FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly praised Chattanooga municipal broadband provider EPB for apparent changes to its terms of service he said responded to his First Amendment concerns (see 1812130073). Community broadband advocates had criticized those fears (see 1812140021). O’Rielly was upbeat in a tweet after meeting EPB President David Wade Friday. “ Great news: company improved its broadband terms of service responding to my muni-broadband Constitutional concerns in @TheMediaInst speech.” EPB clarified its acceptable use policy to make clear it upholds the "highest standards of free speech and constitutionality," limiting "any regulation to matters that are illegal or malicious," Vice President-Marketing J.Ed Marston told us. EPB never regulated free speech and originally based its policy on similar documents by private incumbents.
Ian Cohen
Ian Cohen, Deputy Managing Editor, is a reporter with Export Compliance Daily and its sister publications International Trade Today and Trade Law Daily, where he covers export controls, sanctions and international trade issues. He previously worked as a local government reporter in South Florida. Ian graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2017 and lives in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2019.
The FCC released an annual Form 499-A telecom reporting worksheet and instructions for reporting 2018 revenue in 2019, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 06-122 and Friday's Daily Digest. It also made available a quarterly Form 499-Q telecom reporting worksheet and instructions for reporting this year on projected and collected revenue.
The FCC gave itself 90 more days to decide USTelecom's forbearance petition for ILEC wholesale relief, as allowed under the Communications Act. Instead of May 4, the petition won't be deemed granted, absent a commission denial, until Aug. 2, said a Wireline Bureau order Thursday in docket 18-141. USTelecom wasn't surprised. "These extensions are typical -- even when forbearance requests are ultimately granted," emailed Patrick Halley, senior vice president-advocacy and regulatory affairs.
Comments are due March 18, replies April 1 on an FCC proposal to eliminate a suspended E-rate amortization requirement, said a proposed rule on docket 19-2 for Thursday's Federal Register and calendar. An order attached to a Further NPRM waived the requirement for the duration of the rulemaking (see 1901310061). The regulation -- suspended in 2014 through funding year 2018 -- required schools and libraries "amortize over three years upfront, non-recurring charges of $500,000 or more, including charges for special construction projects,” said the FCC, which believes that increased project costs and applicant uncertainty.
ITTA pressed the FCC to delay a July 1 start to broadband performance testing by Connect America Fund recipients to ensure they meet commitments. The midsize telco group said members are intent on complying. "Adherence to the current implementation date runs the significant risk of forcing carriers to devote substantial personnel hours and financial sums to testing standards that may not ultimately be required, in the process diverting such resources from other critical and more certain endeavors such as broadband deployment," said ITTA on meeting an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai, posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. "These concerns are compounded by the current widespread unavailability of equipment that most carriers can use in a cost-effective manner to test their networks." NTCA said the performance testing processes raise concerns, including "development and availability of testing-compatible equipment and the random selection of testing location." It also "preserve[d] its positions" in a pending application for review of a bureau order, said a filing posted Tuesday on meeting staffers.
Telco incumbents and rivals disagreed on an FCC proposal to scrap ex-ante regulation of price-cap carrier business data service TDM transport rates. Comments were posted through Monday in docket 16-143 on a Further NPRM (see 1810230032) on court remand of 2017 deregulation for lack of notice that some called an easy fix (see 1808280050). The commission should follow through on freeing price-cap telcos from TDM transport ex-ante rate regulation, commented USTelecom and ITTA: denial "would discourage competitive transport entry." AT&T said facilities-based transport competition is already "effectively ubiquitous." CenturyLink said transport services face "intense competition." The FCC can reach "the same conclusions regarding transport on the existing record, so long as it adequately considers" comments, said Verizon. "It would require an extraordinary change in factual circumstances to justify a departure or reversal." Deregulation critics' fears "have become reality" as "competition has been unable to keep ILEC TDM rates in check," commented Sprint, saying it's "experiencing significant price increases for newly deregulated" DS1 and DS3 transport and last-mile links. Incompas said the proposal "would lead to price increases for businesses and consumers." Instead, the commission should propose a market test to deregulate areas only where competition ensures just and reasonable rates, the group said. The American Petroleum Institute objected to deregulation in areas of concern to its member companies "in the absence of ILEC commitments to maintain reasonable levels of service." Alaska Communications (here) and other incumbents opposed a competitive market test. Addressing other FNPRM queries, USTelecom and ITTA said the FCC should grant rate-of-return carriers choosing price-cap treatment "further pricing regulation relief with respect to their TDM transport services," without a large data collection.
USTelecom and members urged the FCC to fund telco voice services mandated in extremely high-cost areas not receiving Connect America Fund Phase II support. They said parts of a CAF I draft order on commissioners' meeting agenda Thursday reasonably address "the immediate task of disaggregating frozen support." But the agency "must either provide funding commensurate with the [voice] obligations" or "guidance on a path forward to relieve price cap carriers of their unfunded mandate," said a filing on USTelecom, AT&T, CenturyLink, Consolidated Communications, Frontier and Verizon meeting aides to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, posted Friday in docket 10-90. They said the draft "prematurely dismisses" a USTelecom funding proposal as too costly and "impermissibly extends" indefinitely a 4-year-old "interim" period supposed to end with a recent CAF II auction. They asked to scrap that dismissal and postpone consideration, noting USTelecom hasn't been able to revise the proposal because CAF II auction results aren't finalized. Alternatively, they sought other draft tweaks. USTelecom and Frontier signaled concerns recently (see 1901160051).
IP captioned telephone service providers and advocates raised cost concerns about an FCC IP CTS draft order, Further NPRM and order on Thursday's commissioners' meeting agenda. CaptionCall urged refreshing the record and evaluating costs before integrating IP CTS into a telecom relay service user registration database, as an order contemplates. Moving such integration to the FNPRM will allow a "holistic approach to modernizing," filed CaptionCall on meeting an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and other agency staffers, posted Friday in docket 13-24. It said if the FCC "decides to adopt the URD for IP CTS now, at a minimum, it should extend the time for implementation and adopt other modifications." Hamilton Relay doesn't object to using the database, but shared the concerns and agreed with a previous CaptionCall recommendation to allow cost recovery. "The cost of implementing this requirement will be significant, and should be treated as an exogenous cost in order to avoid an unfunded mandate," it said. MezmoCorp (InnoCaption) argued similarly. Advocates for the deaf and hard of hearing back IP CTS providers continuing service to new users while registration verification and appeals are pending as long as they absorb the interim service cost if registration isn't verified. "Once user verification is complete, providers should be compensated," said Hearing Loss Association of America and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on lobbying a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staffer. Alternatively, they supported moving the issue to the FNPRM.
FCC reporting requirements related to revised pole-attachment complaint regulations take effect March 11, after receiving OMB approval Jan. 28 for three years, said a rule in Thursday's Federal Register. It said the information collection tracks "burdens associated with [electric] utilities defending against complaints brought by [ILECs] related to unreasonable rates, terms, and conditions for pole attachments." An August order sought to give incumbent telcos rate parity with CLEC and cable competitors by establishing a presumption ILECs are entitled to lower rates when negotiating new contracts or renewals with utilities (see 1808090011). Utilities can rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, which increases their paperwork duties. Enforcement Bureau penalties adjusted for inflation took effect Thursday with FR publication of a rule from a Dec. 19 order (see 1812190046). Modified FCC filing procedures for seeking waivers of volume-control reset requirements for wireline phones take effect Friday with a notice set for FR publication, regarding docket 18-307.
USTelecom said early data show broadband investment continued to grow in 2018, bolstering a 2017 turnaround when the FCC signaled its plan for Title I Communications Act net neutrality deregulation. Based on initial review of financial releases, the six largest broadband providers increased capital expenditures 3.6 percent to $66.3 billion, blogged Patrick Brogan, vice president-industry analysis, Thursday. He said Sprint's capex jumped 50 percent, T-Mobile's 5.8 percent, Charter Communications' 5.1 percent and AT&T's 3.9 percent, while Verizon's dropped 3.4 percent and Comcast's 3 percent. Many providers haven't reported and USTelecom hasn't completed its full analysis, but the six ISPs typically account for 80-85 percent of annual broadband capex, he said. A previous report showed overall broadband investment dipped 4 percent 2014-16 to $75 billion and rebounded to $76 billion in 2017 (see 1810180029). "Previous US Telecom efforts to divine politically convenient conclusions from investment data have been thoroughly debunked by industry analysts and reporters," emailed Timothy Karr, Free Press senior director-strategy and communications, who didn't comment on its latest findings. "Investment cycles in tech rarely if ever swing on any single FCC policy. ... But that hasn't stopped industry lobbyists and trade groups from repeatedly boasting that [FCC] Chairman [Ajit] Pai’s decision to gut Net Neutrality has magically transformed the broadband industry into an investment-and-innovation fantasyland."