The FCC Wireline Bureau granted a waiver to the Tennessee E-Rate Consortium of the agency's E-rate competitive bidding rules for funding year 2012 for requests submitted by school districts that weren't yet members of the consortium when the group submitted its bid, in an order posted Friday in docket 02-6. The FCC said the public interest is served for several reasons, including that "there is no indication in the record of waste, fraud, or abuse."

The FCC dismissed a 3-year-old market complaint by AT&T against Great Lakes Communication, in an order posted Friday on proceeding 16-170. On Wednesday, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss with prejudice the dispute on intercarrier rates (see 1905290026).

Comments are due Sept. 3, replies Sept. 18 on a proposed eligible services list for the E-rate program's funding year 2020 for the USF mechanism that supports schools and libraries. The FCC Wireline Bureau posted the proposed list Friday in docket 13-184. Funding for three E-rate category two services -- managed internal broadband services, caching and basic maintenance of internal connections -- is scheduled to expire at the end of 2019 unless an anchor institution is still operating under a five-year budget cycle in FY 2020. The agency doesn't propose substantive changes, it said.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a notice of inquiry Tuesday for the annual broadband deployment report, posted Friday (see 1905290017).

The FCC late Friday issued an order of forbearance in a USTelecom petition on accelerating investment in broadband and next-generation networks, posted in docket 18-141.

Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and six other House members asked the FCC to delay hard launch of the Lifeline national eligibility verifier until the agency can establish a connection to Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases for Lifeline eligibility verification within those states (see 1907300012), in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Friday.

The FCC posted the latest Lifeline national verifier plan Thursday in docket 11-42. The document is updated every six months, said the Universal Service Administrative Co.

The FCC is taking comments through Aug. 30, replies Sept. 30 on an NPRM for improving competitive broadband access to multiple tenant environments, it said in a public notice Wednesday in docket 17-142. FCC commissioners voted along party lines to adopt the NPRM at their meeting in July (see 1907100020).

Comments are due Aug. 14, replies Aug. 21 on an application from American Network to transfer control of its company to Hammer Fiber Optics Holdings, said an FCC public notice Wednesday in docket 19-202. American Network provides competitive local exchange service in southeastern New York.

Comments are due Aug. 13, replies Aug. 20 to the FCC Wireline Bureau on an application by Consolidated Communications of Northern New England and Terabyte Holdings to transfer assets from CCNE's operator service/directory assistance business to Terabyte, said a public notice in docket 19-213 listed in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Unless otherwise notified, the applicants may transfer control in 31 days.