Chairman Julius Genachowski voiced hope that the FCC will get data on broadband availability from small cable operators to help the agency direct money to fast-Internet projects in areas unserved by any ISP. The commission is “committed” to not funding broadband projects in areas that are already served and needs help from American Cable Association members in providing relevant information, he told the ACA’s convention Wednesday. He pledged the FCC will be careful to seek only what it needs so as not to overburden small companies with requests, and he hopes they'll deliver the needed documents. Genachowski also said the FCC wants to work with industry to keep a lid on viewer complaints about loud TV ads and will keep small operators in mind in reviewing whether to extend viewability rules for stations guaranteed cable carriage.

The FCC should wrap up this year an order providing for interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band, representatives of Vulcan Wireless said in a series of meetings at the agency. Creating a single band class in the band would “provide the certainty necessary for Lower 700 MHz A Block licensees to meet their looming build-out deadlines as well as upcoming USF mobility fund deadlines, allowing them to compete for universal service and other broadband funds intended to spur mobile broadband development in rural areas,” Vulcan said (http://xrl.us/bmxy5d). An interoperability requirement would also “address the ’spectrum crunch’ by unleashing 12 MHz of valuable and immediately available spectrum for competitive wireless broadband service.” The commission is slated to vote on a 700 MHz interoperability rulemaking notice at its March 21 meeting.

A Colorado bill seeks to modernize the state’s telecom law by phasing out subsidies in competitive areas of the state and investing in broadband in unserved areas, among other things. The bill targets CenturyLink customers in rural, hard-to-serve areas and could result in their loss of service, said CenturyLink, the largest provider in the state. Rural providers in the state support the bill, saying it might help them offset some of the revenue loss resulting from the FCC’s USF reform.

Changes in the Universal Service Fund are throwing many rural carriers into confusion about how to keep afloat once the USF spigot is turned down starting July 1. Companies that invested heavily in rural broadband say new rules limiting reimbursable capital and operating costs mean they won’t be able to repay loans. Others question the “safety net additive” reforms that they say unexpectedly eliminated promised financial support. The end result, rural carriers say, will be decreased investment in broadband, and an inability to maintain the phone lines currently in place.

Judging by the Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation order, originating access charges for all public switched telephone network-VoIP traffic is subject to interstate rates, not intrastate rates, Verizon executives told an aide to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Monday (http://xrl.us/bmw8ne). The meeting responded to a petition for clarification by Windstream and Frontier, which argued that originating charges had not been touched by the order (CD Feb 14 p13). “We do not dispute these carriers’ expectation leading up to the USF-ICC Transformation Order that potential reductions in originating access charges may be addressed but at a later date,” wrote Verizon Vice President Maggie McCready. Nonetheless, reading the order so that PSTN-VoIP traffic is subject to interstate origination rates “strikes the right balance and is consistent with the Commission’s objectives to avoid applying the legacy access charge regime to IP traffic, and also to treat all IP traffic in a symmetrical manner,” she said. Were the commission to “reverse course now” it would “perversely” disincent the migration of customers to IP platforms, “in order for carriers to continue charging higher intrastate originating access rates,” she said. Comcast executives told Wireline Bureau officials Thursday that the order “plainly mandates that the default rates applicable to such originating toll traffic are the originating carrier’s interstate access rates” (http://xrl.us/bmw8rn). Comcast urged the commission “not to reconsider” these provisions, even though the impact on Comcast “will amount to several million dollars annually.” Also last week, Windstream met with Wireline Bureau officials to discuss estimated reductions in annual originating access revenue it would see if the intrastate origination fees were “flash cut” to interstate levels, according to an ex parte filing (http://xrl.us/bmw8jh). It’s impossible to determine the exact impact of proposed rate reductions, “because intrastate originating access for PSTN-VoIP traffic has never been in dispute and incumbent LECs have no visibility into what percentage of traffic interexchange carriers will claim is PSTN-VoIP traffic,” the letter said. Because many of its estimated revenue reductions relate to payments to competitive LEC affiliates, a recovery mechanism permitting incumbent LECs to recover lost revenues would be “insufficient,” Windstream said.

A Georgia bill would rapidly eliminate the state’s $16 million Universal Access Fund (UAF), which funds rural phone companies and is financed by larger telecom companies like AT&T. HB-855 (http://xrl.us/bmwmgc) is being considered in the House. It would ignore the 20-year phase out of the UAF passed in 2010 and instead eliminate it by 2015. If the bill were passed, the UAF would be reduced to $6 million in 2013, to $3 million in 2014 and be eliminated in 2015.

Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein defended the pace of broadband stimulus projects and the failure of Open Range Communications, at a budget hearing Thursday of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture. The White House’s FY 2013 budget proposal provides “adequate” broadband funding for rural areas, Adelstein said. RUS is studying the impact of the recent Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation overhaul, he said.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell still hopes to see commission action early this year on Universal Service Fund contribution reform. The FCC approved an order in October addressing the distribution side of USF and an order on the USF’s Lifeline program in January. Followup work on both is expected to consume much of the Wireline Bureau’s attention this year.

The Rural Cellular Association and the Rural Telecommunications Group both warned the FCC the Mobility Fund created by the Connect America Fund order is too small to meet the needs of rural America. Replies were due last week on the dedicated wireless fund created by the FCC’s October Universal Service Fund reform order (CD Oct 28 p1).

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said she'll propose legislation to establish a seat on the USF joint-board for a representative of Indian tribes. According to her proposed bill, the tribal representative would be nominated by the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy.