SEATOA Policy Issues

SEATOA’s mission includes researching, representing, and advocating as appropriate for a local government needs in the use, development, and regulation of communications, information, voice, video, data communications and information systems services, in accordance with the policies developed and approved by the membership.

NATOA Sends Letter Opposing GA Senate Bill 313 - Broadband Investment Equity Act
On January 31st, NATOA sent a letter to all members of the Georgia Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee opposing Senate Bill 313, the Broadband Investment Equity Act. The legislation, if enacted, would severely hamper the efforts of local governments to provide community broadband networks. Legislative initiatives such as S. 313 do nothing to encourage increased private investment in advanced communications services. Rather, such legislation serves to tie the hands of local governments to bring true competition, better services, and lower prices to their residents, especially those in un- and underserved communities. Click HERE to read NATOA’s letter

SEATOA AND NATOA OPPOSE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE BILL 3508
AT&T, one of the few dominant Internet access providers in South Carolina, is again pushing a bill in the SC State Legislature that will gut the self-determination of local communities in the digital age.

The market power of AT&T and Time Warner Cable has already driven most private sector competition from the market – now they want to use their lobbying clout to ensure that the communities themselves cannot build the networks they need to attract economic development and maintain a high quality of life.

SOPA and PIPA are damaging legislation being considered in Congress that will allow companies and the Federal Govenment to shut down internet sites on the mere allegation that even one second of copyright material(even unknowlingly) was being communicated.

More on SOPA and PIPA

Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it. ... There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and job creation. (READ MORE)
- source google.com

SEATOA FILES COMMENTS IN FCC BROADBAND N.O.I.

In September, SEATOA filed comments in the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Inquiry relating to broadband capabilities. The NOI had specifically requested comments concerning the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, and possible steps to accelerate such deployment pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act.

Encouraging the FCC to revise its broadband data collection levels;
Expressing the need for the FCC to modernize and improve the accuracy of its own Form 477 broadband data by increasing the level of granularity and requested information, removing the confidentiality provisions, and never relying solely on SBDD data;
Recommending that the FCC increase the granularity of its broadband data measurements and collect household broadband data down to the census block level.
Requesting that the FCC modernize the labels associated with the Form 477 broadband tiers so they comport with its new minimum broadband thresholds;
Recommending that, at a minimum, the FCC use its own minimum broadband speed threshold of 4Mbps/1Mbps of actual broadband speed as its equivalent of Basic Broadband Tier 1 service;
Recommending that the FCC modify its policy of keeping Form 477 broadband subscription and penetration rates for particular geographic units confidential.

SEATOA has been advised of a call for action from the National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA) – which is comprised of approximately 600 nonprofit rural telephone cooperatives who provide telephone and broadband service to rural areas deemed unprofitable by the private sector.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) – an important support mechanism for rural telephone cooperatives to be able to operate sustainably – is under attack. SEATOA members – particularly in rural areas – need to be aware of an ill-advised scheme to take the $1 billion in USF savings and move it to the Treasury to balance the budget. This is being proposed despite the fact that all five FCC Commissioners have agreed that around $1 billion in savings from restructuring the USF should be made available in 2012 for infrastructure and services for underserved/unserved rural areas.

Such an action would leave rural areas with no viable options to obtain broadband services at parity with larger, more affluent areas. In fact, it would be taking giant leap backwards for rural communities if their nonprofit cooperative cannot operate sustainably.

Please read the following and contact your congressional representative. You can visit www.NTCA.org for more information, as well as to learn more about a joint initiative, Save Rural Broadband.

In an unexpected twist, Congress is poised to raid the Universal Service Fund (USF) to pay down the federal debt, much like they have previously raided other dedicated programs for the same purpose—using dedicated non-Treasury funds to fix a budget mess they have created. Specifically, congressional budget negotiators are looking at siphoning off $1 billion in funds from USF. This approach is not consistent with the law since USF dollars are not part of the general Treasury. Instead, such a budget gimmick would effectively amount to a new hidden tax—being levied on all telecom consumers.

