By Kelcee Griffis

Law360 (February 18, 2021, 7:22 PM EST) -- Lobbying activity at the Federal Communications Commission remained light throughout the month of January, but a few stakeholders still suggested some New Year's resolutions for the agency to undertake, asking it to adopt a nonrestrictive structure for an emergency broadband program and to scrutinize a spectrum-sharing regime in the 6 GHz band.  

According to four weeks of records, lobbyists submitted 109 ex parte filings — at least half the usual volume — which are disclosures that parties advocating at the FCC must file to detail conversations and meetings with agency commissioners and staff.

Here's a look at the top groups that lobbied the FCC from Jan. 1 to 31 and a sampling of what they discussed.

Incompas

Trade group Incompas, whose members include satellite, fiber and Big Tech companies, was the most active lobbyist in January, posting six ex parte documents that largely urged the commission to avoid overly prescriptive rules for its Emergency Broadband Benefit.

The program, which lawmakers approved in December, will subsidize $50 to $75 of monthly internet service costs for eligible households and can additionally cover some costs of equipment, such as laptops and tablets. The eligibility categories include households that already receive federal Pell Grant student aid, free or reduced school lunches, Medicaid and unemployment benefits.

As the FCC rushes to hammer out details of the pandemic-relief program, Incompas said it should ensure companies that haven't previously participated in FCC aid programs can onboard easily.

"Congress wisely recognized that the EBB Program should be open to all interested providers, and not limited solely to existing Lifeline providers, because such an approach maximizes the choices available to consumers," Incompas wrote in a joint letter with other trade groups.

Companies that subsidize low-income internet and phone service through the FCC's Lifeline program must first be certified as Eligible Telecommunications Carriers, but Incompas said that step shouldn't become a barrier for new companies wishing to participate in the emergency program.

"The Commission will need to take a number of affirmative steps in its development of the EBB Program to facilitate and encourage their broad participation," Incompas wrote in the joint filing.

In another missive, Incompas suggested that the FCC should immediately begin educating interested providers about how they can enroll in and navigate the EBB process.

"The FCC could begin the process of such education through webinars about the processes companies will need to implement to participate in the program. Helpful topics would include, for example, eligibility verification, reimbursement and program reporting," according to the group. 

In another set of filings, Incompas encouraged the FCC to choose a "neutral approach" in its notice of proposed rulemaking, which broadly asks whether and how mobile services can share the 12 GHz band with satellite services.

"Getting every argument out in the open, and discovering ways to expand internet speeds and access to more families in more places" will give interested parties in the satellite and broadband sectors "the best opportunity to resolve any conflicts, solve problems and reach an agreement," Incompas said.

NCTA

Cable and internet trade group NCTA tied for second-busiest lobbyist last month, posting five ex parte documents that similarly advocated for an open-ended EBB program as well as an optimistic approach to 6 GHz spectrum-sharing.

Many NCTA member companies already offer low-income broadband plans outside of the Lifeline program, and they asked the commission not to foreclose these tried-and-true approaches.

"Congress wisely recognized that the EBB Program should include these private sector programs and be available to their customers on the same terms as Lifeline participants," the group said.

It also suggested the FCC offer a single application window for participating providers instead of approving them on a rolling basis. A single starting point means that "consumers are presented with a full array of competitive broadband choices" at the outset, the group said.

On the topic of a sharing regime in the 6 GHz band, NCTA slammed evidence submitted to the FCC that suggests the agency cannot safely expand the use of unlicensed WiFi devices without disrupting transmissions by broadcast and critical infrastructure users. The rules currently allow unlicensed devices to operate indoors and at low power levels and additionally permit outdoor devices to operate at full power levels as long as they're managed by a so-called automatic frequency coordinator.

The results of device tests submitted by CTIA and the Southern Company suggest that interference from low-power indoor transmissions is "inevitable," but NCTA said the report "fails to account for critical real-world factors that mitigate the risk of interference to [fixed service] links and therefore should not be relied upon by the Commission."

Southern Company

Energy conglomerate Southern Company Services tied with NCTA as the second-busiest FCC lobbyist in January, also posting five ex parte filings that partly focused on interference concerns in the 6 GHz band.

Although the rules governing low-power indoor devices are already finalized, Congress recently directed the FCC to report by the end of March on how it's "ensuring rigorous testing related to unlicensed use of the 6 gigahertz band." The FCC is also currently examining whether devices operating at very low power levels could use the spectrum outdoors as well as indoors outside of the coordination framework.

According to the Southern Company, the FCC should not enable more robust 6 GHz usage and should additionally require any manufacturer seeking to sell 6 GHz LPI devices to submit product samples for the Congressionally mandated tests.

"Southern urges the Commission to refrain from adopting any measures that would expand unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band until after rigorous testing of such unlicensed use has been performed," the group wrote.

"Once the Commission receives these sample devices, they could be used as part of the rigorous testing required by Congress to determine if they will in fact coexist with incumbent 6 GHz operations without causing harmful interference," it also said.

--Editing by Emily Kokoll.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.