USTelecom opposed an NTIA request that the FCC reconsider parts of a tech transition order to address special challenges facing federal government agencies as telecom customers. "Although NTIA claims to fully support 'tech transitions,' it proposes additional Commission actions that could, if implemented, strike a significant blow against the progress of such transitions by making it more complicated, timely, and costly for providers to discontinue antiquated legacy services and replace them with newer services utilizing next-generation technologies that are necessary to support the nation’s current and future telecommunications needs," said a USTelecom filing posted Friday in FCC docket 13-5. "NTIA’s suggestions and proposals are not necessary to safeguard federal government agencies against the 'particular challenges [they face] as customers of telecommunications services and are otherwise unwarranted because they create burdens for providers that are not outweighed by any practical benefits." The USTelecom filing appears to be the only one that came in before the FCC's Thursday comment deadline on the petitions for reconsideration by USTelecom and a separate one by the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates and others (see 1610120035). The FCC and NTIA didn't comment Friday. In its petition, NTIA said the commission set out a reasonable approach to facilitating tech transitions while minimizing consumer harm. But NTIA said federal users are different from other customers, given their procedures and "mission-critical" functions (see 1610140061). Federal agencies are "particularly vulnerable to unanticipated and accelerated network changes," and while the FCC's "adequate replacement" framework helps, it doesn't fully address agency issues, NTIA said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau cleared MAS Group Holdings' buy of Masergy Communications, said a public notice Thursday in docket 16-354. No opposition was filed in the docket. MAS Group is owned by investment funds affiliated with Berkshire Partners (not part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway), said the companies' Oct. 25 application to transfer licenses under Section 214 of the Communications Act. Masergy Communications, which is controlled by Masergy Holdings, leases fiber capacity from others to provide long-distance services and "managed, secure virtualized network services" to enterprise customers, facilitating "the deployment of IT applications such as video, voice, and data on a global basis," said the application. It said a subsidiary, Masergy Cloud Communications, provides enterprise customers with interconnected VoIP service.

FCC staff provided guidance to telcos required to report geo-located broadband information and certify service milestones to the Universal Service Administrative Co. The commission's March rate-of-return USF overhaul order directed USAC to create an online portal to accept geo-located broadband information and certifications, and USAC is close to completing its initial version of the High Cost Universal Service Broadband portal (HUBB), said a Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 10-90. With telcos serving subsidized rural areas facing reporting and certification duties next year, the bureau said it was providing guidance so carriers can develop internal compliance measures. The PN details what locations must be reported, certain "do's and don'ts," location filing deadlines, broadband service milestone requirements and certifications, reporting on rural broadband experiments, and data-accuracy duties. "Rate-of-return carriers, recipients of Phase II model-based support and ACS [Alaska Communications Systems] must file broadband location information in the HUBB by March 1, 2017, and deployment milestone certifications in later years," it said, noting the March deadline still must be approved under the Paperwork Reduction Act. "By March 1, 2018, rate-of-return Alaska Plan carriers must also report their location data and, in later years, make milestone certifications in the HUBB." The bureau anticipates more than 1,000 carriers will submit 4.5 million location records to the HUBB. That will improve accountability but require automation and administrative efficiency, it said. On Tuesday, the bureau issued a public notice in the docket announcing capital investment allowance (CIA) amounts for rate-of-return carriers. "The CIA is the maximum amount of capital investment expenses that a rate-of-return carrier may include for purposes of calculating High-Cost Loop Support and Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support," it said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau approved Sangoma U.S.'s buy of SIPStation and Rockbochs, granting their application to transfer control under Section 214 of the Communications Act, in a public notice in docket 16-11 listed in Tuesday's Daily Digest. DOJ, backed by the Defense and Homeland Security departments, said Thursday they had no objection to the application and withdrew their request the commission defer action. The bureau said the Section 214 action was without prejudice to FCC action on related proceedings, noting the same parties applied to transfer control of international services. "On January 1, 2015, Sangoma U.S. acquired SIPStation and Rockbochs without seeking prior Commission approval of the transfer of control," said the PN. It noted the bureau had granted and extended the applicants' request for special temporary authority for Sangoma to continue providing service while the domestic Section 214 review continued.

Consolidated Communications may benefit from its $1.5 billion buy of FairPoint Communications (see 1612050030), even though the acquiree has struggled, analysts wrote Monday after the deal was disclosed, and Tuesday, as the acquiring telco announced it sold its IT business. "The transaction is positive for Consolidated because it will result in a modest decrease in leverage, increased scale and the potential for growth through greater investment into the legacy FairPoint properties," Moody's debt-rating analysts wrote. "FairPoint's revenues have faced pressure as growth in data and internet services has not been enough to offset the decline in voice and access revenues." The deal boosts "exposure to legacy telecom revenue including consumer voice, [but] we believe the deal will be accretive" and cut leverage, "outweighing the increased revenue headwinds," wrote Raymond James' Frank Louthan. He upped his rating on Consolidated from underperform to market perform. Separately, Consolidated said it completed the sale of its enterprise services equipment and IT services business to ePlus Technology. That now-divested unit had $55 million in FY 2015 revenue, said Consolidated.

