[1st-mile-nm] TRIBAL BROADBAND SUBSIDIES

[Richard Lowenberg]

Ajit Pai loses in court—judges overturn gutting of tribal broadband 
program

Court: FCC failed to provide evidence and ignored harm to broadband 
access.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/02/ajit-pai-loses-in-court-judges-overturn-gutting-of-tribal-broadband-program/

JON BRODKIN - 2/4/2019

A federal appeals court has overturned Ajit Pai's attempt to take 
broadband subsidies away from tribal residents.

The Pai-led Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in November 2017 
to make it much harder for tribal residents to obtain a $25-per-month 
Lifeline subsidy that reduces the cost of Internet or phone service.

The change didn't take effect because in August 2018, the US Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed the FCC decision 
pending appeal. The same court followed that up on Friday last week with 
a ruling that reversed the FCC decision and remanded the matter back to 
the commission for a new rule-making proceeding.

"[S]ince 2000, low-income consumers living on Tribal lands may receive 
an additional $25 per month for these services through the Tribal 
Lifeline program in recognition of the additional hurdles to affordable 
telecommunications service on Tribal lands," the court's decision noted.

The Pai FCC's 2017 decision would have limited the $25 subsidy to 
"facilities-based" carriers—those that build their own networks—making 
it impossible for tribal residents to use the $25 subsidy to buy telecom 
service from resellers. The move would have dramatically limited tribal 
residents' options for purchasing subsidized service, but the FCC 
claimed it was necessary in order to encourage carriers to build their 
own networks.

The same FCC decision also would have eliminated the $25 subsidy in 
urban areas, reserving it only for tribal lands in rural areas. The 
court's decision Friday, in response to an appeal filed by tribal 
organizations and small wireless carriers, overturned both of these 
limitations.

A three-judge panel said the FCC failed to consider that 
facilities-based providers have been leaving the Lifeline program and 
provided no evidence that banning resellers would spur new broadband 
deployment. The FCC also failed to properly consider how eliminating the 
subsidy in urban areas would affect consumers, judges determined.

(snip)


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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