If a coalition of ex-FCC and other officials prevails against the agency, consumer costs could fall after changes, those in the Irregulators informal group told reporters Thursday. In July, they asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to hear oral argument on an order that extended a freeze on rules allocating most telecom costs to intrastate rather than interstate services, case 19-1085 (see 1907220051). "If we win and the FCC is forced to revisit" telecom accounting rules, Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America director-research, predicted "a scrum at the local level" over fee revenue and investments in legacy networks. "It's impossible for the consumer not to be better off" after such a win because it would reinvigorate state commissions to examine the issue more closely, said Bruce Kushnick, New Networks executive director. Reallocation could disrupt the flow of money from legacy phone services that subsidizes competitive services like wireless and broadband, speakers said. The petitioners plan reply in Irregulators v. FCC next week, said Cooper.

Ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hopes California and other states “rush through” the door opened by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling the FCC can’t pre-empt state net neutrality policies with its 2018 order, he emailed Wednesday. Vacating the pre-emption declaration “in and of itself doesn’t mean California and Vermont can ignore parallel judicial process,” countered Wilkinson Barker's Raymond Gifford. California and Vermont AGs agreed not to enforce their net neutrality laws while the D.C. Circuit decision was pending, in exchange for challengers of the state laws pausing lawsuits against the states. “It is clear, based on judges’ language in the California and Vermont cases, that neither state can enforce their legislation (or, in Vermont’s case, its parallel Executive Order) yet -- regardless of any potential desire,” emailed Gifford, a former Colorado Public Utilities Commission chairman. The judge in the Vermont case stopped the state from enforcing or directing enforcement of the law and EO “in any respect until 30 days after the expiration of the stay,” and Gifford said the “stay doesn’t lift until either the period for seeking further review from the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court expires, or the D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court issue a final decision.” In California, the judge’s “stay is predicated on the state of California, in a stipulation, agreeing to ‘not take any action to enforce, or direct the enforcement of, Senate Bill 822 in any respect, including through participation in private action seeking to enforce Senate Bill 822,’” he said. California and Vermont AG offices confirmed Wednesday they must wait (see 1910020028).

The FCC should grant its petition for forbearance on USF contributions for interstate and international inmate calling services, for callers and correctional telecom providers, replied Network Communications International Corp., posted in docket 19-232. The company petitioned in August, and Worth Rises says the FCC continue to collect USF fees from providers but prohibit pass-through to consumers (see 1909170029). NCIC said that "would require the modification of other FCC rules which are outside the scope of the proceeding." It said such a change would likely lead some ICS providers to pass the costs to users directly or indirectly. Global Tel*Link said because interstate ICS isn't a Lifeline service, it's subject to USF contributions that can be passed through to users, even when those users and families would typically be Lifeline customers.

The D.C. Public Service Commission will soon finalize updated pole-attachment rules, PSC External Affairs Office Director Cary Hinton emailed Tuesday. The PSC received no comments due Monday on an Aug. 30 notice of proposed rulemaking in docket RM162019-01-M. Comcast protested an earlier version of the proposal to repeal and replace Chapter 16 of Title 15 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations on pole-attachment disputes between public utilities and cable operators (see 1907090013). The PSC added some provisions specifically for cable operators’ use of utility facilities, plus a definition for pole attachment, the Aug. 30 notice said. The Maine Public Utilities Commission hopes to wrap up its own pole-attachment rates rulemaking (see 1907120047) by the end of this month, a PUC spokesperson emailed. Staff said in June the next and third phase of the proceeding will mainly be to adopt one-touch, make ready, and possibly to create a statewide pole-attachments database (see 1906190051). Meanwhile, the Vermont Public Utility Commission sought comment on its own pole-attachment regulations in a notice (requires password) last week in docket 19-02520-RULE. The agency plans hearings Oct. 23 and Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m., it said. Vermont’s proposed rules, which include a one-touch, make-ready option for attachments, are “along the lines of FCC make ready rules,” emailed cable lawyer Alan Mandl of Ferriter Scobbo. An older proceeding to update pole-attachment rates (see 1811060028) remains open. “Earlier this year a law was enacted which requires the PUC to issue a decision in June 2020,” said Mandl, who represents the CLEC association whose petition opened the proceeding. “The last unofficial word was not to expect any activity until 2020.”

The FCC is waiting for letters of credit and from providers' legal counsel to authorize the next round of 566 winning bids in its Connect America Fund Phase II auctions that would award USF support for broadband deployment over 10 years, it said Monday in docket 10-90. Letters are due Oct. 15.

