Rural telco groups presented FCC officials with a bevy of potential "technical assumptions" for implementing an overhaul of rate-of-return carrier USF support mechanisms. Representatives of the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, NTCA, USTelecom and WTA said that none of their associations were ready to endorse the assumptions they outlined to the FCC in a document, but they were submitting them to help in the identification and discussion of issues that may need further examination and resolution. "This approach has not been fully defined or modeled, and thus does not represent a fully-formed proposal that has been vetted by or is necessarily supported by industry representatives; some of the associations also have continuing questions and some concerns about issues that may arise in connection with such an approach," the groups said in a USTelecom filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. Derrick Owens, WTA vice president of government affairs, told us that the assumptions incorporated feedback from FCC officials, and are to be used to generate projections for rural telco funding under proposed USF changes. "The idea is to see what the effects are for the companies and the fund in general, and to see what other issues will pop up that need to be addressed," he said. The groups in May proposed a two-track overhaul of rate-of-return USF that would create a voluntary model-based approach and revise existing USF mechanisms to support stand-alone broadband, but many details remain in play (see 1506030052 and 1506040028).

The FCC released an order to help ensure the continuity of 911 communications as telcos move from traditional line-powered copper networks to fiber-based systems without independent power -- an item that was unanimously adopted by commissioners Thursday (see 1508060044). The 62-page text requires facilities-based providers of wireline phone service to notify consumers of the electrical power limitations of any new systems they install and offer them backup power options. Providers must give new customers options to buy and have installed at least eight hours of standby backup power capability, with the mandate taking effect for large companies 120 days after the order appears in the Federal Register. Providers with fewer than 100,000 domestic retail subscriber lines will have an additional 180 days to comply. Within three years of the effective date, all the providers will have to offer customers at least 24 hours of backup power, the order said. The FCC said its focus was to help ensure 911 calls can still be made during power outages, but it provided a general voice backup power mandate because there was no practical way to provide power just for 911 calls. There's no obligation for providers to retrofit existing systems with backup power, but they must annually notify consumers of their power limitations and options for installing backup power. The order released Friday clarified that the eight-hour (and eventually, 24-hour) duty covered the amount of time a backup solution had to be “in standby mode, i.e., able to provide a dial tone and to initiate and receive voice calls, but not necessarily continuously.” The FCC recognized the actual backup power duration would vary with calling uses, but it said it wasn’t practical to have a variable-usage rule. The requirements will sunset on Sept. 1, 2025.

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.

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).

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.

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."