The FCC asked a court to maintain a procedural hold on a tech transition case over the prior commission's regulation of copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances under Communications Act Section 214. The FCC said a November wireline infrastructure order (see 1711160032) reversed key decisions being challenged by telcos in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in USTelecom v. FCC., No. 15-1414, but noted that reversal is being challenged in the 9th Circuit (see 1712080057). It also noted briefs in the 9th Circuit are now due Friday, with responses of the government and intervenors due May 29. "It would be prudent for the Court to continue to hold this case in abeyance until the pending legal challenge to the Infrastructure Order is resolved," said the agency's filing (in Pacer) Monday.
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.
Alaska Communications Services said the FCC should deem 6,056 locations eligible for Connect America Fund Phase II broadband-oriented subsidy support. ACS disputed what it said was a lone challenge from General Communications Inc. claiming to serve some locations. "GCI fails to provide persuasive evidence that it serves any of the locations addressed in its filing, fails to document the locations it does serve, and fails to establish why having facilities 'near' the relevant locations should be viewed as adequate proof of service," said an ACS filing posted Monday in docket 10-90. ACS said GCI's failure to claim locations as served that it previously reported were served disqualifies those census blocks from consideration and raises doubt about its accuracy. "GCI also fails to establish that it is an unsubsidized competitor at any of the proposed locations. To the extent that it actually serves any of them, GCI may be presumed to do so as a subsidized competitor," ACS said. It noted the FCC required ACS to deploy qualifying broadband service to 31,571 unserved locations in census blocks deemed unserved, with up to 7,900 allowed in partially served, high-cost census blocks, if they survive challenge. GCI didn't comment.
AT&T recapped a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff where it backed more USF support for restoring communications networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as proposed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1803160051), to help in hardening its and others' networks to withstand future hurricanes. Any extra USF support for Caribbean recovery should come with accountability measures like requiring short-term funding recipients use the resources on restoration and hardening of equipment and network facilities affected by hurricanes Irma and/or Maria, but that it shouldn't be allowed for such uses as retirement of company debt unrelated to the covered expenditures, said a docket 10-90 filing posted Monday. The carrier said the FCC should require all short-term funding recipients to certify compliance with that use of the funds, and should let recipients know they could be subject to a potential Universal Service Administrative Co. audit.
Sacred Wind Communications addressed USF issues with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, outgoing Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, aides to all five commissioners, Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and staffers. CEO John Badal and others "discussed the impacts on Sacred Wind, its network and its Tribal customers of proposals" in a Connect America Fund NPRM and two orders March 23, said filings last week (here and here) in docket 10-90. The CAF item aims to help rate-of-return telcos provide broadband service and improve high-cost subsidy program operations (see 1803230025). Sacred Wind brings "voice and broadband services to historically unserved tribal lands" using hybrid "fiber to fixed wireless to copper" technologies, Rural Utilities Service loans and CAF support, said a presentation. It urged the FCC to develop Alternative Connect America Cost Model tiers for higher cost RLECs and acknowledge "ongoing higher costs for maintaining" 10 or 25 Mbps service. Saying 4G and 5G wireless "will be long in coming to remote rural areas," it recommended the agency "incentivize price cap carriers to spin off remote rural areas to RoR carriers," "restore predictability" for rural carriers and "continue support for Voice-only where demanded."
FCC staff launched an investigation into Aureon access charge tariff revisions AT&T and Sprint challenged and the Wireline Bureau temporarily suspended (see 1803010017) before they took effect March 1. "We designate the following issues for investigation: (1) the appropriate benchmark rate for Aureon’s interstate switched transport service; (2) the cost and demand data needed to support Aureon’s revised rate of $0.00576 per minute-of-use (MOU) pursuant to section 61.38 of the Commission’s rules; and (3) whether supporting cost information should be considered once the Commission determines the appropriate benchmark rate," said a bureau order in Friday's Daily Digest. "We also, on our own motion, waive Aureon’s annual access tariff filing requirement ... through July 1, 2019." The direct case of Aureon (Iowa Network Access Division) is due May 3, oppositions May 10 and rebuttal May 17. Aureon proposed revisions to comply with a November order that partially granted an AT&T complaint that the smaller company improperly charged for "centralized equal access" on traffic heading to CLECs engaged in "access stimulation." Questioning the methodology, AT&T and Sprint filed petitions objecting to the revisions.
