The FCC proposed to eliminate a suspended E-rate amortization requirement, waiving it for the duration of a rulemaking. E-rate use is limited “by requiring schools and libraries to amortize over three years upfront, non-recurring charges of $500,000 or more, including charges for special construction projects,” said an NPRM/order adopted unanimously Tuesday and released Thursday in docket 19-2. New Commissioner Geoffrey Starks was sworn in Wednesday. The commission said the requirement “increased costs for E-rate supported builds and created uncertainty for applicants” about funding availability in the second and third amortization years. The agency had suspended the rule through funding year 2018 to lower broadband investment barriers. “Allowing the amortization requirement to be restored would decrease broadband investment while increasing administrative burdens,” and “eliminating the requirement would not create a drain on E-Rate funding,” the item suggested. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly would have been open to a broader “E-rate reform” inquiry and questioned whether special construction projects should include applicant self-provisioned networks, which “can be a recipe for wasteful overbuilding.” He called for reviewing 2014 self-construction and dark fiber policies, and the track record of E-Rate applicants as network operators. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the amortization proposal “is the right call.” The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition “is thrilled” by the developments. “As the FCC points out, the concern that special construction might overwhelm the E-rate program has dissipated,” said Executive Director John Windhausen in a statement. “Reinstating the amortization requirement would have been costly ... and would have jeopardized several state matching programs. Special construction has proven to benefit thousands of schools and libraries, and has reduced the demand for E-rate dollars by allowing applicants to obtain lower-cost broadband services.”

Verizon received 139,659 subpoenas, orders and other requests for customer data from law enforcement in the second half of 2018, up from 132,858 in 2017, said its U.S. transparency report Wednesday. The requests have been relatively stable since 2016, including 144,748 in the first half of 2018. There were 64,017 subpoenas, 33,001 emergency requests, 28,098 orders (general, pen registers/trap and trace, and wiretap) and 14,543 warrants.

Frontier Communications failed to post a request for proposal for an audit of the carrier’s West Virginia operations, among other missed deadlines, the West Virginia Public Service Commission said Wednesday. The PSC ordered Frontier file all late documents as soon as possible and notify it immediately if it misses any more deadlines in docket 18-0291-T-P. The commission ordered an audit of the operations in August after “numerous and increasing complaints" about Frontier’s quality of service. The PSC said an outside auditor paid by Frontier should review if the company is operating efficiently, using sound management practices and devoting enough staff and capital investment for the copper network. The audit also would cover adequacy of service-quality policies, procedures and metrics, the declining customer base’s impact on “internal cash flow from operations relative to historic and current copper infrastructure maintenance and capital investment,” and how labor-management relations and the current bargaining agreement affect service quality and response times. Minnesota also is investigating Frontier service quality after consumer complaints (see 1901240025). “Frontier takes this matter very seriously," a spokesperson said. "Providing adequate, reliable and affordable connectivity service to our West Virginia customers is our highest priority.”

The FCC sought comment on requests for eligible telecom carrier designation from two winning bidders in the 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction by Feb. 12, replies Feb. 19. ETC petitions are from Meriwether Lewis Connect and HolstonConnect, said a Wireline Bureau public notice Tuesday in docket 09-197. Comments are due Feb. 11, replies Feb. 19 on a Bloosurf petition, said a PN Monday.

AT&T's BellSouth asked the FCC to clarify aspects of non-VoIP calls, and prohibit state and local governments from requiring interconnected VoIP customers pay more in total 911 fees than comparable non-VoIP customers. The telco said it's involved in lawsuits where plaintiffs argue voice services not transmitted to end-user customers using IP technology can qualify as interconnected VoIP. It said nearly all cases trace back to one individual, and the companies he owns, hoping to profit from 911 charges due if his theories hold. The FCC should declare voice service that doesn't use IP to transmit voice communications over last-mile facilities to or from end-user customer premises "is never VoIP service, including interconnected VoIP service," BellSouth petitioned for declaratory ruling, posted Monday. It urged declaring "the location of the network demarcation in a particular building is not relevant to classifying a service as interconnected VoIP," and state and local governments be barred from "imposing higher 911 charges on interconnected VoIP service than on similar non-VoIP service."

Cable and telecom groups sought summary judgment last week in their appeal of Vermont’s net neutrality law and executive order restricting government contracts to companies that follow open-internet principles (see 1812270046). USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA, the American Cable Association and New England Cable and Telecommunications Association asked (in Pacer) U.S. District Court in Burlington to rule “on its first claim for relief seeking a declaratory judgment that the Executive Order and S. 289 are unconstitutional and preempted and a permanent injunction preventing their enforcement.” Industry groups opposed the state’s motion to dismiss as “an unwarranted attempt to forestall the Court’s review of two plainly unconstitutional measures," they responded (in Pacer), "that are preempted by federal law and that violate the dormant Commerce Clause.” Imposing the FCC-repealed internet conduct standard “imposes significant harms on ISPs” by regulatory uncertainty, they said.

The Ohio Public Utilities Commission set a Feb. 7 workshop on implementing a bill enacted last month that requires PUCO adopt rules permitting ILECs to increase rates for basic local exchange service by up to $2 annually. PUCO will issue proposed rules for comment after the 10 a.m. workshop, the agency said Thursday in case 19-173-TP-ORD.

Consumer advocates challenging an FCC wireline streamlining order urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the attempt "to avoid" their substantive argument by disputing their legal standing (see 1812030047). "Plaintiffs may establish [constitutional] standing as consumers of wireline services," replied (in Pacer) several groups Tuesday in Greenlining Institute v. FCC, No. 17-73283. "The harm is clear and the way in which the judicial decision remedies the harm is clear." The Greenlining Institute, Public Knowledge, The Utility Reform Network and National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates said they're "adversely affected" by the November 2017 order that relaxed telco requirements to provide copper retirement notifications and gain telecom service discontinuance approvals (see 1711160032). They said the FCC, DOJ and intervenor USTelecom renewed arguments previously rejected by a motions panel (without prejudice): "Even if the Court decides to give the Commission the benefit of the doubt that it did not treat this proceeding as merely a box to check before issuing a predetermined conclusion, the manifold failings and errors of the Order on Review cannot be defended."

Federal judges adopted a Feb. 1 argument format on the FCC's net neutrality reversal that appeared to be the same as that proposed by most parties (see 1806210017). Petitioners and supporting intervenors challenging the commission order will have 75 minutes, organized into four blocks by subject with five attorneys arguing, while FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson gets 60 minutes and supporting intervenor counsel Jonathan Nuechterlein of Sidley Austin 15 minutes to defend the order, said a court order (in Pacer) Wednesday in Mozilla v. FCC, No. 18-1051. Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins and Stephen Williams will hear the argument beginning at 9:30 a.m. (see 1901070053).

Vermont asked Consolidated Communications to produce information by Feb. 1 about customer trouble reports for the Public Utility Commission’s service-quality probe (see 1811070032). The Department of Public Service issued its first data request in case 18-3231-PET Friday. DPS asked for customer trouble tickets and information about how the company responded, plus how the company deals with outages and other issues in customer service tickets and what upgrades Consolidated made to the former FairPoint network.