If Congress moves forward with this misguided plan, it will result in RUS and private sector loan defaults that will end up adding to the federal government’s already out-of-control debt. This congressional plan will impact the economic viability of your communities if USF funds are confiscated as envisioned by this concept to raid USF. NTCA, OPASTCO, and WTA are urging every one of their members to pick up the phone and contact their members of Congress today and express their extreme concern over this unprecedented scheme, and to ask them to take action to preclude the raiding of this dedicated non-Treasury fund to pay down the federal debt they created.

Please make a call or send an email right now. Time is of the essence as Congress tackles this issue – and the landscape changes minute by minute.

The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on local government rights-of-way management/ compensation practices and policies. The FCC maintains that the NOI is intended to assist the agency in its understanding of these practices and how they may be related to facilitating or obstructing broadband deployment around the country. It wants to compile a detailed record of broadband deployment issues so that it might have a factual basis upon which to determine the nature and extent of any problems.

The NOI questions posed by the FCC directly challenge local governments’ land use authority and – depending on the responses and how they are interpreted – could significantly affect local governments’ ability to manage and collect compensation for the private use of the public rights of way.

NATOA and other national associations (NLC, US Conference of Mayors, NACO, GFOA) representing the interests of local governments will be filing comments which will address various rights-of-way and compensation policies of interest to local governments and the broad scope of the FCC’s jurisdiction in this matter.

SEATOA – in supporting these national associations – believes that in order to truly impact the FCC’s decision-making, it is imperative that localities of all sizes submit comments to the FCC. In order to assist communities in this effort, the national associations have put together a template for localities to use in filing comments. NATOA is also putting together several other templates that address other issue-specific aspects of the NOI.

The full stories – and templates – are located at this link on the NATOA website: NATOA Members Call to Action

Initial comments are due to the FCC by July 18, 2011; reply comments are due by August 30, 2011.

SEATOA issues this Policy Statement relating to the definition of broadband because we believe that inaccurate broadband availability data collection and reporting may harm underserved area efforts to obtain future broadband funding.

The passage in North Carolina of H129 leaves many communities without options for obtaining broadband access for their residents, businesses and community anchor institutions. South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee have also passed legislation limiting the rights of local governments to help underserved areas secure the necessary broadband capacity.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided for $7.2 billion of grants and low-cost, fixed rate loans to build advanced broadband infrastructure, provide access to digital literacy programs and computing centers, and assist the states in collecting and reporting data for a national broadband map. All ARRA awards were completed in 2010, but many underserved communities were unable to participate.

What now?
While local governments and citizens in NC and other states work to reverse the damage from bills restricting the rights of local governments to provide for broadband access by supporting legislators who DO defend access to true broadband for all citizens – another opportunity for underserved areas may be on the horizon in 2012.

With the concurrence of all five FCC commissioners, $1 billion – which is estimated to be saved from the restructuring of the Universal Service Fund – is proposed to be made available in 2012 to fund broadband access in underserved areas. A second round may also be proposed.

Updated Broadband Definition a Necessity
The definition of broadband adopted by the FCC will determine whether and how many rural, suburban and inner-city communities are considered underserved and, therefore, eligible for support funding. The definition will be determine whether a community has access to service speeds supporting economic development and job creation, education, health care and security – and the Internet-enabled TVs and video-streaming devices exploding into mainstream consumer markets – or whether they will continue to be crippled by dial-up or watered down broadband service.

An example of the importance of the definition of broadband was that in the first round of ARRA Broadband Stimulus funding, a lower speed tier was used as the basis for determining underserved areas in addition to other restrictive criteria that, when combined, made it very difficult for many communities to be considered eligible for Last Mile broadband infrastructure funding. In the second funding round, the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (USDA RUS) changed the definition, stating that 5 Mbps of combined service was the minimum speed tier sufficient for economic development. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also broadened the ability of applicants to apply for “Middle Mile” broadband funding. Because of those changes, more communities and state organizations could apply for or support community-minded applications for higher broadband service levels in areas deemed unprofitable by the private sector.

Another potential barrier for underserved communities to benefit from Universal Service Fund (USF) infrastructure awards is the accuracy of the National Broadband Map. As maps from state authorities and other organizations are released and provided to federal agencies for use in development of the National Broadband Map, there have already been comments regarding inaccuracies portraying underserved and even unserved communities as having access to broadband. There have also been comments from residents that their attempts to request error corrections have been unsuccessful. If the FCC relies on the National Broadband Map to determine the areas eligible for future support funding – what will be the effect of all the communities inaccurately portrayed?

