Ian Cohen

The FCC should improve processing of E-rate funding requests for school and library self-construction of fiber projects, said the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition in a filing posted Thursday in docket 13-184. SHLB said more than half of the "special construction" requests in funding year 2016 were denied or withdrawn, and despite some helpful procedural changes, a "sizeable collection of FY 2017 fiber special construction requests are still in review." Recommendations for improving the fiber application and review process include that the FCC clarify the standard of review for these requests. School and library E-rate applicants must show they chose the most cost-effective solutions, but Universal Service Administrative Co. without explanation denied "numerous" requests where applicants submitted documentation showing their projects were "the most cost-effective," and often the lowest-cost, project, SHLB said. It said when applicants conduct valid competitive bidding processes, USAC and the FCC should defer to applicant cost-effectiveness analysis.

Sorenson Communications' challenge to FCC video relay service rate tiers is foreclosed, and the tiers are reasonable under the Communications Act, said a government brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sorenson v. FCC, No. 17-1198, posted Tuesday on the agency's webpage. The FCC/DOJ brief said "well-settled principles of claim preclusion" barred the company's challenge to a 2017 order (see 1707060062 and 1707070058), its third against VRS compensation involving rate tiers. "If, as Sorenson claims, Section 225 prohibits tiered rates, the statute prohibited the tiered rate structures adopted by the FCC in both 2010 and 2013," both challenged by the largest VRS provider, it said. "But in neither Sorenson I nor Sorenson II did Sorenson claim that Section 225 precluded tiering." The brief said the FCC decision was a "permissible construction" of the law, and the tiered rates were reasonable, "particularly considering that the single VRS rate alternative proposed by Sorenson would likely have eliminated most or all of its remaining competitors." The government said the Video Relay Services Consumer Association lacked standing to challenge the order because it hadn't shown members have standing. VRSCA's argument the FCC was required to include the costs of VRS provider free equipment to users "was considered and rejected in Sorenson I and Sorenson II," and "still has no merit," said the brief. Meanwhile, Sorenson discussed VRS issues with FCC Disability Rights Office staffers, including the company's request to suspend an April deadline for providers to implement a "Relay User Equipment [RUE] Profile" for ensuring interoperability with an "Accessible Communication for Everyone (ACE) App." The staffers acknowledged ACE App is still not ready for testing by providers and their office is awaiting approval of an order to suspend the April compliance date," said a filing in docket 10-51. At staff request, Sorenson submitted a "list of actions not in providers' control that must be completed before" they can update and test their platforms for the app interoperability.

The FCC received wide and nuanced input on ways to ensure or facilitate unblocking of calls erroneously blocked by anti-robocalling measures. Many urged mandatory challenge mechanisms or other new rules to speed unblocking of legitimate calls, while others resisted potential regulations. More comments were posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 17-59 on a November Further NPRM attached to an order encouraging providers to block illegal calls. Previous comments mostly expressed skepticism about unblocking regulation (see 1801230062). Noting a 2015 order authorizing consumer-initiated call blocking, collections group ACA International said the FCC should adopt "call blocking mitigation mechanisms that apply both to provider-initiated and consumer-initiated call blocking." The Professional Association for Customer Equipment, Alorica and the Consumer Relations Consortium urged the FCC to require carriers to offer call-blocking mitigation services for call originators and recipients, along with speedy agency complaint procedures. The Electronic Transactions Association backed an FCC challenge mechanism if it promotes "centralized feedback" as part of an industry standard. Hiya backed a challenge mechanism and the Retail Energy Supply Association urged numerous new FCC requirements. SiriusXM said it's being harmed by aggressive blocking of legal calls and proposed various rules to facilitate unblocking. NTCA said providers that block calls should be required to send callers with blocked numbers an "intercept message" notifying them of the action and possible remedial steps. Consumer groups don't oppose an unblocking mechanism if there are safeguards but sought new FCC actions to combat illegal robocalling. The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions also urged the FCC to stay focused on cracking down on unlawful robocalls, and wait to undo harmful effects until litigation over the 2015 order is resolved. Colonial Penn Life Insurance backed the FCC initiative if it acts to ensure legitimate marketers aren't snared. USTelecom opposed a challenge-mechanism requirement and asked the FCC to back industry-led unblocking efforts. Verizon said the FCC should encourage industry efforts, saying much depends on whether blocking is opt-in or opt-out. NCTA said the FCC should monitor voluntary call blocking before deciding on new rules. Comcast opposed possible new reporting duties but suggested the FCC require voice providers to create their own user-friendly webpages for reporting erroneous call blocking. First Orion said industry parties need leeway to develop their own challenge mechanisms, and Transaction Network Services suggested a challenge mechanism is tricky to implement. ITTA opposed possible new industry reporting duties for voice providers. Incompas asked to hold off on such obligations for now, and "not rush to implement any solutions" that could harm upstart competitors until reliable robocall detection is available industrywide.

Frontier Communications said it exceeded its 2017 Connect America Fund milestone in all 29 of its states, "reaching over 45 percent eligible households under the FCC's CAF program." About 350,000 CAF-eligible households now have 10/1 Mbps, and "over 900,000 households experienced speed increases due to network upgrades," the company said Tuesday. "These improvements result from CAF funding and Frontier capital investment and exceeded the program requirements to reach 40% of eligible households by the end of 2017."

