The FCC asked a court to stay the mandate of its partial reversal of an order largely deregulating business data services of price-cap incumbent telcos. "A stay will avoid extensive and unnecessary disruption in the [BDS] market while the agency addresses on remand the notice issue that this Court identified with respect to one portion of a complex and interconnected order," said an FCC motion (in Pacer) Wednesday to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296. The court's Aug. 28 ruling denied petitions challenging the April 2017 order's price-cap relief for telco last-mile BDS offerings under a competitive market test, but ruled the FCC didn't provide adequate notice of national ex-ante price deregulation of legacy, TDM interoffice transport services (see 1808280050). The FCC noted a draft Further NPRM "proposing to institute a new TDM transport rule, identical to the rule at issue in this case" is tentatively scheduled for an Oct. 23 vote (see 1810020050). "Courts have stayed the mandate in situations like this one, where issuing the mandate and vacating the rule while the agency addresses a remand would cause undue disruption and expense," the motion said.

The FCC made available a Connect America Fund map showing where program recipients report CAF-funded broadband deployment to fixed locations. The interactive map "illustrates both areas eligible for funding and the specific fixed locations where funding recipients have reported deployment by address and geographic latitude and longitude, including the maximum speed offered and the date of deployment," said a Wireline Broadband public notice Tuesday in docket 10-90. It said the current map displays broadband deployment as of Dec. 31 certified by program recipients by March 1, and will be updated as certified by carriers and as programs are added, including the recently concluded CAF II auction of subsidies for fixed broadband and voice services. Related information is at a Universal Service Administrative Co. webpage.

ITTA generally supported the FCC draft rural telco business data service order tentatively scheduled for a vote at commissioners' Oct. 23 meeting (see 1810020050). It did reiterate that "rate-of-return carriers eligible to voluntarily elect to transition their business data services offerings out of rate-of-return regulation should be provided an annual transition opportunity, consistent with their ability to convert to price cap regulation at any time," filed the midsize telco group on meeting an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai, posted Friday in docket 16-143.

Telcos opposed a request to redo an FCC order further easing telecom discontinuance duties and related regulatory processes (see 1806070021). Comments were posted Friday in docket 17-84 on Public Knowledge's Aug. 8 petition for reconsideration and motion to hold the June order in abeyance due to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals litigation on a December order. PK's claims that the FCC "ignored the record" and "the Order eliminated consumer protections are unfounded, and its suggestion that the rules adopted in this Order could compromise critical federal agency missions is reckless and is equally unsupported," said USTelecom: "The Order reflects a careful balancing of the needs of consumers with the important goal of removing regulatory barriers that cause unnecessary costs or delay when carriers seek to transition from legacy services to next-generation broadband services." Verizon said PK "inaccurately describes" FCC "decisions and reasoning, and mischaracterizes the views" of NTIA, which "supports the Commission’s streamlining efforts." NTIA did note continuing concern about the impact on federal entities of some copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances (see 1807200057). PK "also seeks what it calls abeyance, but is actually a stay of the ... Order, by asking the Commission to keep its decision from becoming effective," Verizon said: "The Commission’s rules prohibit combining a motion for stay with any other requested relief," and it's "also substantively deficient." CenturyLink opposed PK's request to eliminate an "alternative options test." The test "permits a carrier to discontinue legacy voice service on a streamlined basis as part of a technology transition, after notifying affected customers, if the carrier shows that those customers will have access to at least two substitute voice services: stand-alone interconnected VoIP service from the discontinuing carrier itself and stand-alone facilities-based voice service from another provider," CenturyLink said. It knocked PK's claim that NTIA's concern "requires the Commission to reconsider" its test: "NTIA simply noted its continuing concern about the potential impact on government customers of legacy services being discontinued in remote or less populated areas and outside the scope of U.S. General Services Administration-negotiated contracts."

