WASHINGTON-A proposal from the Federal Communications Commission to fund telephone service for Native Americans has come under fire from both inside the commission and the wireless trade associations.
FCC Chairman William Kennard and FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani joined President Clinton last week in Shiprock, N.M., to highlight the need of Native Americans to not only have access to advanced telecommunications, but basic phone service as well.
At a time when 96 percent of Americans have telephone service, only 45 to 55 percent of Indian families have phones. This number drops to one in four on the Navajo reservation. The ability to get advanced telecommunications services is even harder because phone lines on Indian reservations are antiquated, said the White House.
As part of his appearance, Clinton endorsed a plan to increase the Lifeline program to make phone service available to Native Americans for as little as $1 per month.
Lifeline is a part of the universal-service program, which lowers the cost of basic telephone service for low-income people. The federally funded program uses state matching grants, but today states don’t provide matching funds for tribal lands. Clinton proposes to change that.
The program, which could cost as much as $90 million, likely would increase the amount telecom carriers pay into the fund.
It is unclear whether the plan will be put out for comment. An FCC official said that while the proposal was not mentioned specifically in proposed rules released last fall, it achieves the same goals, which means it could become law by FCC order.
“The Personal Communications Industry Association has always advocated that the universal-service fund should be narrowly targeted in order to help those in need. At first glance it appears that impoverished Native Americans fit the bill. I am hopeful that all interested parties will have the opportunity to comment on a publicly available plan,” said Angela Giancarlo, PCIA director of federal regulatory affairs.
While Democrats on the FCC praised the program, Republicans were aghast.
FCC Commissioner Michael Powell strongly criticized how the proposal has been made into a political issue when it has not even gone before the commission yet.
“What’s offensive to me about the numbers being bounced around is that they are reportedly the numbers the bureau will recommend to the commission and they have not yet even been done. So you are talking about people discussing openly in a political context the purported recommendations of the bureau staff that haven’t even been formally recommended,” Powell said.
A spokesman for FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said Furchtgott-Roth agreed with Powell.
While Powell said he was not criticizing the merits of the proposal, but rather the process by which it was made public, wireless trade associations were quick to point out that if wireless carriers were given eligible telecommunications carrier status they would offer telecom services to tribal lands.
“It is up to the FCC to make sure that wireless carriers have a fair shot,” PCIA’s Giancarlo said.
Several carriers have petitioned the FCC to grant them ETC status so they could receive universal-support subsidies for serving tribal lands.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association was even more frustrated by what it said were words without action.
“Helping Native Americans is a good priority. The priority is a worthy one. I wish they would translate that priority into action … It is a priority in terms of statements, but it is not a priority in action,” said Brian Fontes, CTIA senior vice president for policy and administration.
Ironically, the outside counsel for Western Wireless Corp., which has been leading the charge for ETC status, said there was nothing inconsistent in the FCC’s actions. Michele Farquhar said the petitions are teed up for consideration and a decision from the commission is expected soon.