During the annual SEATOA conference in Asheville in May, a SEATOA board member asked FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps for help in ensuring that the definition of broadband be revised so that legislators will have a clear understanding of the issue. Commissioner Copps advised that the National Broadband Plan defines broadband as a download speed of at least 4 Mbps and an upload speed of at least 1 Mbps, but acknowledged that it is time for the FCC to take another look. The National Broadband Plan’s definition of broadband is based on actual download and upload speeds, not advertised speeds. The FCC’s Sixth Broadband Deployment Report defines broadband as a minimum speed of 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, but the FCC’s 477 Program still defines Basic Tier 1 broadband as an upload and download speed equal to or greater than 768 Kbps but less than 1.5 Mbps.

In point of fact, consumers wishing to purchase the new Internet TVs, such as the Apple TV and Google TV, are learning that they need at least 10-12 Mbps of broadband, with 25-50 Mbps preferred, to take advantage of the full functionality offered.

SEATOA Proposes Action & Requests Input
At SEATOA’s 2011 Annual Business Meeting, we discussed ways to improve the accuracy of state broadband maps, the underlying data for which is reported by service providers instead of consumers and citizens, and policy strategies to support a higher speed definition of broadband.

SEATOA considers the definition of broadband and accuracy of broadband access maps to be crucial issues in the coming months. We need to hear comments from our members about their communities’ experiences as we work to develop and refine policy strategies to promote TRUE broadband for all citizens. Send your input on this issue directly to seatoa@carolina.rr.com

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMENTS NEEDED BY FCC REGARDING R-O-W AND TOWER SITING

At the May 9th SEATOA Conference Opening Luncheon, participants heard NATOA President Ken Fellman talk about how critical it is for municipalities and municipal organizations to file comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when requested. SEATOA would like to stress that the FCC Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding Right-of-Ways (ROW) and tower siting – as detailed below – is vitally important for all municipalities both large and small.

Based on the FCC’s consideration of comments filed under this NOI, it may decide to more heavily regulate access to municipal ROW and tower siting – believing that it will speed deployment of advanced telecommunications services in the U.S. In the past, the FCC has heard comments painting municipal ROW management and tower siting rules as the barriers to entry for deployment of these advanced services. Municipalities, especially rural municipalities, have pointed out that even in instances where the local government does not charge for access to ROW and would welcome a tower – advanced services may not be deployed. FCC regulation of municipal ROW management and tower siting will not spur deployment of advanced services – only achievement of the carrier’s Internal Rate Return will determine deployment of advanced services. Municipalities are not the barrier to entry.

SEATOA would like to point out that the industry will certainly be filing comments in this Notice of Inquiry, so it’s very important that our local governments also have a voice.

The FCC’s Notice of Inquiry (WC Docket No. 11-59) dealing with local rights-of-way management and compensation, and tower facilities’ siting was published in today’s Federal Register. Initial comments are due July 18, 2011, and reply comments are due August 30, 2011. NATOA, along with the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association will be filing comments addressing overarching ROW policy concerns and the legal authority – or lack thereof – for the FCC to take action in these areas. It is IMPERATIVE that local governments of all sizes across the nation file comments in this proceeding.

For more information about the Notice of Inquiry and how to file comments, go to NATOA’s website at www.natoa.org.


