FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly assured the WTA spring meeting Tuesday that he will make finishing “the remaining pieces” of USF reform, especially those related to the Connect America Fund for rate-of-return carriers, a top priority. “Everything else that the Commission may want to do with universal service -- make service more affordable for low-income consumers, wire schools and libraries, and connect rural health care facilities -- depends on having … infrastructure in place,” O’Rielly said in written remarks. “I have been dismayed by the haphazard approach that the Commission has taken to USF reforms, ratcheting up spending and expected broadband speeds while leaving millions of Americans unserved.” The FCC’s two E-rate orders expanded the program but offered little actual reform, O’Rielly said. The first order “just tacked on new spending for Wi-Fi within facilities regardless of whether they need the additional capacity or have adequate bandwidth to the building,” he said: The second “made it easier for entities to build their own fiber networks with no meaningful checks or limits to ensure that the funding will be targeted to truly unserved areas or used cost-effectively.” The FCC increased the E-rate cap by another $1.5 billion per year, he said. “At the time, there were assurances that we would not actually reach the new cap for several years,” he said. “But the window just closed, and I suspect that we may be very close to if not already at the new cap.” WTA members are already paying a price for so-called USF reform, he charged. “Without proper notice, the Commission decided that you will have to bid to provide service at rates to be determined at a later date as part of your Connect America Fund obligations,” he said. “Because that task was delegated to the [Wireline] Bureau, I won’t even get a chance to weigh in on their decisions.”

Representatives of CenturyLink, Frontier and ITTA met with FCC officials last week to voice concern about the agency's NPRM on the TDM-to-IP transition. They said agency proposals for backup power for customer premises equipment (CPE) "are unwarranted and would result in increased costs and burdens for providers and consumers while impeding the Commission's broadband deployment goals," according an ex parte filing The telco officials said there was little consumer demand or expectation that providers supply CPE backup power. In fact, most consumers rely on alternative sources, such as wireless service, to communicate during power outages, the telco officials said. "In addition, the costs and burdens associated with the Commission's proposals would be tremendous," they said. Instead of backup power regulations, the FCC should examine best practices developed by the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council, they said.

The FCC said it may fine Simple Network $100,000 for "allegedly providing interstate telecommunications services without registering with the FCC through the Universal Service Administrative Company." The company's alleged registration failure allowed it to avoid making payments that support federal programs, including the USF, potentially creating higher fees for others that do register, said an FCC release and an Enforcement Bureau notice of apparent liability Monday.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Ajit Pai said that the internal phone system at the agency's headquarters will be reconfigured in June to let anybody in the building reach emergency services by dialing 911 without dialing an extra 9 or any other access code. In a joint statement, they said facilities across the country were making progress on streamlining 911 calls on multiline systems, and they hoped the FCC move would prompt others in federal, state and local government to join the ranks. "In an emergency, government employees and members of the public that visit government buildings should not have to think about whether an access code is required -- dialing 911 should always work," they said. Pai earlier called for the change in the phone system at the FCC (see 1501230039).

The FCC is seeking comment on TDS Metrocom’s application in docket 15-96 to discontinue its interconnected VoIP services provided via WiMax in the Appleton, Wisconsin, market area. TDS said it plans to discontinue its VoIP WiMax services in Appleton as early as May 15 and it notified affected customers about its plan April 15. An FCC public notice in Friday's Daily Digest said the agency will let TDS discontinue the VoIP services in Appleton on or after May 31 “unless it is shown that customers or other end users would be unable to receive service or a reasonable substitute from another carrier, or that the public convenience and necessity would be otherwise adversely affected.” Comments are due May 15.

The U.S. needs universal service support for broadband-only lines to avoid significant customer rate increases, WTA said in a meeting Monday with the FCC Wireline Bureau about the data connection service plan proposal, according to an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 10-90. WTA said it expressed concerns about the potential ways in which limitations on capital and operating expenses can satisfy FCC principles and goals regarding the use of forward-looking costs in its universal service mechanisms. Wednesday, the FCC said it would give 10 telcos up to $10.1 billion over six years for deploying broadband to rural areas under USF (see 1504300029 and 1504290066).

Greenway Health sought retroactive waiver of FCC Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules for faxes, arguing it was "similarly situated" to other companies that received waivers. The FCC last year reaffirmed the notice requirement of its 2006 junk fax order, but acknowledging confusion by companies, granted several of them retroactive waivers (see 1410300047). The petition from the healthcare systems IT provider was posted Thursday in docket 02-278.

Windstream joined other telcos offered as much as $10.1 billion total over six years from the FCC to deploy broadband to rural areas in saying it's analyzing the USF offers (see 1504290066). "In the coming days and months Windstream will be busy analyzing the statewide offers to determine where its own investment combined with the offered support is sufficient to meet the program’s obligations or where Windstream instead will be compelled by economics to move to the competitive bidding stage," said Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Eric Einhorn in a statement Wednesday. The telcos have until Aug. 27 to decide whether to accept the money state by state, and where they decline, subsidies will be offered on what the agency called a competitive basis. "The task of extending broadband networks to these remote areas will take some years," said USTelecom President Walter McCormick.

The FCC Wireline Bureau accepted modification of average schedule formulas for interstate settlements as proposed by the National Exchange Carrier Association in December. NECA calculates that as a result of the changes, 274 companies are expected to see increases in settlement rates and 48 study areas are expected to see decreases, at constant demand, the bureau said Wednesday. The NECA changes would increase settlement rates by 6.6 percent overall, at constant demand, it said. “We have reviewed the unopposed NECA filing and find that its proposed formulas are reasonable,” the bureau said. “NECA revised the average schedule formulas using procedures consistent with those used in previous filings.”

AT&T Assistant Vice President-Federal Regulatory Frank Simone and other telco staff briefed FCC Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Matthew DelNero and other bureau officials April 3 on AT&T's IP transition wire center trials in Carbon Hill, Alabama, and West Delray Beach, Florida, the telco said in an ex parte filing released Wednesday. AT&T began marketing the transition from TDM to IP in the Carbon Hill and West Delray Beach markets in September, the telco said in the filing in docket 12-353. IP accounts increased by 5 percent in Carbon Hill and by 12 percent in West Delray Beach in Q4 after the marketing push, AT&T said. The telco said its other community outreach efforts in the communities have included special training events for seniors and outreach to disability organizations in the communities.