The FCC provided compliance guidance to price-cap telcos that accepted Connect America Fund Phase I incremental support. CAF I support was offered in two rounds, and for both rounds recipients are required to submit certifications and lists of geocoded locations as part of their annual FCC Form 481 submissions, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 10-90 listed in Monday's Daily Digest. The three-year deadline for meeting the CAF I incremental support duties for the first round was July 24, 2015, the PN said. "CAF Phase I recipients for the first round are required to certify that they are meeting the CAF Phase I incremental support requirements and provide the final list of locations as part of their Form 481 submission due July 1, 2016," it said. "CAF Phase I recipients for the second round will be required to certify on their FCC Form 481 due July 1, 2016 that they deployed broadband to no fewer than two-thirds of the required locations within two years of the date of acceptance of support. CAF Phase I recipients for the second round will submit geocoded information for the two-year milestone on July 1, 2016." The Universal Service Administrative Co. will be validating compliance with deployment milestones and testing certification accuracy. The bureau also provided guidance on the types of documents that recipients should be prepared to produce on request.

NTCA said a new registration duty might help address rural call completion problems, which it said continue despite helpful FCC efforts and enforcement actions against originating carriers. "That issues are resolved more quickly now than in years past is a positive development, but it is inexcusable that calls continue to fail and that the root cause has not been addressed," the group said in a filing Thursday in docket 13-39 on a meeting with Enforcement and Wireline bureau staffers. "The group discussed possible further action the Commission could take, including an FCC registration requirement for intermediate providers." NTCA said 80 percent of its members answering a questionnaire reported call completion problems in the past year: "More than 1/4 indicated that they receive complaints from subscribers at least weekly. The vast majority of failing calls are intended for subscribers of [RLECs]. While 11% of respondents indicated that only their [CLEC] operations continue to be impacted by call failure, the vast majority of failed calls are intended for RLEC subscribers."

The FCC adopted a protective order proposed by AT&T and Great Lakes Comnet (GLC) for a docket affecting the two companies, said Enforcement Bureau Deputy Division Chief Lisa Griffin in a letter Thursday posted in docket 16-170. Griffin said the bureau is satisfied the protective order would "ensure that, in addition to commission staff, only the parties' counsel and authorized representatives will have access to privileged or confidential information." The order was largely based on a model protective order previously approved by the agency, she said. A federal court May 24 largely upheld a 2015 FCC decision siding with AT&T in an intercarrier compensation dispute with GLC, remanding a "rural exemption" issue (see 1605240022). In addition, AT&T can pursue damages.

The General Services Administration extended Level 3's Networx Enterprise contract until May 2020, said a company news release Wednesday. The contract, which allows Level 3 to bid for provisioning government network services, was to expire in May 2017 but is being extended to give agencies time to move to next-generation Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions. "The importance of a smooth transition to the EIS contract cannot be overestimated," said David Young, a Level 3 regional vice president in its government markets group. Level 3 said it provides "critical networking support" to the Department of Defense, civilian agencies, systems integrators, state and local governments, and educational/research institutions.

A federal court pushed back the briefing schedule for AT&T challenges to two FCC orders from December 2014 and December 2015 on price-cap telco USF duties (see 1601110036). An order (in Pacer) issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an unopposed AT&T motion to extend a previous timetable (see 1605170061) due to deadline conflicts faced by the company's counsel. An initial joint brief from petitioners and supporting intervenors is now due July 12; a brief from respondents FCC and DOJ is due Sept. 2; and a joint reply brief from petitioners and supporting intervenors is due Sept. 19. Petitioner AT&T is joined in the challenges by CenturyLink as a petitioner/intervenor and USTelecom as an intervenor. The consolidated case is AT&T v. FCC, No. 15-1038.