		Policy Issues
Home SEATOA Bylaws Join SEATOA Members Conference Executive Committee NATOA P-E-G Issues Policy Issues Contact Us Links		SEATOA Policy Statement: SEATOA’s mission includes researching, representing, and advocating as appropriate for a local government needs in the use, development, and regulation of communications, information, voice, video, data communications and information systems services, in accordance with the policies developed and approved by the membership. NATOA Sends Letter Opposing GA Senate Bill 313 - Broadband Investment Equity Act On January 31st, NATOA sent a letter to all members of the Georgia Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee opposing Senate Bill 313, the Broadband Investment Equity Act. The legislation, if enacted, would severely hamper the efforts of local governments to provide community broadband networks. Legislative initiatives such as S. 313 do nothing to encourage increased private investment in advanced communications services. Rather, such legislation serves to tie the hands of local governments to bring true competition, better services, and lower prices to their residents, especially those in un- and underserved communities. Click HERE to read NATOA’s letter SEATOA AND NATOA OPPOSE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE BILL 3508 AT&T, one of the few dominant Internet access providers in South Carolina, is again pushing a bill in the SC State Legislature that will gut the self-determination of local communities in the digital age. The market power of AT&T and Time Warner Cable has already driven most private sector competition from the market – now they want to use their lobbying clout to ensure that the communities themselves cannot build the networks they need to attract economic development and maintain a high quality of life. Please follow this link to a recent letter from NATOA – SEATOA’s national parent – opposing this issue. URGENT Call to action from SEATOA on... SOPA and PIPA are damaging legislation being considered in Congress that will allow companies and the Federal Govenment to shut down internet sites on the mere allegation that even one second of copyright material(even unknowlingly) was being communicated. More on SOPA and PIPA Members of Congress are trying to do the right thing by going after pirates and counterfeiters but SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it. ... There are effective ways to combat foreign “rogue” websites dedicated to copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, while preserving the innovation and dynamism that have made the Internet such an important driver of American economic growth and job creation. (READ MORE) - source google.com SEATOA FILES COMMENTS IN FCC BROADBAND N.O.I. In September, SEATOA filed comments in the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Inquiry relating to broadband capabilities. The NOI had specifically requested comments concerning the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, and possible steps to accelerate such deployment pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act. SEATOA’s comments included the following key issues: Encouraging the FCC to revise its broadband data collection levels; Expressing the need for the FCC to modernize and improve the accuracy of its own Form 477 broadband data by increasing the level of granularity and requested information, removing the confidentiality provisions, and never relying solely on SBDD data; Recommending that the FCC increase the granularity of its broadband data measurements and collect household broadband data down to the census block level. Requesting that the FCC modernize the labels associated with the Form 477 broadband tiers so they comport with its new minimum broadband thresholds; Recommending that, at a minimum, the FCC use its own minimum broadband speed threshold of 4Mbps/1Mbps of actual broadband speed as its equivalent of Basic Broadband Tier 1 service; Recommending that the FCC modify its policy of keeping Form 477 broadband subscription and penetration rates for particular geographic units confidential. For additional details – the following is a links to SEATOA’s complete comments – SEATOA FCC Eighth NOI Comments and SEATOA Reply Comments – 10-6-2011 SEATOA ACTION ALERT! The Universal Service Fund SEATOA has been advised of a call for action from the National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA) – which is comprised of approximately 600 nonprofit rural telephone cooperatives who provide telephone and broadband service to rural areas deemed unprofitable by the private sector. The Universal Service Fund (USF) – an important support mechanism for rural telephone cooperatives to be able to operate sustainably – is under attack. SEATOA members – particularly in rural areas – need to be aware of an ill-advised scheme to take the $1 billion in USF savings and move it to the Treasury to balance the budget. This is being proposed despite the fact that all five FCC Commissioners have agreed that around $1 billion in savings from restructuring the USF should be made available in 2012 for infrastructure and services for underserved/unserved rural areas. Such an action would leave rural areas with no viable options to obtain broadband services at parity with larger, more affluent areas. In fact, it would be taking giant leap backwards for rural communities if their nonprofit cooperative cannot operate sustainably. Please read the following and contact your congressional representative. You can visit www.NTCA.org for more information, as well as to learn more about a joint initiative, Save Rural Broadband. USF Is Under Attack by Congress to Pay Down the Debt In an unexpected twist, Congress is poised to raid the Universal Service Fund (USF) to pay down the federal debt, much like they have previously raided other dedicated programs for the