The National Exchange Carrier Association's indexed cap on USF support amounts for high-cost loops for legacy rate-of-return carriers fell $17 million to $401 million for 2020 vs. 2019, NECA reported Monday in FCC docket 19-253. The number of ROR carrier working loops decreased nearly 6.4 percent, as the Gross Domestic Product-Chained Price Index dropped 2.4 percent.

The National Weather Service objected to AT&T's application to terminate some copper-based analog telecom circuits, in a filing posted Friday in docket 19-238. It wants the FCC to delay terminating the circuits and discontinuing renewing service agreements until the end of FY 2025. "The arbitrary deadlines in the proposal for the discontinuance of traditional copper-based service will have significant consequences for a U.S. Government agency dependent on annual appropriations to make necessary upgrades and changes," said NWS, the NOAA and the Department of Commerce. "The NWS, as well as other components of NOAA, have diverse mission portfolios and a large number of facilities that depend upon existing phone lines to fulfill their statutory mandates." It said discontinuing copper-based service "has significant potential to endanger life and property that the agency is required to protect." Comments were due Monday. An AT&T spokesperson said the company has until Oct. 29 to respond.

The FCC said LECs in danger of falling into a new access stimulator definition under rules approved Thursday should have enough time to come into compliance or update their business models to adjust before the regulation takes effect, in an order in docket 18-155 and Monday's Daily Digest. Commissioners voted to change the definition of access stimulators that could put more LECs at risk of the designation (see 1909260055). They changed the rules so such LECs would have to pay for certain long-distance transport traffic and tandem fees. The agency cited evidence that LECs should be able to "relocate their traffic in days, if not hours, rather than weeks and months." It rejected a request from FailSafe for a three-year phase-out of access charges due to independent phone companies' provision of emergency communications services. It suggested LECs that can satisfy standards of showing heavy financial burdens from the new rule should feel free to seek a waiver. The agency noted "there is a distinction between how much time it will take for an entity to come into compliance with the rules and how much time it will take to change their business model in light of the change in the rules." Responding to Joint CLECs, the agency clarified that "an access-stimulating LEC is responsible for all of the charges for tandem switching and tandem switched transport of traffic from any intermediate access provider(s) in the call path" between an interexchange carrier and the access-stimulating LEC. "It is neither unjust nor unreasonable to treat access-stimulating LECs differently from non-access-stimulating LECs," it said. The FCC modified Section 214 authorizations for Aureon and SDN: "The mandatory use requirement does not apply to interexchange carriers delivering terminating traffic to a local exchange carrier engaged in access stimulation." Only LECs engaged in access stimulation and IXCs delivering traffic to them will be affected by those changes for Aureon and SDN. The rules take effect within 75 days of Federal Register publication.

USTelecom sought clarity on a series of changes to Lifeline in meetings with Deputy Bureau Chief Trent Harkrader and others in the FCC Wireline Bureau and separately with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai Monday, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-287. An industry petition urges delaying implementation of higher minimum service standards set for Dec. 1 or grandfathering current minimum broadband service standards (see 1909130020). "To the extent the Commission is considering postponing the implementation date, USTelecom emphasized the importance of knowing this as soon as possible to prevent customer confusion and avoid administrative difficulties with carriers' IT systems," USTelecom said. An FCC spokesperson said Friday the petition is under review. Representatives from member companies AT&T, CenturyLink, Consolidated, Frontier, Verizon and Windstream participated.

USTelecom with CEOs urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to consider transitions for rural areas where incumbent price-cap carriers lose USF support because they either don't participate in upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions or another bidder wins, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-126: "Rules applicable only to ILECs due to their historical regulatory classification must be relieved in any areas subject to competition." If a winning bidder can't offer telecom service immediately, USTelecom said, new rules should address how an ILEC will receive transitional support from USF if it's required to continue providing service: "Where a new provider receives RDOF support, the ILEC should be relieved of any obligations to continue serving the area." USTelecom still wants a national broadband serviceable location fabric as part of digital opportunity data collections proceeding "as quickly as possible" so it can inform phase one of RDOF. If the agency uses only current Form 477 data "without reference to additional and more granular data provided by the fabric, the commission must address up front the fact that the auction will be based on inherently flawed location counts and bidders should be held harmless," the group said. Association CEO Jonathan Spalter and counterparts from Consolidated Communications, Bob Udell; Tony Thomas of Windstream; Frontier Communications' Dan McCarthy and others also met with each commissioner. Also in Washington last week, Udell spoke with us about RDOF (see 1909230030).