FCC to expand the contribution base for the USF, USTelecom added, noting edge providers and platforms are "the greatest beneficiaries of high-speed networks." The group also sought action on public-private cybersecurity partnerships, privacy protections and eliminating the tax on federal broadband grants.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition raised concerns it said it brought up in the past that members of the group can’t seek funding for a telehealth project using FCC Form 460 until a site is open, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-310. “This means there is no process to allow … funding for up to more than a year of operation,” SHLB said: The Universal Service Administrative Co. “has indicated it takes this approach based on direction from the FCC, so we are writing to see if you would be willing to direct USAC to change this as an administrative matter.” SHLB said it brought the issue up in a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff earlier this month and since the discussion “several SHLB members have volunteered that they are again having this problem this year, some with multiple sites.”

The window for filing broadband data collection information at the FCC, through Saturday, will open Jan. 3, the FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force said Tuesday. Data is due March 1.

The Hispanic Federation asked the FCC to “act promptly” on proposals to revise pole attachment regulations. “Accelerating broadband buildouts in rural regions -- where millions of Americans remain unserved and are unable to secure any high-speed broadband service in their home -- is critical to advancing digital equity for Latino communities in the United States,” the federation said , in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-84: “Broadband deployment in rural areas has been hindered by significant challenges, including construction costs, which has left communities without access to reliable, high-quality broadband service.” Recent surveys show more than 30% of Latino households in the U.S. remain without access to reliable internet, with most “clustered in rural communities,” the federation said.

The FCC is seeing a reduction in the number of robocall complaints, after peaking in 2018 and 2019, the agency said in a required report to Congress released Friday. The report highlights work the agency did to limit robocalls. The FCC received 100,104 complaints in 2018 concerning provisions in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act restricting use of automatic telephone dialing systems or an artificial or prerecorded voice, the report said. Through the first 11 months of 2022, the number was down to 37,736. The agency recorded 70,866 complaints in 2019 about the use of misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, compared with 37,752 through November.

The Free State Foundation questioned the FCC’s adoption Wednesday of an NPRM in its digital discrimination proceeding (see 2212210054). “There is no disagreement that there should be equal access to broadband for all the people of the United States and that digital discrimination should be prevented,” said a statement by President Randolph May and Director-Policy Studies Seth Cooper. “It is unnecessary, and likely to be counterproductive to achievement of that worthy objective, for the Commission to adopt a rule which allows discrimination to be proved based on a showing of unintentional 'disparate impact' rather than on a showing of intentional discrimination,” they said: “It is likely that a rule adopting a ‘disparate impact’ test wouldn’t survive a judicial challenge because the text and structure of the Infrastructure Act, along with relevant judicial precedents, require an intent-based definitional standard to prove digital discrimination.”

The FCC launched an online portal for private entities such as businesses to lodge suspected robocall, robotext and spoofing violation complaints. The Enforcement Bureau relies on consumer complaints and already has lines of communication with some public institutions, but "we now also have a direct line of communications with private entities that sometimes seem under siege by robocalls and now have an avenue to reach out for help," Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said. The bureau said complaints registered via the portal should include such details as entity name, contact information, caller ID information, phone number called, date and time of relevant calls or texts, service provider and description.

NTIA awarded more than $36 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program support Monday to two tribal entities, said a news release. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe of Minnesota received about $18.8 million to connect 4,399 unserved Native American households and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands received about $17.3 million for broadband use and adoption planning, engineering, feasibility and sustainability studies.