The FCC invited input this month on Windstream's proposed takeover of EarthLink, said a public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. Comments are due Dec. 16, replies Dec. 23, said the PN in docket 16-393. The notice cited the application as saying EarthLink is authorized to offer telecom services in all 50 states, with its subsidiaries offering telecom services to small and medium-sized business, enterprise, and wholesale customers. "EarthLink’s local and longhaul fiber network spans 29,000 route miles in the Southeast, Northeast, and Southwest," said the PN. "Through one of its subsidiaries, EarthLink offers nationwide Internet access, including dial-up, DSL, and cable broadband, and related services to approximately 400,000 residential customers over a mix of leased facilities from incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) and cable operators." Windstream senior executives recently said they were hopeful of navigating a potential "traffic jam" of deal applications at the federal and state commissions (see 1611070032).

FCC staff ended a probe into AT&T business data service tariff revisions filed July 1 affecting volume shortfall penalties and early termination fees for its Pacific Bell Telephone Co. (PBTC) and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. (SWBT). The Wireline Bureau "suspended the tariff revisions and initiated an investigation" July 15 (see 1607150062), said a bureau order in docket 15-247 listed in Monday's Daily Digest. "Based on additional filings by AT&T and revisions to the tariffs that became effective on August 30, 2016, we conclude that the issues raised in the July 15 Suspension Order have been resolved." The bureau said AT&T's additional compliance filings Aug. 15 "addressed the shortfall and early termination penalty issues identified in the Tariff Investigation Order by decreasing the penalty amounts to the lowest available Price Cap Zone 1 Channel Termination rate for both PBTC and SWBT.”

Local telcos and others lined up in opposition to an AT&T forbearance petition for relief from certain intercarrier compensation tariffing duties for tandem switching and tandem-switched transport (see 1611020051). Oppositions posted Friday and Monday in docket 16-363 were from Consolidated Communications and West Telecom Services, NCTA, NTCA, WTA, other rural telco groups and companies, and various CLECs. Windstream, Iowa Network Services, Inteliquent, Bandwidth.com and Onvoy filed partial oppositions while Verizon supported the petition. In seeking forbearance, AT&T said "the FCC should detariff tandem switching and transport access charges for all" LECs, "on all calls to or from LECs engaged in access stimulation," calling the action a follow-on to previous FCC determinations against "traffic pumpers" that take advantage of "arbitrage" (see 1610030048). Replies are due Dec. 19.

Trade groups urged the FCC to extend an exemption for small broadband providers from compliance with enhanced transparency rules under the 2015 net neutrality order. The current exemption expires Dec. 15. Until the FCC or Congress "comprehensively addresses the future" of the exemption, "it is of paramount importance that the Commission act in the near term to prevent small BIAS [broadband internet access service] providers from having to comply with additional, unnecessary obligations," said a filing Thursday in docket 14-28 from the Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association and American Cable Association. The Office of Management and Budget still hasn't approved the new rule, without which "the absence of an exemption would create substantial confusion and uncertainty," the groups said. "Regarding the scope of the further exemption, the Associations urged the Commission to consider Congressional support for the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, which provides an extended exemption from the enhanced transparency rules to small BIAS providers serving 250,000 subscribers or less," said their filing on meetings with aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn. CTIA in October called on the agency to make the exemption permanent (see 1611070047). An FCC draft item on the exemption circulated on Oct. 25 (see 1611070047).

Universal Service Administrative Co. released a draft National Verifier Plan for the FCC Lifeline low-income telecom subsidy program, which is transitioning coverage to include broadband service and administrative oversight away from Lifeline providers (see 1603310056). USAC solicited comments between Dec. 5 and Dec. 30 for consideration in adoption of a plan expected out early next year. "Before it is published, the Final National Verifier Plan will be approved by the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of the Managing Director at the FCC," said the 101-slide USAC draft plan, which noted the final plan will be updated every six months during the expected 2017-19 implementation phase. To address what it saw as problems with Lifeline provider verification of consumer eligibility for the program, the FCC in March ordered the creation of a national verifier. The draft plan said the national verifier is to: "Create the Lifeline Eligibility Database (LED), which will be connected to state and federal data sources, to determine eligibility for both initial enrollment and annual recertification; Allow Service Providers, consumers, and state, territory, or tribal government users to check eligibility or enrollment status; and Calculate payments to Service Providers based on data available through National Verifier." The draft outlines initial USAC views on numerous issues in establishing the national verifier: stakeholder engagement, business architecture, data usage, data security and storage, tech systems and tools, organizational structure and staffing, business case, key performance indicators and metrics, risk management and transition management.