The FCC gave FairPoint Communications relief on legacy local switching support (LSS), saying it generally shouldn't have been deducted by the National Exchange Carrier Association as duplicative cost recovery under a transitional intercarrier compensation mechanism to Connect America Fund support. "There generally is no duplicative recovery of LSS when rate-of-return affiliates of price cap carriers receive both CAF Phase II support and CAF ICC transition support," said a unanimous commission order Thursday in docket 10-90. "We grant FairPoint’s petition and direct NECA to correct FairPoint’s Eligible Recovery retroactive to January 1, 2015 and to restore deducted LSS-related amounts as appropriate." The FCC waived "an additional imputation requirement of the Commission’s rules to the extent necessary for FairPoint and other similarly situated carriers to obtain the funds they should have received from the recovery mechanism since January 1, 2015." A draft order circulated in March on a 2015 petition from FairPoint (see 1803190021), which Consolidated Communications purchased in 2017. FairPoint originally said its support was reduced by about $4.2 million per year due to LSS deductions, and sought to restore the support retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015 (see 1512110070). It later said, "The amounts at issue are $3.5 million for calendar year 2015, $3.3 million for 2016, $3.1 million for 2017, and continuing declining amounts subject to the ICC Transition" (see 1703060046). NECA "will proceed as directed by the Commission," emailed a spokesman without commenting on the amounts. Consolidated/FairPoint didn't comment.
The FCC released an NPRM that looks at giving certain rural telcos the option of shifting business data services from rate-of-return regulation to incentive-based price caps. Comments will be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 15 days later, said the text of the item adopted unanimously by commissioners at Tuesday's monthly meeting (see 1804170025).
A new FCC rural call completion monitoring rule won't take effect for at least six months, reporting relief will start in May and comments in a new rulemaking are due in June, said the text of an order and Further NPRM released Tuesday in docket 13-39. It was adopted unanimously by commissioners at their monthly meeting (see 1804170025). The agency seeks to improve rural call completion by holding originating long-distance providers responsible for intermediate carrier performance, with a "reasonable transition period," Commissioner Brendan Carr said at the meeting. "We are persuaded that covered providers will need some time to evaluate and renegotiate contracts with intermediate providers in order to comply with the monitoring requirement," said the order. It rejected NTCA's proposal for a 12-month transition and said the monitoring rule "will go into effect six months from the date that this Order is released ... or 30 days after" Federal Register publication, "whichever is later." The FCC eliminated covered provider data reporting duties it found ineffective. "Removal of the reporting requirements will provide prompt relief to covered providers, obviating the need to spend time and resources compiling and filing reports that would otherwise be due on May 1," the order said. The FNPRM seeks comment on whether to phase out the remaining recording and retention obligations as it implements new rules under a recently enacted rural calling law. The notice also asked whether those obligations should sunset "at a different point in time, such as three years from today’s Order" to give "sufficient time for the Commission to undertake further intercarrier compensation reform" and for the new monitoring rule and coming rules to promote rural call completion. Comments are due June 4, replies June 19.
The Supreme Court is now scheduled to consider an FCC pole-attachment case Friday, said a notice on Ameren v. FCC in docket 17-819. Justices were slated to decide whether to review the case last Friday but action was deferred (see 1804130050). Ameren and other electric power companies filed a cert petition seeking review of an 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a November 2015 FCC order aimed at driving down telecom pole-attachment rates to cable rate levels (see 1707310065 and 1511240071).
The Supreme Court delayed consideration of whether to review an FCC pole-attachment case that had been slated for the justices' Friday conference. Ameren v. FCC was "rescheduled," said a notice in docket 17-819 without giving a new date. Court spokespersons confirmed the action but otherwise didn't comment. Ameren and other electric power companies filed a cert petition seeking review of an 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a November 2015 FCC order aimed at driving down telecom pole-attachment rates to cable rate levels (see 1707310065 and 1511240071).