CenturyLink -- one of three ISPs Cogent has named as a possible litigation target -- is in talks "to explore how we can further improve our peering relationship," CenturyLink said Friday. Cogent said Thursday that it had increased legal spending as it looks at going to the FCC to tackle interconnection problems with CenturyLink, Deutsche Telekom and Time Warner Cable (see 1508060048) -- interconnection problems that perhaps violate the net neutrality order. In a statement to us Friday, CenturyLink said it believes "current market-based agreements are fair to all parties and working well." The company said it "acknowledges that increasing data-driven network demands will require providers to continue to seek and maintain balanced peering arrangements. Our goal is to ensure that all network customers enjoy a consistent Internet experience. Policymakers should allow the market to continue to evolve to meet the needs of Internet users and content and service providers alike.” Neither TWC nor Deutsche Telekom commented.

The Communications Workers of America urged the FCC to expedite the approval process for Frontier Communications' pending buy of Verizon wireline services in California, Florida and Texas (see 1502050059). CWA's filing, posted Wednesday in docket 15-44, detailed the union's recent agreements with Frontier (see 1507310059) on conditions for if the transaction with Verizon receives commission approval. CWA said its deal with Frontier provides for the addition of 150 jobs in California and 60 jobs in Texas, plus a two-year collective bargaining agreement extension. CWA supported Frontier's plans to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas and to extend existing fiber networks.

Comment deadlines in the Lifeline USF Further NPRM were extended a couple of weeks, said an order issued by the FCC Wireline Bureau Wednesday in docket 11-42. Initial comments had been due Aug. 17, replies Sept. 15, but telecom trade groups and state parties asked for 30-day extensions (see 1507310061, 1508030067 and 1508040031). Bureau Chief Matthew DelNero said an extension was warranted, given the requests and the "breadth and complexity" of the second Further NPRM aimed at revamping the Lifeline program for broadband coverage and administrative restructuring. But he said the bureau was granting just a 14-day extension for initial comments until Aug. 31 and a 15-day extension until Sept. 30 for replies because it was committed to acting "in a timely manner." The "limited" extensions "will allow for more thoughtful consideration of the issues raised in the Second FNPRM, while at the same time not unduly delaying the resolution of these issues," he said.

Windstream will accept $174.9 million in annual USF support to provide broadband speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps to more than 400,000 rural locations in 17 states utilizing the FCC's new Connect America Fund, the commission and company announced (here and here) Wednesday. Windstream was eligible to receive $178.8 million in annual support. “Windstream’s decision to accept support from the Connect America Fund will greatly benefit its rural customers by expanding robust broadband in their communities,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The FCC offered price-cap telcos a total of $1.675 billion in annual Phase II CAF support over six calendar years (2015-2020). Frontier previously said it would accept its entire $283.4 million share. Other carriers have until Aug. 27 to make their decisions. Carriers receiving CAF support must build out 10/1 Mbps broadband to 40 percent of funded locations by the end of 2017, 60 percent by the end of 2018, and 100 percent by the end of 2020, the FCC said.

Frontier executives met with FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel plus Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday to explain the company's broadband plans if its buy of Verizon's wireline services in California, Florida and Texas (see 1502050059) is approved, said filings posted Tuesday in docket 15-44. Participants were Frontier CEO Dan McCarthy, Executive Chairwoman Maggie Wilderotter and Executive Vice President-External Affairs Kathleen Abernathy, herself a former FCC member, and the commissioners. According to the filings, the Frontier executives told of the company's plans for investment in broadband infrastructure and rural broadband expansion, and discussed Frontier's recent settlement with the Communications Workers of America (see 1507310059). They also told the commissioners of what they see as the consumer benefits the transaction could provide and expressed support for "modernizing" the FCC Lifeline program to include broadband, the filings said.

Vonage asked for an expansion of its limited waiver of the FCC order granting direct numbering rights to VoIP providers. The filing, posted Tuesday in docket 13-97, asks that Vonage be allowed to seek direct numbering resources while the order (see 1506180060) awaits an OK from the Office of Management and Budget. "Taking this step will provide Vonage the opportunity to swiftly deploy numbers, thereby delivering the public interest benefits the commission identified in its order," Vonage said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Technology (OIT) named Windstream one of three winners of a national consolidation of LEC services contract to provide voice, data and Internet services, the company said in a news release Tuesday. The contract has a ceiling of $450 million through five years and allows Windstream to provide multilocation VA medical center clinics and facilities with local voice, high-speed ethernet and customized telehealth systems, the telco said. Windstream's technology will be installed at 2,100 VA facilities nationwide, it said.

The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates became the fifth party to ask the FCC to extend the comment period on proposals to overhaul the Lifeline USF support program to cover broadband and restructure its administration. Initial comments are currently due Aug. 17, replies Sept. 17, NASUCA said in a motion posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 asking for an extension to Sept. 16 and Oct. 19, because the issues addressed in the NPRM are a "sea change for the Lifeline program" and "are extremely complex and vitally important" to telecom customers the group represents. "There are literally hundreds of questions covering nearly every conceivable aspect of designing a Lifeline program for broadband, and many of the issues also affect the Lifeline program for voice services," said NASUCA, saying many key staffers would be on pre-scheduled family vacations. Previously, CTIA, the ITTA, USTelecom and California Public Utilities Commission asked for 30-day extensions (see 1507310061 and 1508030067).

Verizon wants the FCC to intervene in a pole attachment dispute with Dominion Virginia Power. Dominion (also known as Virginia Electric and Power Co.) under a joint-use agreement charges Verizon pole-attachment rental rates that are "excessive and increasing," the telco said in a complaint posted Tuesday, which had specific prices and costs redacted. Verizon said it should get the same rate as comparable providers under the new telecom rate or the cable rate authorized under the commission's 2011 order that aimed to drive town telco pole-attachment rates to levels comparable with cable rates. Verizon said it had paid (a redacted amount) more in gross rent each year than it would have paid under the commission’s new telecom rate. "And its overpayments did not begin with the Pole Attachment Order," Verizon said. "For decades, it has paid far more than its competitors for comparable pole attachment terms and conditions. The Commission’s 2011 Order -- and the Enforcement Bureau’s 2015 decision applying the Order in the Verizon Florida proceeding -- make clear that this competitive disparity must end, as it both distorts competition and discourages broadband deployment. But Dominion has stonewalled and rebuffed Verizon’s efforts to negotiate a just and reasonable rental rate for nearly twenty-two months." Verizon asked the FCC to reject Dominion's efforts and "find that the rates that Dominion has charged Verizon are unjust and unreasonable, and set Verizon’s rate for the comparable (or less advantageous) terms in the Joint Use Agreement at the new telecom rate that applies to Verizon’s competitors." The telco also asked the FCC to order Dominion to refund the amounts that it had overpaid. "Dominion has negotiated these agreements with Verizon in good faith, but regretfully we have reached an impasse," emailed the utility. "We will reply in a timely manner."

AT&T launched its first triple play set of products, days after its acquisition of DirecTV got FCC approval (see 1507240055). Its video/wireless/broadband service will be available starting Aug. 10, AT&T said in a Monday news release. The company indicated other combo packages are in the works, with Brad Bentley, chief marketing officer, AT&T Entertainment and Internet Services, calling the triple play package "the first of many planned moves to enable our customers to enjoy a premium entertainment experience almost anywhere." The AT&T offerings include a variety of DirecTV or AT&T U-verse packages bundled with wireless phone service, available for monthly prices starting at $200, with different high-speed Internet services available atop that.