The FCC approved the transfer of Logix Communications to Logix Acquisition Co. under Section 214 of the Communications Act, said a Wireline Bureau public notice Wednesday in docket 15-280. The commission had postponed action at the request of the DOJ and FBI, backed by the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, while they reviewed the deal on national security, law enforcement and public safety grounds, the PN said. The executive branch departments told the FCC May 25 they had no objections to the transaction, clearing the way for commission approval. The bureau also granted a Section 214 application for Lightspeed Networks to acquire the assets of Qualcom (formerly known as Quantum Communications), said a notice Tuesday in docket 16-130.

The FCC approved the acquisition of Selectel by Compass Capital and Compass Atlantic from Matthew O'Flaherty, Teri O'Flaherty and Stacy Hergenrader. The commission had postponed action on the transaction after the DOJ and FBI, backed by the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, asked in February for a delay while they reviewed the telco deal on national security, law enforcement and public safety grounds, said a Wireline Bureau notice Thursday in docket 15-8. The executive branch departments/agencies notified the FCC Wednesday they had no objection to the application. The bureau thus granted it. Asked about possible new FCC deadlines in reviews involving the executive branch's "Team Telecom," Chairman Tom Wheeler said Wednesday, "After Team Telecom, we normally act -- bam -- like that" (see 1605250070).

The FCC set a pleading cycle for a bid by several small Midwest telcos to transfer assets among them. Comments are due June 8, replies June 15 on the application from Consolidated Communications (CCI), Consolidated Communications of Iowa Co. (formerly known as Heartland Telecommunications Co.), Crystal Communications, Mutual Telephone Co. of Sioux Center, Iowa, d/b/a Premier Communications (Mutual), Premier Communications and Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association, said a public notice in docket 16-150 in Thursday's Daily Digest. The companies seek FCC approval under Section 214 of the Communications Act to "(1) transfer control of Heartland from CCI to Mutual; (2) transfer certain assets from Heartland to Winnebago; and (3) transfer certain assets from Crystal to Premier and Winnebago," the PN said. A recent PN sought comment on a related waiver petition from Mutual and Winnebago to break off Heartland's Bancroft and Lakota exchanges to form a new study area for Winnebago, with the remaining Heartland exchanges to be owned by Mutual (see 1605230045).

Rural telcos asked the FCC to reconsider parts of its rate-of-return USF order aimed at helping small carriers maintain and expand broadband service in high-cost areas (see 1603300065). The FCC should address issues of "sufficiency and reasonable comparability," a "cost recovery "black hole" and broadband cost "model election budget issues," among other things, said NTCA in its petition Wednesday in docket 10-90. A WTA email said its petition seeks reconsideration in four areas: "the Commission should reconsider and strengthen its requirements for qualifications as 'unsubsidized competitors' to ensure that customers in affected 'competitive' areas do not suffer loss or degradation of service; the Commission should clarify and expand its rules regarding the treatment of transactions after the ACAM [cost model] and Rate of Return paths are implemented; the Order’s build-out obligations do not consider virtually certain price increases and delays regarding fiber optic cable and construction contractors; and the Order’s benchmark and budgetary controls render it unlikely that retail broadband rates can comply with reasonably comparability ceilings." A Madison Telephone Co. petition asked the FCC to eliminate a “parent trap” rule, which governs high-cost USF support when rural exchanges are sold or transferred.

The FCC said streamlined review of a "study area" waiver petition filed by two rural carriers is inappropriate. Comments are due June 22 and replies July 7 on the waiver sought by Mutual Telephone Co. of Sioux Center, Iowa, and Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association, said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 96-45. The petition asks to "redefine the Consolidated Communications of Iowa f/k/a Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa (Heartland) study area" by breaking off the Bancroft and Lakota exchanges to form a new study area for Winnebago, with the remaining Heartland exchanges to be owned by Mutual, the PN said. Although the bureau noted petitioners intend to honor broadband-oriented Connect America Fund Phase II buildout commitments and say the study area change won't raise USF burdens, it said the request raises questions that need further evaluation.