Rural telcos urged FCC changes to a USF operations expense cap that "undermines the offering of standalone broadband services" by high-cost support recipients. The cap is based on voice loops, which "can impose an artificially low ceiling on corporate operations expenses for companies as their consumers increasingly" opt for broadband-only connections, said a filing Monday in docket 10-90 on meetings Alexicon, NTCA and WTC Communications had with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Mike O'Rielly and Brendan Carr. The "cap can start to apply and reduce support for companies like WTC not because the company’s corporate expenses have increased or because consumers have ceased to buy services from the company, but rather merely because consumers are choosing to buy standalone broadband services as prior reforms intended to enable," said the filing. The parties recommended rule changes to base corporate opex recovery "on connections (rather than only voice loops) that would be defined as a working loop or a broadband-only loop," and to base the calculation of broadband-only loops on data as of Dec. 31 "of the calendar year preceding each July 31 filing" to eliminate reporting inconsistencies. Pai last week circulated a draft rural USF orders and NPRM (see 1801160040 and 1801170048).

USTelecom and ITTA voiced concerns about an FCC Connect America Fund auction draft order on the tentative agenda for commissioners' Jan. 30 meeting (see 1801090050). USTelecom focused on a reconsideration issue raised by some about a potential gap between location commitments identified by a broadband cost model "and the number of locations that may actually exist on the ground in the CAF Auction eligible CBGs [census block groups]," said a filing posted Monday in docket 10-90 on a meeting telco officials had with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr. "Our due diligence effort revealed approximately 18% fewer locations in these CBGs. Because paragraph 25 of the Draft Recon Order would require auction winners to build out to the number of locations identified in the model regardless of the actual number of locations, a location deficit of this size could significantly reduce participation." There's "concern with Section III.D.1. of the Draft Order, regarding how to address the 'locations gap' in the [CAF Phase II] auction context," said ITTA on meetings it, NTCA, WTA and Vantage Point had with aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel. "Vantage Point found an overestimation of model-identified locations in 85 percent of 144 exchanges, with an average discrepancy of approximately 22 percent between model-identified locations and 'real-world' locations." Adtran said the draft "inaccurately describes" relief it requested, asking the FCC to correct the record. Hughes Network Systems reported on a meeting last week it said should have been submitted earlier due to an "inadvertent error." Kansas and Oklahoma rural telcos asked for actions to address a USF "shortfall" affecting cost-based rate-of-return telcos.

An FCC draft enforcement item on a Level 3-AT&T dispute was shared with commissioners Thursday, according to the agency's circulation list updated Friday. An agency spokesman didn't comment Monday. Level 3 filed a complaint last year alleging AT&T is trying "to delay and impede" the FCC's ongoing intercarrier compensation shift to bill-and-keep arrangements in which carriers don't charge each other terminating fees (see 1709130055). A Level 3 reply comment said AT&T apparently convinced Wireline Bureau staff in private meetings to endorse an interpretation of a rule -- "Section 51.907(g)(2), which is intended to implement Step Six of the transition to bill-and-keep for tandem-switched transport access services" -- that will require "a wholesale rewriting of the rule" (see 1710260028).

Judges affirmed a lower court dismissal of CallerID4u claims against AT&T and Verizon under Washington state law. CallerID4u, a CLEC, sought compensation for local telecom services it provided during a six-month period without a negotiated agreement or a valid tariff filed with the FCC setting service rates, said a unanimous ruling Monday of a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "The panel concluded that CallerID4u was subject to the tariff-filing requirements of Section 203 of the Communications Act because it did not have a negotiated agreement," the opinion said. "Agreeing with the Tenth Circuit, the panel also concluded that, under the filed rate doctrine, CallerID4u’s state law equitable claims for unjust enrichment and quantum merit [reasonable value of services] were preempted under Section 203. In addition, CallerID4u failed to state a claim under the Washington Consumer Protection Act." The cases were: CallerID4u v. MCI Communications, No. 15-35028, and CallerID4u v. BellSouth Long Distance, No. 15-35029. What was MCI is now part of Verizon and what was BellSouth is now part of AT&T.

Next Century Cities praised an FCC proposal to keep a 25 Mbps broadband benchmark in a draft report circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1801180053). "Maintaining this federal standard is essential to ensuring that all Americans are adequately connected to high-speed broadband services. We are glad the FCC shifted from its original plan to reduce broadband quality and instead will stay with the current 25/3 Mbps standard, and does not see mobile as ‘a full substitute’ for the high-quality broadband all Americans deserve,” said Deb Socia, executive director. NCC said the FCC backed off declaring mobile a substitute "after public pressure" from the "#MobileOnly Challenge" it and others organized (see 1712180057). “If we want to keep our economy chugging along, then we must put broadband networks and the internet on a bullet train to the future," Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said. "Increasing the fixed broadband benchmark to one Gigabit would encourage greater competition, lower prices, and unleash investment." Pickering lauded Pai and the commission for their "continued focus on broadband deployment," and urged them to take new actions to spur competition: "We support the Commission adopting policies that lower barriers for competitors, such as One Touch, Make Ready for pole attachments. The FCC should also clarify that it will not preempt any city or state that enables broadband competition in multi-tenant buildings, and it should open a rulemaking that makes clear that exclusive access arrangements are not permitted. Consumers living in condos or apartments have a right to competition too.”

The FCC Wireline Bureau approved Zayo's planned buy of Spread Telecommunications from Barksdale Communications, in a public notice in docket 17-350 Friday.