Broadband Grants and Loans: What You Need to Know - USTelecom Webcast March 5, 2009

In an effort to keep you inform about what is going on at the State Legislative Session beginning February 2, 2009, the NTA will post those Bill Draft Requests (BDRs) and session bills that could have an impact on the industry.  The NTA and its Legislative Committee will be monitoring all BDRs and bills and keep you informed.  Bills and BDRs will be added or deleted depending upon relevance.  The following are those that the NTA is actively monitoring.  For Assembly (AB) and Senate (SB) bills, please click on the bill number to review that particular bill.

On Feb. 20, the FCC issued a Second Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the June 12 digital television (DTV) transition deadline.  Included in the NRPM are guidelines for all eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that receive Universal Service Fund (USF) support for Lifeline and/or Link-Up program customers, as these ETCs are obligated to notify these customers of the new deadline and how they may be affected.
     The FCC outlines several requirements on page 38 of the NPRM, including:
 

ETCs are to notify their Lifeline and Link-Up customers of the June 12 transition date via notices in monthly bill inserts or monthly stand-alone mailers (such as postcards or brochures) from April 1 through June 30.

All notifications must be printed clearly and easy to read.

These notifications must explain that although the deadline is June 12, some television stations may begin transmitting digitally at an earlier date, and that customers should pay attention to their local stations to find out when their stations will make the switch from analog to digital broadcast.  After the switch, analog-only television sets that receive programming via an antenna will need a digital converter box to continue to receive programming.

Customers can find out more information about the June 12 DTV transition and coupons for digital converter boxes by contacting their local television stations; visiting www.DTV.gov or www.dtv2009.gov; or calling 888/CALL-FCC (TTY 888/TELL-FCC) or 888/DTV-2009 (TTY 877/530-2634)

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Federal Legislation

Broadband Stimulus

NTIA to Begin broadband Grant Program Meetings March 2

On March 2, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will begin hosting meetings with parties interested in the broadband grant programs described in the Broadband Data Services Improvement Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  All interested parties are invited to schedule a meeting.
For more information, please see the full notice as published Feb. 24 in the Federal Register.

National Associations Send Letter to President Obama for RUS, NTIC Administrators

OPASTCO, the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance (ITTA) and the Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that the new administrators of both the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) "be nominated immediately and swiftly confirmed by the Senate" to ensure no delay in implementing broadband-related funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Webcasts/Articles Relating to Broadband Stimulus

Much is being published regarding the broadband-related funding portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  A good source of timely articles and information can be found at Benton Foundation Website http://www.benton.org/node/20455

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