USTelecom and Incompas held separate meetings last week with FCC officials about a draft NPRM in docket 19-308 for updating unbundling and resale rules for competitive LEC access to parts of an ILEC's facilities-based network at regulated prices. USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter spoke with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Tuesday, plus Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, supporting the NPRM and "ongoing efforts to modernize outdated regulations," said a filing posted Friday. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering with Granite Telecommunications, Sonic and other member companies met Tuesday with Pai and each of the commissioners, plus Wireline Bureau staff, said a Friday posting opposing the NPRM. "Customers are clamoring for more competition," Incompas said. Commissioners are scheduled to vote Friday (see 1910300010).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral argument in Irregulators v. FCC (19-1085) Jan. 17 at 9:30 a.m., said a document filed (in Pacer) Wednesday. The court will announce the argument panel 30 days before at www.cadc.uscourts.gov. The petitioners, who include telecom attorneys and former FCC staffers, say the agency's current contribution methodology over-allocates costs to intrastate communications, leading to higher consumer costs for basic local phone service (see 1907220051).
Applicants in an upcoming auction of toll-free numbers in the 833 code must resubmit corrections to any incomplete applications by Nov. 27, 6 p.m. EST, said a public notice on docket 19-101 by the FCC Wireline Bureau and Somos.
More than $13 million in support of 66 winning bids from the Connect America Fund Phase II auction was authorized by FCC Wireline Bureau, Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics, per a public notice Wednesday on docket 10-90. The winning bidders, Hankins Information Technology and Newmax LLC, cover areas in California, Idaho and Washington state.
The FCC Wireline Bureau issued guidance Tuesday for funding recipients in USF competitive bidding on how to notify the bureau of discrepancies between the number of funded locations and locations a provider can serve with broadband (see 1809100042). An order in docket 10-90 establishes a one-time eligible locations adjustment process (ELAP). A Connect America Fund-II participant officer must certify under penalty of perjury the provider did due diligence. Eligible stakeholders have 90 days from release of the new data to file a challenge; responses will be due 30 days after that. The bureau will work with Universal Service Administrative Co. on a process to accept and retain ELAP location submissions and control access to the information for confidentiality and privacy purposes, and the bureau will work with USAC on an ELAP map.
Mediation talks between Uniti and client Windstream have broken down "indefinitely," Uniti told the SEC Tuesday. Windstream released "cleansing materials" acknowledging a mediator suspended negotiations after an impasse. Windstream sought the mediation this summer (see 1907220074) after it filed for Chapter 11 (see 1902250058). "Until this matter is solved in a more formal (legal) way, we believe this will continue to be a large overhang" for Uniti, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche told investors Tuesday. “We were unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with Uniti," said Windstream CEO Tony Thomas. "Now we are fully focused on pursuing our litigation claims to conclusion. Windstream will continue to serve our customers throughout the restructuring process and strategically invest to expand rural broadband access.”
The FCC found a Wide Voice tariff policy "unjust and unreasonable" after reviewing Verizon's complaint, in a Friday order on docket 19-121. Wide Voice must step down tariffed rates for terminating tandem-switched transport whenever it owns the tandem and terminates the call. In a 2011 order, the FCC mandated how a competitive LEC can benchmark tandem-switched transport rates to those of a competing ILEC. Wide Voice and Verizon interpreted rules differently. Wide Voice must file a new interstate tariff with revisions within 60 days. Wide Voice didn't comment.
USTelecom and members want the FCC-proposed Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to "invest today in terrestrial broadband to provide a future of rural connectivity," wired and wireless, they said in meetings with the Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau Thursday and posted Friday in docket 19-126. They request "clearly defined roles and responsibilities" as USF high-cost programs transition to RDOF (see 1909230013). The telecom industry wants the FCC to use lessons learned from the Connect America Fund phase II auction "to ensure reasonable accountability while ensuring the program is not bogged down with unnecessary requirements," saying RDOF should reduce the risk of inaccurate location data. AT&T, Consolidated, CenturyLink, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream also sent representatives.
AT&T Florida said it should pay "a properly calculated new telecom rate and be refunded its overpayments" in BellSouth v. Florida Power and Light pole attachment dispute. Replies to FPL's answer posted Thursday to FCC docket 19-187.
The FCC Wireline Bureau granted petitions to Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative and Consolidated Communications Networks to waive a commitment to serve a specific number of locations under rural broadband experiments in the USF Connect America Fund program, in an order posted to docket 10-90 Thursday. "Petitioners demonstrate that the required number of locations exceeds the actual number of locations that the petitioners have been able to identify within their respective study areas," the bureau said. The agency will direct Universal Service Administrative Co. to reduce payments accordingly.