same purpose—using dedicated non-Treasury funds to fix a budget mess they have created. Specifically, congressional budget negotiators are looking at siphoning off $1 billion in funds from USF. This approach is not consistent with the law since USF dollars are not part of the general Treasury. Instead, such a budget gimmick would effectively amount to a new hidden tax—being levied on all telecom consumers. If Congress moves forward with this misguided plan, it will result in RUS and private sector loan defaults that will end up adding to the federal government’s already out-of-control debt. This congressional plan will impact the economic viability of your communities if USF funds are confiscated as envisioned by this concept to raid USF. NTCA, OPASTCO, and WTA are urging every one of their members to pick up the phone and contact their members of Congress today and express their extreme concern over this unprecedented scheme, and to ask them to take action to preclude the raiding of this dedicated non-Treasury fund to pay down the federal debt they created. Please make a call or send an email right now. Time is of the essence as Congress tackles this issue – and the landscape changes minute by minute. SEATOA Action Alert on R-O-W Management The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on local government rights-of-way management/ compensation practices and policies. The FCC maintains that the NOI is intended to assist the agency in its understanding of these practices and how they may be related to facilitating or obstructing broadband deployment around the country. It wants to compile a detailed record of broadband deployment issues so that it might have a factual basis upon which to determine the nature and extent of any problems. The NOI questions posed by the FCC directly challenge local governments’ land use authority and – depending on the responses and how they are interpreted – could significantly affect local governments’ ability to manage and collect compensation for the private use of the public rights of way. NATOA and other national associations (NLC, US Conference of Mayors, NACO, GFOA) representing the interests of local governments will be filing comments which will address various rights-of-way and compensation policies of interest to local governments and the broad scope of the FCC’s jurisdiction in this matter. SEATOA – in supporting these national associations – believes that in order to truly impact the FCC’s decision-making, it is imperative that localities of all sizes submit comments to the FCC. In order to assist communities in this effort, the national associations have put together a template for localities to use in filing comments. NATOA is also putting together several other templates that address other issue-specific aspects of the NOI. The full stories – and templates – are located at this link on the NATOA website: NATOA Members Call to Action Initial comments are due to the FCC by July 18, 2011; reply comments are due by August 30, 2011. Policy Issues Update – Federal Legislation: SEATOA BRIEF – DEFINITION OF BROADBAND KEY TO FUNDING SEATOA issues this Policy Statement relating to the definition of broadband because we believe that inaccurate broadband availability data collection and reporting may harm underserved area efforts to obtain future broadband funding. The passage in North Carolina of H129 leaves many communities without options for obtaining broadband access for their residents, businesses and community anchor institutions. South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee have also passed legislation limiting the rights of local governments to help underserved areas secure the necessary broadband capacity. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided for $7.2 billion of grants and low-cost, fixed rate loans to build advanced broadband infrastructure, provide access to digital literacy programs and computing centers, and assist the states in collecting and reporting data for a national broadband map. All ARRA awards were completed in 2010, but many underserved communities were unable to participate. What now? While local governments and citizens in NC and other states work to reverse the damage from bills restricting the rights of local governments to provide for broadband access by supporting legislators who DO defend access to true broadband for all citizens – another opportunity for underserved areas may be on the horizon in 2012. With the concurrence of all five FCC commissioners, $1 billion – which is estimated to be saved from the restructuring of the Universal Service Fund – is proposed to be made available in 2012 to fund broadband access in underserved areas. A second round may also be proposed. Updated Broadband Definition a Necessity The definition of broadband adopted by the FCC will determine whether and how many rural, suburban and inner-city communities are considered underserved and, therefore, eligible for support funding. The definition will be determine whether a community has access to service speeds supporting economic development and job creation, education, health care and security – and the Internet-enabled TVs and video-streaming devices exploding into mainstream consumer markets – or whether they will continue to be crippled by dial-up or watered down broadband service. An example of the importance of the definition of broadband was that in the first round of ARRA Broadband Stimulus funding, a lower speed tier was used as the basis for determining underserved areas in addition to other restrictive criteria that, when combined, made it very difficult for many communities to be considered eligible for Last Mile broadband infrastructure funding. In the second funding round, the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (USDA RUS) changed the definition, stating that 5 Mbps of combined service was the minimum speed tier sufficient for economic development. