'Qualified' Engineer Certifying BDC Filings Need Not Be Employee, Draft Order Says

Abstract

Currently, FCC rules require that a company's biannual Broadband Data Collection (BDC) be signed by both a corporate officer and either a corporate engineering officer or a certified professional engineer (CPE). [...]the draft report and order in MB docket 02-144, MM dockets 92-266 and 93-215, and CS docket 94-28 on cable television rate regulations "would promote competition and economic growth by simplifying and streamlining burdensome cable rate regulations, eliminating unnecessary forms and rules, deregulating certain cable equipment and small cable systems, limiting regulation to residential subscribers, and otherwise reducing the regulatory burden on cable systems." The draft order specifically would "[e]liminate unnecessary forms and rules"; "[rleduce unnecessary burdens on cable operators by deregulating cable equipment not used exclusively to receive the BST"; "[e]mpower small businesses (cable systems serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers that are owned by small cable companies serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers) by exempting them from rate regulation"; "[d]ecline to extend rate regulation to commercial establishments"; and "[m]odernize rules to account for the sunset of CPST regulation in determining BST rates and to simplify and streamline the remaining regulations," the fact sheet says. -

(Jun. 13, 2025)

A draft order tentatively scheduled for a vote at the FCC's June 26 meeting would ease one of the challenges faced by broadband service providers in filing broadband data with the Commission by eliminating the requirement that the engineer who certifies the filing hold a professional engineer certification and by clarifying that the engineer need not be a full-time employee of the filer.

Currently, FCC rules require that a company's biannual Broadband Data Collection (BDC) be signed by both a corporate officer and either a corporate engineering officer or a certified professional engineer (CPE). In addition to replacing the professional engineer requirement with a "qualified" engineer requirement, the draft order would clarify that the certifying engineer could be an independent contractor or third-party consultant, rather than a fulltime employee of the filing company, according to a fact sheet released with the draft item.

The draft fifth report and order in WC docket 19-195 on streamlining the engineering review for broadband data is one of three items tentatively teed up for the meeting; the others are a report and order on cable television rate regulation and a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on TTY (text telephone) rules for the TRS (telecommunications relay service) Fund.

However, in announcing the items in a June 4 blog post, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr acknowledged that the departures of Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington on June 6 could have an impact on what he and the other remaining Commissioner, Anna Gomez, could accomplish without a quorum.

The Chairman advised observers to "stay tuned," adding that "[w]e always make a final decision about the Commission meeting and its agenda closer to the meeting date. We will do so again here." The Commission is required to release a "sunshine" agenda a week before the meeting, and, even then, it sometimes removes items in the last week, most frequently because they are decided on circulation, although removal for other reasons is possible.

Agency rules-as opposed to its authorizing statute-allow the Chairman to convene a "Board of Commissioners" when a quorum does not exist, but the authority of such a board does not extend to taking final action in a rulemaking proceeding.

The draft report and order on engineering review of BDC data would define a qualified engineer as "(i) a corporate officer possessing a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in engineering and who has direct knowledge of and responsibility for the carrier's network design and construction; (ii) an engineer possessing a bachelor's or post-graduate degree in electrical engineering, electronic engineering, or another similar technical discipline, and at least seven years of relevant experience in broadband network design and/or performance; or (iii) an employee or agent with specialized training relevant to broadband network engineering and design, deployment, and/or performance, and at least 10 years of relevant experience in broadband network engineering, design, and/or performance," according to the fact sheet.

The draft NPRM in CG docket 03-123 and Rulemaking 11931 on the TRS Fund rules would eliminate a 1991 rule that required TRS providers seeking reimbursement from the TRS Fund to support both Baudot and ASCII (American Code for Information Interchange) if they use TTY technology, according to a fact sheet released with the draft item.

"In 2022, T-Mobile, a TTY-based relay provider, filed a petition to eliminate the ASCII requirement," the fact sheet notes.

"Once deemed 'a superior technology' for TTY transmission, the ASCII format is rarely used today. The current rules require TRS providers to maintain costly ASCII compatible hardware and software systems, costs that are passed on to the TRS fund. Removing the ASCII requirement will reduce costs, eliminate an outdated regulatory requirement, and update our standards for TTY-based TRS to be more consistent with current usage of this relay service," the draft NPRM says, FCC, Public Draft on Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-toSpeech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities and on T-Mobile Accessibility Petition for Rulemaking to Amend 47 CFR § 64.604(b)(1) to Eliminate the Requirement that TTY-Based Relay Service be Capable of Communicating with ASCII Format, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, CG Docket No. 25-166 03-123 and RM-11931 (June 5, 2025).

Specifically, the draft NPRM would "[p]ropose to delete the requirement to support the ASCII format, removing a burden from TTY-based TRS providers to maintain hardware and software compatibility with the outdated technology"; "[s]eek comment on the costs and benefits of removing the ASCII format requirement"; and "[s]eek comment on whether any action is needed to minimize potential costs and burdens on consumers who use TTY devices in the ASCII format."

Finally, the draft report and order in MB docket 02-144, MM dockets 92-266 and 93-215, and CS docket 94-28 on cable television rate regulations "would promote competition and economic growth by simplifying and streamlining burdensome cable rate regulations, eliminating unnecessary forms and rules, deregulating certain cable equipment and small cable systems, limiting regulation to residential subscribers, and otherwise reducing the regulatory burden on cable systems." It notes that the FCC is tasked with ensuring that rates charged for basic tier cable service (BST) are reasonable but "[i]n the vast majority of markets, BST rates are no longer regulated because the markets are deemed to be competitive by law due to the availability of satellite television and other services," according to the fact sheet released with the draft item.

"In 2018, the Commission adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to review and update its rate regulations in order to eliminate unnecessary and outdated rules and forms and to simplify and streamline the remaining regulations to reduce the administrative burdens on the cable industry, franchising authorities, and the Commission. The Report and Order implements these proposed changes, which will increase flexibility and innovation in this highly competitive industry," the fact sheet adds.

The draft order specifically would "[e]liminate unnecessary forms and rules"; "[rleduce unnecessary burdens on cable operators by deregulating cable equipment not used exclusively to receive the BST"; "[e]mpower small businesses (cable systems serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers that are owned by small cable companies serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers) by exempting them from rate regulation"; "[d]ecline to extend rate regulation to commercial establishments"; and "[m]odernize rules to account for the sunset of CPST regulation in determining BST rates and to simplify and streamline the remaining regulations," the fact sheet says.

-Lynn Stanton, [email protected]