A coming FCC draft order would extend operations expense relief to more tribal carriers, including Mescalero Apache Telecom and Sacred Wind Communications, said Chairman Ajit Pai. He responded to Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who wrote to support the two carriers' petitions to reconsider (see 1805310032) an April order that allowed tribal-oriented carriers to recover higher opex costs from USF but excluded carriers that had deployed 10/1 Mbps broadband to 90 percent or more of locations (see 1804050028). Pai agrees the relief "did not go far enough" and believes "it was inappropriate to exclude carriers" such as Mescalero and Sacred Wind, which argue their actual deployment levels are below the threshold. "I have directed staff to circulate an order in the near future to fix this mistake," he wrote, hoping colleagues will be supportive. "The letter is very encouraging" because the two carriers "need this relief" and "the sooner the better," emailed consultant Randy Tyree Friday. Tyree, who represents Mescalero and the National Tribal Telecommunications Association, said the entire New Mexico congressional delegation is supportive.

The FCC invited input on Connect America Fund Phase II auction winner requests to become eligible for high-cost support to fixed broadband and voice services Comments are due Oct. 17, replies Oct. 24 on the eligible telecom carrier petitions of Commnet Wireless, Fond du Lac Communications, Hankins Information Technology, Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries, Red Spectrum Communications and Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium (for five parties), said a Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 09-197 in Thursday's Daily Digest.

The California Public Utilities Commission supported a petition by consumer groups challenging a 2017 FCC wireline infrastructure order streamlining copper loop retirements and telecom service discontinuances (see 1809270036). "The CPUC agrees with much -- though not all -- of what the Petitioners write," said its amicus brief (in Pacer) Thursday in Greenlining Institute v. FCC, No. 17-73283, in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Although the CPUC agrees with the Petitioners that the FCC prejudged the outcome of the proceeding ... there is more damning evidence of prejudgment than the Petitioners have cited. Second: In striking down the so-called 'functional test' standard for [Communications Act] Section 214(a) discontinuances, the FCC set forth a new, narrow definition of the word 'service.' ... While it is literally true that the Act does not define 'service,' it does define 'telecommunications service.' ... And since the Wireline Deployment Order deals exclusively with telecommunications carriers, it would seem sensible to examine how the Act defines the service that they provide -- yet the FCC did not."

The FCC invited input on requests it revisit the broadband testing duties of Connect America Fund Phase II support recipients established in a July staff order. Oppositions will be due 15 days, replies 25 days, after Federal Register publication, said a public notice in docket 10-90 and Wednesday's Daily Digest. Petitions for reconsideration were filed jointly by USTelecom, ITTA and the Wireless ISP Association, and individually by Hughes Network Systems, Micronesian Telecommunications and ViaSat. NTCA and WTA filed applications for review appealing to the full commission (see 1809200035).

The FCC Wireline Bureau will further review South Dakota Network's proposed revisions to a centralized equal access tariff that had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday. "Because we conclude that substantial questions of lawfulness exist regarding how SDN revised the centralized equal access service rate contained in its proposed tariff, we suspend the revisions for one day and set for investigation the question of whether SDN properly revised its [CEA] service rate," said an order in docket 18-100 and Tuesday's Daily Digest.

Telco groups urged the FCC to approve their plan to raise the rural carrier USF budget to at least $2.4 billion for 2018, plus $200 million already committed to the current Alternative Connect America Model Program, said a letter Monday in docket 10-90 from ITTA, NTCA, USTelecom and WTA. "A portion of the budget should be provided to current A-CAM plan participants to enable them to receive support at the level initially offered to them in 2016 (i.e. $200/month per location)." They also proposed an "inflation factor," "baseline funding" that eliminates the need for a support "floor," and no new model-based offers until the existing mechanisms are "sufficiently funded." It's a "collaborative approach to building consensus around a set of shared proposals that, if adopted, will establish predictable USF funding," said Lynn Follansbee, USTelecom vice president-law and policy. "We hope the Commission moves quickly toward finalizing reforms.” Pai said Monday he plans a draft order on model-based RLEC business data services for the Oct. 23 commissioners' meeting (see 1810010027).