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also broadened the ability of applicants to apply for “Middle Mile” broadband funding. Because of those changes, more communities and state organizations could apply for or support community-minded applications for higher broadband service levels in areas deemed unprofitable by the private sector. Another potential barrier for underserved communities to benefit from Universal Service Fund (USF) infrastructure awards is the accuracy of the National Broadband Map. As maps from state authorities and other organizations are released and provided to federal agencies for use in development of the National Broadband Map, there have already been comments regarding inaccuracies portraying underserved and even unserved communities as having access to broadband. There have also been comments from residents that their attempts to request error corrections have been unsuccessful. If the FCC relies on the National Broadband Map to determine the areas eligible for future support funding – what will be the effect of all the communities inaccurately portrayed? During the annual SEATOA conference in Asheville in May, a SEATOA board member asked FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps for help in ensuring that the definition of broadband be revised so that legislators will have a clear understanding of the issue. Commissioner Copps advised that the National Broadband Plan defines broadband as a download speed of at least 4 Mbps and an upload speed of at least 1 Mbps, but acknowledged that it is time for the FCC to take another look. The National Broadband Plan’s definition of broadband is based on actual download and upload speeds, not advertised speeds. The FCC’s Sixth Broadband Deployment Report defines broadband as a minimum speed of 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, but the FCC’s 477 Program still defines Basic Tier 1 broadband as an upload and download speed equal to or greater than 768 Kbps but less than 1.5 Mbps. In point of fact, consumers wishing to purchase the new Internet TVs, such as the Apple TV and Google TV, are learning that they need at least 10-12 Mbps of broadband, with 25-50 Mbps preferred, to take advantage of the full functionality offered. SEATOA Proposes Action & Requests Input At SEATOA’s 2011 Annual Business Meeting, we discussed ways to improve the accuracy of state broadband maps, the underlying data for which is reported by service providers instead of consumers and citizens, and policy strategies to support a higher speed definition of broadband. SEATOA considers the definition of broadband and accuracy of broadband access maps to be crucial issues in the coming months. We need to hear comments from our members about their communities’ experiences as we work to develop and refine policy strategies to promote TRUE broadband for all citizens. Send your input on this issue directly to seatoa@carolina.rr.com Policy Issues Update – State/Local Legislation: UPDATE May 17 , 2011 LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMENTS NEEDED BY FCC REGARDING R-O-W AND TOWER SITING At the May 9th SEATOA Conference Opening Luncheon, participants heard NATOA President Ken Fellman talk about how critical it is for municipalities and municipal organizations to file comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when requested. SEATOA would like to stress that the FCC Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding Right-of-Ways (ROW) and tower siting – as detailed below – is vitally important for all municipalities both large and small. Based on the FCC’s consideration of comments filed under this NOI, it may decide to more heavily regulate access to municipal ROW and tower siting – believing that it will speed deployment of advanced telecommunications services in the U.S. In the past, the FCC has heard comments painting municipal ROW management and tower siting rules as the barriers to entry for deployment of these advanced services. Municipalities, especially rural municipalities, have pointed out that even in instances where the local government does not charge for access to ROW and would welcome a tower – advanced services may not be deployed. FCC regulation of municipal ROW management and tower siting will not spur deployment of advanced services – only achievement of the carrier’s Internal Rate Return will determine deployment of advanced services. Municipalities are not the barrier to entry. SEATOA would like to point out that the industry will certainly be filing comments in this Notice of Inquiry, so it’s very important that our local governments also have a voice. NATOA ANNOUNCEMENT OF FCC NOI ON ROW AND TOWER SITING: The FCC’s Notice of Inquiry (WC Docket No. 11-59) dealing with local rights-of-way management and compensation, and tower facilities’ siting was published in today’s Federal Register. Initial comments are due July 18, 2011, and reply comments are due August 30, 2011. NATOA, along with the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association will be filing comments addressing overarching ROW policy concerns and the legal authority – or lack thereof – for the FCC to take action in these areas. It is IMPERATIVE that local governments of all sizes across the nation file comments in this proceeding. For more information about the Notice of Inquiry and how to file comments, go to NATOA’s website at www.natoa.org. February 22, 2011 Why you should VOTE NO on North Carolina’s Anti-Local Broadband Bill (H129-S87) & Questions That Need to be Asked re-H129-S87 July 11, 2010 SEATOA WORKS SUCCESSFULLY TO KILL PROPOSED NC MORATORIUM ON MUNICIPAL BROADBAND May 25, 2010 QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED re-S1209-Hoyle's Anti-Muni BBND Bill May 4, 2010 Governor's recommendation for 2nd round North Carolina ARRA BBND funding