The amount of Universal Service Fund support Gila River Telecommunications receives is expected to fall by $1.6 million in 2012, compared to the previous year, as a result of new USF rules approved in October, representatives of the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) said in a meeting at the FCC. “Such a loss of support could have a detrimental effect on the pricing and/or level of telecommunications services in the GRIC and [the company’s] ongoing efforts to deploy fiber-to-the home and businesses,” Gila River said in a filing at the commission (http://xrl.us/bmqbxg). “Such an impact is contrary to the public interest.”

The FCC approved an order Tuesday rewriting the rules for the Universal Service Fund Lifeline program. Commissioners Robert McDowell and Mignon Clyburn found aspects of the order lacking, but both voted to approve the order as a whole. McDowell dissented in part and concurred in part. Clyburn issued a concurrence on one part of the order.

Broadband pilots, proposed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski as part of a revamped Lifeline program, have emerged as a likely bone of contention at the agency as work on the order continues prior to a vote Tuesday. The amount proposed by Genachowski is small -- in the $20 million range -- to be paid for by savings as the FCC clamps down on abuse, agency officials said. But some industry and FCC officials question the wisdom of looking at ways of expanding a program that is already getting bigger just paying for traditional phone service.

Work at the FCC is intensifying on changing the Lifeline program that funds phone service for poor people, commissioners from both parties said Friday. A new draft of the Lifeline order circulated Tuesday night, prompting Commissioner Robert McDowell to return to Washington from a World Radiocommunications Conference in Geneva, he noted. Both McDowell and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn told a panel at the Minority Media and Telecom Council conference that the order tries to address waste and other inefficiencies in the subsidy program. Clyburn voiced support for the idea of broadband pilot tests, while McDowell said increases in one part of the Universal Service Fund mean all phone customers must pay more in USF fees unless there are other cuts.

The FCC ought to make sure it gets the most “'bang for the buck'” from any Universal Service Fund support of broadband pilot projects, the NCTA said. “To do this, the Commission should give preference to Lifeline pilot proposals that do not conflict with existing broadband initiatives focused on low-income populations.” The agency has said “unconstrained growth” of USF hurts consumers, so it “must make every effort to use support in the most efficient manner possible,” an association executive reported telling a Wireline Bureau official. An ex parte filing was posted Wednesday to docket 11-42 (http://xrl.us/bmpv5z). Commissioners are set to vote Jan. 31 on a order about controlling the size of the Lifeline fund (CD Jan 25 p1).

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden said Wednesday he’s watching FCC actions closely as the commission moves forward on a Lifeline order, slated for a vote at the Jan. 31 meeting. Meanwhile, AT&T said in a filing that the record shows most Lifeline customers forced to de-enroll from the program continue to pay for service afterward.

The FCC’s questions about adding filing obligations drew no support, in reply comments on a public notice asking about requiring all filings to include all cited material. Initial comments also opposed expanding the rules (CD Jan 11 p10). The Blooston, Mordkofsky communications law firm “concurs with the commenters in the record of this proceeding who have unanimously agreed that the Commission’s proposal, while meritorious in theory, will be unworkable in practice,” it said (http://xrl.us/bmpoye). “The Commission’s proposal, while well-meaning, will impose significant burdens on the public and practitioners and have a deleterious effect on the Commission’s ability to obtain quality input from the public during its public comment cycles. Currently, when commenters rely on data and other sources of information in support of their comments, the practice is to cite that information for support so that the reader can locate the original document for further review if necessary.” The Universal Service for America Coalition backed the CTIA’s request for FCC staff to make public promptly all analyses they rely on in making decisions. The coalition pointed to the Wireline Bureau making a Universal Service Fund study public shortly before commissioners voted on a USF order. The group “agrees with the near universal sentiment of commenters in this proceeding” on filing rules “that docket participants should not be required to submit all non-record material cited in filings into the record,” it said (http://xrl.us/bmpo2g). “Such a requirement is unnecessarily burdensome and would not significantly increase the ability of the public to access information.” Coalition members include Mobi PCS, SouthernLinc Wireless and Thumb Cellular, its attorney Todd Daubert of SNR Denton told us. Replies were posted Tuesday in docket 10-44.

The latest numbers emerging as the FCC pushes forward on an order addressing Lifeline funding reveal sharp growth in the cost of the Universal Service Fund program. Lifeline spending was up sharply in Q4 2011, ending in September, to $525 million, but it remains unclear whether that number is an anomaly or means real, across the board growth in the Lifeline program. Meanwhile, a senior FCC official said Chairman Julius Genachowski is committed to putting in place significant controls on the size of Lifeline program, which are projected to save $2 billion over a period of years versus the status quo.

Almost three months after the FCC approved a Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation reform plan, major industry players continue to seek significant changes. Comments were due last week on a further rulemaking notice approved as part of the order. How USF dollars ultimately will be divided as the fund is reconfigured to primarily pay for broadband is the key question addressed in most filings. They show that the FCC still has a huge job ahead as it continues to tackle changes to the USF. Numerous petitions for reconsideration have been filed in response to the Oct. 27 order. A second round of comments focusing on intercarrier compensation issues is due Feb. 24. Next week, the commission will begin to tackle Lifeline reform. Also looming are likely changes to the contribution side of USF.

Rural telecom associations want more, not less support to deploy broadband, said joint comments filed Wednesday by OPASTCO, the National Exchange Carrier Association, NTCA and Western Telecom Alliance. FCC efforts so far on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation mechanisms for rural LECs “have consisted entirely of caps, cuts and phase-outs to cost recovery components,” they said. At minimum, they said the FCC should provide USF support for standalone broadband, middle-mile costs and conversions to IP-enabled switching.