A court denied a Louisiana prisoner's bid to enforce FCC inmate calling service rate caps adopted in 2015 and revised in 2016, but vacated in 2017. A mandamus petition "has not demonstrated a 'clear and indisputable' right to relief," ruled Judges David Tatel, Thomas Griffith and Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week (In re: James Colvin, No. 18-1110). They noted Colvin argued he's being charged a per-minute ICS rate exceeding FCC permanent rate caps of as low as 13 cents per minute. "The rates being charged, however, do not exceed the interim rate caps [of 21 and 25 cents per minute] established by the Commission in 2013, and petitioner has not demonstrated that any other rate caps are currently in effect," wrote the panel, noting the court's 2017 Global Tel*Link v. FCC ruling undoing the permanent rate caps (see 1706130047). The FCC, Securus Technologies and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections opposed the mandamus request (see 1809170030).
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.
FCC staff granted a one-time rule waiver to allow rate-of-return telcos to report "their actual rates for consumer broadband-only lines to determine 2017 revenues on their FCC Form 509," rather than imputing revenue based on the maximum rate that could be assessed. "A significant amount of uncertainty existed regarding actual demand for consumer broadband-only service initially, which resulted in demand projections for many carriers that would have produced rates that were not sustainable in the market," said a Wireline Bureau order Thursday in docket 10-90. "Imputing revenues based on these maximum rates would have the effect of significantly overstating the revenues for many carriers" and cause "a similarly significant reduction in universal service support."
Alaska Communications asked the FCC to increase a USF rural healthcare budget to between $800 million and $1 billion for funding year 2019 (up from $581 million), with inflation increases thereafter. "Uncertainty of support under the Telecom Program in [FY] 2016, 2017, and now 2018, has driven healthcare providers out of the program, and wreaked havoc on service providers, all to the detriment of Americans that rely on the program in rural areas," the company told Wireline Bureau staffers, posted Tuesday in docket 17-310. "Demand will soon outstrip the current budget."
The FCC OK'd Hilliary Acquisition's planned buy of Tatum Telephone and Electra Telephone, subject to a USF condition to address cost-shifting concerns. The combining Texas companies receive high-cost support from different mechanisms: cost-based and model-based. "We grant the Applications subject to the condition adopted in the Hargray/ComSouth Order" (see 1805110048), said a Wireline Bureau public notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest and docket 18-301. "The combined operating expense of Tatum, Electra, Medicine Park, and any other rate-of-return affiliates shall be capped at the averaged combined operating expense of the three calendar years preceding the transactions’ closing date for which the operating expense data are available." The cap will last seven years or less, if the combined entity converts all support to one mechanism. The bureau cleared Tofane Global SAS/iBasis, conditioned on compliance with commitments and undertakings they agreed to with DOJ, said a PN in docket 18-136.
The FCC approved National Exchange Carrier Association proposals for modifying a USF formula for determining 2019 "average schedule" rate-of-return telco high-cost loop support. The Wireline Bureau said NECA's cost-per-loop calculations appear "accurate and complete," no comments were filed, said an order in Wednesday's Daily Digest and docket 05-337. The current HCLS formula approved Oct. 23, 2017, is expected to provide $6.24 million in payments to 97 average schedule study areas in 2018. NECA’s proposed formula for 2019 projects about $7.01 million in payments to carriers serving 102 average schedule study areas.
Windstream sold Minnesota fiber assets to the Arvig telco for $49.5 million cash, and agreed to sell Nebraska fiber to the company for $11 million, Windstream said Tuesday. Arvig will own the fiber, but Windstream will continue to sell services in the two states, Windstream said. “These transactions monetize latent dark fiber assets in Minnesota and Nebraska, lower capital requirements in each state and allow us to focus on our core network offerings with minimal change to our operations,” said Windstream Chief Financial Officer Bob Gunderman.
E-rate advocates asked FCC staff to make Universal Service Administrative Co. clarify product demos aren't considered banned gifts under commission rules. In spring, USAC "abruptly" changed its guidance to ban loans of products including on-site demos, wrote the Consortium for School Networking; Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition; and State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance Thursday in docket 02-6. An August USAC webinar told stakeholders such demos aren't OK during competitive bidding, though that guidance isn't on its website, the advocates said. Their "members have been told that there is no 'safe harbor' period" for applicants to test products, the groups recounted. These "inconsistent interpretations of the gift rule constitute interpretations of the Commission’s rules and are therefore outside of USAC’s authority," and no abuses have been alleged, they wrote. Friday, USAC declined to comment.
The FCC proposed a USF contribution factor for Q1 of 20 percent of U.S. interstate and international telecom end-user revenue, said a public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest and docket 96-45. That's down from Q4's 20.1 percent, as expected (see 1812030036). The Wednesday proposal is deemed approved if the commission takes no further action within 14 days.
The Lifeline national verifier fully launches next month in Hawaii, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Guam, the FCC Wireline Bureau said Thursday. A soft launch in those states began Oct. 15. Starting Jan. 15, eligible telecom carriers will be required to use the national verifier for eligibility determinations and consumers may check their status at CheckLifeline.org, the bureau said. Reverification of existing subscribers, started during the soft launch, will continue after Jan. 15, and annual recertification is happening now, it said.
CSDVRS (ZVRS) and Purple Communications asked the FCC to waive a rule requiring communications assistants handling calls through an at-home video relay service pilot program to have a least three years of CA experience at a call center. It's "artificially restricting the already short supply of qualified interpreters to those who have already worked in, and live in close proximity to, call centers for three years, discriminating against many qualified interpreters," said their petition posted Wednesday in docket 10-51. "VRS call volumes outpace the pool of qualified interpreters that live near call centers."