Competitive telcos think the FCC has turned its back on them, CLEC executives and lawyers told us. “I think the commission hasn’t taken any initiatives to promote competition,” said Eckert, Seamans telecom lawyer James Falvey. “There have been a number of issues that the CLECs have brought to the commission and said, ‘We need your help on this to promote competition.’ The commission hasn’t taken any proactive steps.”

Telcos will have collected more than $16.6 billion in Universal Service Fund revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Universal Service Administrative Company projected Tuesday, based on USF forms, called 499-Qs, filled out by some 6,437 carriers, USAC said (http://xrl.us/bmkcfh). It'll be used to determine the contribution methodology for the first quarter of 2012. The latest projection is about $72 million lower than the previous quarter’s projection, which may mean the contribution factor will rise. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has apparently promised to tackle contribution reform next year and the matter has arisen in the confirmation of would-be commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai (CD Dec 1 p7). One ILEC official predicted that, based on the ILEC’s own analysis, the contribution factor might approach 18 percent before the end of next year.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission appealed the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Another appeal from NASUCA is coming, the group’s executive director, Charles Acquard, told us. More appeals might be coming from states, analysts said. The FCC looks forward to “vigorously defending” in court its “unanimous, balanced” USF and ICC reforms, an agency official said.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau opened investigations into allegations that Lifeline carriers aren’t properly checking whether their customers are eligible to receive the subsidy, the commission said Monday in an enforcement advisory (http://xrl.us/bmkcfs). “We are actively investigating these allegations, and issue this Enforcement Advisory to alert Lifeline service providers that they face stiff penalties, potentially including revocation of their [eligible telecommunications carrier service] status or their section 214 authorization to operate as carriers, if they do not strictly adhere to the Commission’s rules,” the FCC said.

The Washington Independent Telecommunications Association, which represents small telcos in the state, alleged that competitive local exchange carrier PAETEC has been avoiding access charges. The group asked the state commission to stop PAETEC from its activities and revoke its authority to operate in the state. It’s uncertain what the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation would do to state access charge disputes, said the group and PAETEC.

Core Communications appealed the FCC’s Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation order Friday. The USF/ICC appeal is apparently the first legal challenge to the commission’s USF overhaul (CD Oct 28 p1). But it will not be the last, telecom experts have predicted. It was filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. It’s a mere two pages.

New FCC ex parte rules were violated at least 11 times since taking effect June 1, a Communications Daily review of all filings and the agency’s own checks found. Some filings were made late -- from a day in many instances to a few weeks -- and others didn’t contain enough information on what was discussed during lobbying meetings. The filings were made by companies and associations big and small. They covered proceedings ranging from changing the Universal Service Fund to pay for broadband deployment to retransmission consent, ISP speeds, disabilities access legislation passed in 2010 and getting low-power TV stations to fully vacate the 700 MHz band for wireless broadband in the small portion they occupy.

No decision was made regarding whether NARUC will appeal the FCC’s USF order at NARUC’s telecom committee conference call (CD Nov 30 p8) Wednesday, John Burke, chair of the committee, told us. NARUC, which has until the end of December to file an appeal, is in no rush to make a decision, he said. Meanwhile, it appears that several states were considering appealing particular issues in the order, said Burke. As a board member of the Vermont Public Service Board, Burke said he was looking at preemption issues and some Vermont-specific issues. If Vermont appeals, it will file before Dec. 9, Burke said.

House Commerce Committee Republicans questioned FCC transparency during the agency’s Universal Service Fund proceeding. “Given the keen interest of Congress in seeing the FCC’s internal procedures subjected to public scrutiny, we are particularly concerned with the Commission’s recent conduct with respect to the universal service item adopted at the Commission’s October open agenda meeting,” Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., wrote in a Monday letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski. The chairmen complained of another last-minute “data dump” by the commission. Also, the agency’s “practice of negotiating up to, and sometimes after, the Commission’s open agenda meeting appears to have reached an apex in the universal service proceeding,” they said. The Republicans asked Genachowski to say what changes were made to the USF order between the time it was considered and adopted. Meanwhile, the FCC sought comment Tuesday on additional ways to improve “transparency and efficiency” in Commission proceedings. “In particular, we seek comment on whether we should require commenters to file materials they cite in pleadings submitted in rulemaking proceedings, so that those materials are more easily accessible to all interested parties,” the FCC said. Comments are due 30 days after the notice’s publication in the Federal Register. Replies are due 45 days after publication. The House Commerce Committee marks up FCC process reform legislation Wednesday. Committee Democrats continued to oppose Walden’s HR-3309 in a memo that circulated late Monday.

NARUC might not appeal the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund as a single bloc because states have varying views on the order, telecom industry officials told us. Though it’s uncertain if NARUC will appeal, the decision would depend on how much common ground there is among states, John Burke, chair of NARUC’s telecom committee, told us. Meanwhile, the industry has been lobbying at states to prevent appeals, a state official said. Despite a few states’ different views on preemption, NARUC has been consistent with its opposition to state preemption (CD Aug 26 p5).